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alternate_history:alternate_history_faq [2014/11/07 14:43] – [Classic Books] Petikealternate_history:alternate_history_faq [2022/09/07 18:15] (current) – [In the Sea of Time (ISOT)] max_sinister
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 ==== About the FAQ ==== ==== About the FAQ ====
  
-The purpose of this FAQ is to serve as a general purpose introduction to alternate history. It is mainly intended to answer the questions of people who arrive at the [[htp://www.alternatehistory.com|AlternateHistory.com]] web site. It is intended as a starting point, not an exhaustive reference.+The purpose of this FAQ is to serve as a general purpose introduction to alternate history. It is mainly intended to answer the questions of people who arrive at the [[https://www.alternatehistory.com|AlternateHistory.com]] web site. It is intended as a starting point, not an exhaustive reference.
  
  
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-Alternate history stories are usually considered a subgenre of science fiction, which is where you will usually find them in the book store, and there are also often alternate history "crossovers" with fantasy. It is entirely possible and in fact quite common, however, for alternate histories to contain no new science or technology, and no fantastic elements, merely depicting a world where history went differently. A great many alternate history novels and short stories have been written, and some non-narrative books. The existence of the genre goes back over a century, although it has only been in the last few decades that it has really become a significant subgenre of its own.+Alternate history stories are usually considered a subgenre of science fiction, which is where you will usually find them in the book store, and there are also often alternate history "crossovers" with fantasy. It is entirely possible and in fact quite common, however, for alternate histories to contain no new science or technology, and no fantastic elements, merely depicting a world where history went differently. A great many alternate history novels and short stories have been written, and some non-narrative books. The existence of the genre goes back over a century (some say: to antiquity even), although it has only been in the last few decades that it has really become a significant subgenre of its own.
  
  
-There is also a thriving community of alternate history fans on the web, with many amateur works of alternate history and active discussion forums. In other media, however, alternate history is relatively rare. It is found occasionally in television, film, comics, and computer games. This is probably both because developing an alternate history in such a way that it is interesting requires a level of background that comes across best with the detail of writing, and because alternate history requires a level of historical knowledge and interest that is not present in enough of the potential mass media audience to justify going to frequent effort to do it well.+There is also a thriving community of alternate history fans on the web, with many amateur works of alternate history and active discussion forums. In other media, however, alternate history is relatively rare. It is found occasionally in television, film, comics, role-playing games, and computer games. This is probably both because developing an alternate history in such a way that it is interesting requires a level of background that comes across best with the detail of writing, and because alternate history requires a level of historical knowledge and interest that is not present in enough of the potential mass media audience to justify going to frequent effort to do it well.
  
  
 ===== What Do Historians Think of Alternate History? ===== ===== What Do Historians Think of Alternate History? =====
  
-Generally, "counterfactual" history has been a fringe pursuit of real historians, sometimes engaged in as a pastime but generally not a part of actual scholarship. This has changed a bit recently, as historians have increasingly recognized that looking at the causes, effects, and importance of real historical phenomena is in a way equivalent to hypothesizing what the effect on history would have been if they had gone differently.+Generally, "counterfactual" history has been a fringe pursuit of real historians, sometimes engaged in as a pastime but generally not a part of actual scholarship. Still, even prominent historians like Winston Churchill, Niall Ferguson, Robert Fogel, Ian Kershaw and Alexander Demandt have dabbled in it. This has changed a bit recently, as historians have increasingly recognized that looking at the causes, effects, and importance of real historical phenomena is in a way equivalent to hypothesizing what the effect on history would have been if they had gone differently.
  
  
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-Those who are interested can find arguments for and against the use of counterfactuals by historians in the book **History That Never Happened: A Treatise On The Question, What Would Have Happened If--?** (Alexander Demandt, 1993). Two books of counterfactuals written by professional historians recently, both of them collections of essays, are Virtual History: Alternatives and Counterfactuals (ed. Niall Ferguson, 1997) and What If? The World's Foremost Military Historians Imagine What Might Have Been (ed. Robert Cowley, 1999).+Those who are interested can find arguments for and against the use of counterfactuals by historians in the book **History That Never Happened: A Treatise On The Question, What Would Have Happened If--?** (Alexander Demandt, 1993). Two books of counterfactuals written by professional historians recently, both of them collections of essays, are **Virtual History: Alternatives and Counterfactuals** (ed. Niall Ferguson, 1997) and **What If? The World's Foremost Military Historians Imagine What Might Have Been** (ed. Robert Cowley, 1999).
            
  
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 ====2. Future History==== ====2. Future History====
  
-This category is included mainly for completeness. A [[alternate history:future history]] involves how events turn out in the future, perhaps looked back on from a historical perspective or dealt with as a history. Although a future history story may share some of the trappings of an alternate history story, it is fundamentally about things that haven't happened yet, not the question of what the world might have been like if things had gone differently in the past.+This category is included mainly for completeness. A [[future history]] involves how events turn out in the future, perhaps looked back on from a historical perspective or dealt with as a history. Although a future history story may share some of the trappings of an alternate history story, it is fundamentally about things that haven't happened yet, not the question of what the world might have been like if things had gone differently in the past.
  
  
-Future history is not alternate history, even when multiple alternate possible futures are considered, or someone encounters or creates what is an "alternate history" from the perspective of people in a fictional future (the past to them, still in the future to us). "What if the Federation and the Klingons had nearly destroyed each other in a war" is not an alternate history, even though from the perspective of characters in the fictional Star Trek universe it could be called an alternate history. (This is, it should be noted, the closest thing to alternate history that is usually found in television, film, and comics - alternate versions of the pasts of entirely fictional worlds, often future worlds).+Future history is not alternate history, even when multiple alternate possible futures are considered, or someone encounters or creates what is an "alternate history" from the perspective of people in a fictional future (the past to them, still in the future to us). "What if the Federation and the Klingons had nearly destroyed each other in a war" is not an alternate history, even though from the perspective of characters in the fictional //Star Trek// universe it could be called an alternate history. (This is, it should be noted, the closest thing to alternate history that is usually found in television, film, and comics - alternate versions of the pasts of entirely fictional worlds, often future worlds).
  
  
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 ====In the Sea of Time (ISOT)==== ====In the Sea of Time (ISOT)====
  
-"In the Sea of Time" or ISOT is a term usually used in alternate history discussion groups, especially the newsgroup soc.history.what-if. It originally comes from S.M. Stirling's recent Island in the Sea of Time series, which features the entire island of Nantucket and all its inhabitants being transported thousands of years back in time. ISOT has become a popular term for what happens when an area (as opposed to an individual) is transported back in time with no apparent means of return.+"In the Sea of Time" or ISOT is a term usually used in alternate history discussion groups, especially the newsgroup soc.history.what-if. It originally comes from [[S. M. Stirling]]'s //Island in the Sea of Time// series, which features the entire island of Nantucket and all its inhabitants being transported thousands of years back in time. ISOT has become a popular term (use it like a verb: to ISOT, ISOTs, ISOTed) for what happens when an area (as opposed to an individual) is transported back in time with no apparent means of return.
  
  
 ====Alien Space Bats (ASBs)==== ====Alien Space Bats (ASBs)====
  
-"Alien Space Bats" (ASBs) are a mysterious alien species dreamed up by soc.history.what-if regular Alison Brooks. The ASBs have a peculiar liking for sudden and miraculous interventions in human history. Their original and still primary use is sarcastic - one way to say that a timeline is very implausible is to say that you would need the Alien Space Bats to arrange it. After a while, many posters took to using it as a term for the serious consideration of what would result if impossible or miraculous events did in fact happen (for example, "ASBs give Adolf Hitler a nuclear submarine in 1939, what happens next?") +"[[Alien Space Bats]]" (ASBs) are a mysterious alien species dreamed up by soc.history.what-if regular Alison Brooks. The ASBs have a peculiar liking for sudden and miraculous interventions in human history. Their original and still primary use is sarcastic - one way to say that a timeline is very implausible is to say that you would need the Alien Space Bats to arrange it. After a while, many posters took to using it as a term for the serious consideration of what would result if impossible or miraculous events did in fact happen (for example, "ASBs give Adolf Hitler a nuclear submarine in 1939, what happens next?") 
  
  
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 =====Most Cliched AH Scenarios===== =====Most Cliched AH Scenarios=====
  
-No single period of alternate history is really cliched, but for every period there are a few cliches that become very noticeable after reading a lot of alternate history (in some cases, you don't even have to read a lot). There are also a few noteworthy general cliches. Probably the most obvious is "eternal empires" and "world conquest". Major powers in alternate history stories seem to always change in the direction of becoming larger and longer lived, rather than the other way around. Roman Empires persist to the present day, Nazi Germanies take over not just Europe but the World, Napoleons set up globe-spanning French empires, great monarchies and empires persist long after the historical point where democracy and totalitarianism divided the world, and so on. Alternate history is all too often grandiose rather than subtle.+No single period of alternate history is really cliched, but for every period there are a few cliches that become very noticeable after reading a lot of alternate history (in some cases, you don't even have to read a lot). There are also a few noteworthy general cliches. Probably the most obvious is "eternal empires" and "world conquest". Major powers in alternate history stories seem to always change in the direction of becoming larger and longer lived, rather than the other way around. Roman Empires persist to the present day, Nazi Germanies take over not just Europe but the World, Napoleons set up globe-spanning French empires, great monarchies and empires persist long after the historical point where democracy and totalitarianism divided the world, and so on. Alternate history is all too often grandiose rather than subtle. The correct term for this is "[[Wank]]".
  
  
-Some specific events are cliches not just because they are so common, but because they are so fundamentally unlikely and yet far more popular than any of the alternatives anyway. If you got your history by inferring it from alternate history stories, you would come away with a view of a rather odd history. A history where Nazi Germany came within an inch of invading Britain by sea, when in fact they hadn't a prayer of success at it and they knew it. The Confederacy was just a battle or two away from winning the Civil War, despite the overwhelming industrial and numerical superiority of the Union (and Britain and France were just a hair away from entering the war on the Confederacy's side and invading the US, rather than wary of even proposing to possibly mediate between the two sides). Japan or Germany could have conquered the US in 1945, despite its order of magnitude numerical superiority and their complete lack of the capability to actually transport significant troops to it. The Confederacy was quite willing to throw slavery out the window if it won the Civil War, even though its major war aim was the preservation of slavery. Zeppelins, steam cars, Babbage engines, and interplanetary space travel in 1960 were all within our grasp and would have made the world a wonderful place, it just didn't happen in actual history because the world is stupid. If the Roman Empire had managed to resist the barbarians a bit more strongly, it surely would have conquered the world and lasted for millennia. And so on... +Some specific events are cliches not just because they are so common, but because they are so fundamentally unlikely and yet far more popular than any of the alternatives anyway. If you got your history by inferring it from alternate history stories, you would come away with a view of a rather odd history. A history where [[Nazi Germany]] came within an inch of invading Britain by sea, when in fact they hadn't a prayer of success at it and they knew it. The [[Confederacy]] was just a battle or two away from winning the Civil War, despite the overwhelming industrial and numerical superiority of the Union (and Britain and France were just a hair away from entering the war on the Confederacy's side and invading the US, rather than wary of even proposing to possibly mediate between the two sides). Japan or Germany could have conquered the US in 1945, despite its order of magnitude numerical superiority and their complete lack of the capability to actually transport significant troops to it. The Confederacy was quite willing to throw slavery out the window if it won the Civil War, even though its major war aim was the preservation of slavery. Zeppelins, steam cars, Babbage engines, and interplanetary space travel in 1960 were all within our grasp and would have made the world a wonderful place, it just didn't happen in actual history because the world is stupid. If the Roman Empire had managed to resist the barbarians a bit more strongly, it surely would have conquered the world and lasted for millennia. And so on... 
  
  
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 **[[Draka|The Domination]]** (S.M. Stirling, 1999) is an omnibus edition of the first three books of his Draka series, which is out of print. Reader opinions on this series seem to vary widely, but it is certainly well known enough to get a mention here. **[[Draka|The Domination]]** (S.M. Stirling, 1999) is an omnibus edition of the first three books of his Draka series, which is out of print. Reader opinions on this series seem to vary widely, but it is certainly well known enough to get a mention here.
  
-**Down in the Bottomlands** (And Other Places) (Harry Turtledove and L. Sprague de Camp, 1999) is a collection of short stories which is often regarded as containing some of Turtledove's best work.+**Down in the Bottomlands** (And Other Places) ([[Harry Turtledove]] and L. Sprague de Camp, 1999) is a collection of short stories which is often regarded as containing some of Turtledove's best work.
  
 **Fatherland** (Robert Harris, 1992) is the quintessential novel about life inside a victorious Nazi Germany. **Fatherland** (Robert Harris, 1992) is the quintessential novel about life inside a victorious Nazi Germany.
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 **Lest Darkness Fall** (L. Sprague de Camp, 1949) involves a time traveller who brings modern technology and knowledge to the Roman Empire. **Lest Darkness Fall** (L. Sprague de Camp, 1949) involves a time traveller who brings modern technology and knowledge to the Roman Empire.
  
-**The Man in the High Castle** (Philip K. Dick, 1962) is an older, well regarded novel about a timeline where the Axis won the Second World War.+**The Man in the High Castle** (Philip K. Dick, 1962) is an older, well regarded novel about a timeline where the Axis won the Second World War. Meanwhile turned into a TV series.
  
 **Voyage** (Stephen Baxter, 1996) is a very highly regarded novel about an alternate space race, although its narrow focus makes it of most interest to space enthusiasts. **Voyage** (Stephen Baxter, 1996) is a very highly regarded novel about an alternate space race, although its narrow focus makes it of most interest to space enthusiasts.
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 ====Most Popular Books==== ====Most Popular Books====
  
-Recently, the most popular alternate history books have been series from authors S.M. Stirling and Harry Turtledove. Turtledove is easily the single most prolific alternate history author around, and his Worldwar and Great War series have sold well. Stirling's recent Island in the Sea of Time trilogy was also very well received. Nearly a decade ago, Robert Harris' novel Fatherland broke into the mainstream, got on the New York Times best seller list, and even had a movie of the same name based on it. Since there are actually not very many authors who spend much of their time writing alternate history, the list of popular books these days basically matches the output of the most popular and prolific authors whom I just listed.+Recently, the most popular alternate history books have been series from authors S.M. Stirling and Harry Turtledove. Turtledove is easily the single most prolific alternate history author around, and his //Worldwar// and //Great War// series have sold well. Stirling's //Island in the Sea of Time// trilogy was also very well received. Nearly a decade ago, Robert Harris' novel //Fatherland// broke into the mainstream, got on the New York Times best seller list, and even had a movie of the same name based on it. Since there are actually not very many authors who spend much of their time writing alternate history, the list of popular books these days basically matches the output of the most popular and prolific authors whom I just listed.
  
 ====Upcoming Books==== ====Upcoming Books====
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 ====Alternate History Discussions==== ====Alternate History Discussions====
  
-There are many different alternate history discussion forums available, but most are fairly small.  By far the largest is [[http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion|AlternateHistory.com]].  The usenet newsgroup [[http://groups.google.com/group/soc.history.what-if?lnk=sg|soc.history.what-if]] has a very large archive of posts going back over a decade, but its activity level has dropped substantially as usenet loses popularity.+There are many different alternate history discussion forums available, but most are fairly small.  By far the largest is [[https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion|AlternateHistory.com]].  The usenet newsgroup [[https://groups.google.com/group/soc.history.what-if?lnk=sg|soc.history.what-if]] has a very large archive of posts going back over a decade, but its activity level has dropped substantially as usenet loses popularity.
  
 There are also mailing lists dedicated to specific authors, such as the [[http://groups.yahoo.com/group/videssos/|Videssos]] list for Harry Turtledove and the very active [[http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stirling/|Stirling]] list for S. M. Stirling. There are also mailing lists dedicated to specific authors, such as the [[http://groups.yahoo.com/group/videssos/|Videssos]] list for Harry Turtledove and the very active [[http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stirling/|Stirling]] list for S. M. Stirling.
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 ====Alternate History Web Sites==== ====Alternate History Web Sites====
  
-There is currently no comprehensive listing of alternate history web sites.  Partial lists can be found in the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_alternate_histories|wikipedia]] article and in the [[http://www.google.com/Top/Society/History/By_Topic/Alternative_History/?il=1|Google Directory]].  Web sites with many detailed scenarios include the [[http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/forumdisplay.php?f=18|AlternateHistory.com Timelines and Scenarios forum]] and [[http://www.changingthetimes.net/|Changing the Times]].  +There is currently no comprehensive listing of alternate history web sites.  Partial lists can be found in the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_alternate_histories|wikipedia]] article and in the [[https://www.google.com/Top/Society/History/By_Topic/Alternative_History/?il=1|Google Directory]].  Web sites with many detailed scenarios include the [[https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/forumdisplay.php?f=18|AlternateHistory.com Timelines and Scenarios forum]] and [[http://www.changingthetimes.net/|Changing the Times]].  
  
  
 ====Alternate History in Other Media==== ====Alternate History in Other Media====
  
-Alternate history as defined at the start of this FAQ is relatively rare in media other than books (and of course the web). Most "alternate history" in other media is best called alternate fiction or alternate futures - it depicts what are alternate histories from the perspectives of fictional characters involved, but not from our perspective in the present. Examples of this are the many alternate timelines featured in the popular television series Star Trek, virtually all of which involve points of divergence which are well in the future. Comic books also frequently feature alternate versions of their own fictional timelines.+Alternate history as defined at the start of this FAQ is relatively rare in media other than books (and of course the web). Most "alternate history" in other media is best called alternate fiction or alternate futures - it depicts what are alternate histories from the perspectives of fictional characters involved, but not from our perspective in the present. Examples of this are the many alternate timelines featured in the popular television series //Star Trek//, virtually all of which involve points of divergence which are well in the future. Comic books also frequently feature alternate versions of their own fictional timelines.
  
-The one major exception to this trend was the television show Sliders, which was based around travel to alternate and parallel worlds. There have also been a few alternate history movies, such as the film version of the best-selling novel Fatherland, some true alternate history comics such as Captain Confederacy. In the venue of computer and video games, explicit alternate history is rare, but can be found as part of the backstory of games including Red Alert and Crimson Skies. Many computer games allow you to refight historical battles or control historical civilizations (such as the popular Civilization games), although this is usually at a very abstract level.+The one major exception to this trend was the television show //Sliders//, which was based around travel to alternate and parallel worlds. There have also been a few alternate history movies, such as the film version of the best-selling novel //Fatherland//, some true alternate history comics such as //Captain Confederacy//. In the venue of computer and video games, explicit alternate history is rare, but can be found as part of the backstory of games including //Red Alert// and //Crimson Skies//. Many computer games allow you to refight historical battles or control historical civilizations (such as the popular //Civilization// games), although this is usually at a very abstract level.
  
-For those wishing to role-play alternate history, detailed and comprehensive alternate history roleplaying sourcebooks are available for the GURPS role playing system. GURPS: Alternate Earths and GURPS: Alternate Earths 2 each contain six detailed alternate worlds, plus tips and rules for alternate history role playing (the main GURPS books are also required if you wish to use the GURPS role-playing system itself).+For those wishing to role-play alternate history, detailed and comprehensive alternate history roleplaying sourcebooks are available for the [[GURPS]] role playing system. //GURPS: Alternate Earths// and //GURPS: Alternate Earths 2// each contain six detailed alternate worlds, plus tips and rules for alternate history role playing (the main GURPS books are also required if you wish to use the GURPS role-playing system itself).
  
  
 ====Help for Aspiring Alternate History Authors==== ====Help for Aspiring Alternate History Authors====
  
-There are several sources of specific help for aspiring alternate history authors. Amateur authors seeking to have stories put on the web for free mght try [[http://www.changingthetimes.net/|Changing the Times]], an alternate history ezine.  An excellent resource for authors aiming at professional, in-print publication is the zine [[http://www.marmotgraphics.com/pod/index.html|Point of Divergence]], an APA (Amateur Publishing Association) that functions as a sort of writer's workshop by mail. POD (for short) is a private member-published magazine that has been around for many years, putting out an issue every two months (normally with hundreds of pages of content each). It is not available to subscription, only to contributing members, of which there are normally about two dozen. It functions as a writers workshop in that members can critique each others' stories, discuss general alternate history issues, and share their experiences with each other.+There are several sources of specific help for aspiring alternate history authors. Amateur authors seeking to have stories put on the web for free might try [[http://www.changingthetimes.net|Changing the Times]], an alternate history ezine.  An excellent resource for authors aiming at professional, in-print publication is the zine [[https://www.marmotgraphics.com/pod/|Point of Divergence]], an APA (Amateur Publishing Association) that functions as a sort of writer's workshop by mail. (Nope, dead.) POD (for short) is a private member-published magazine that has been around for many years, putting out an issue every two months (normally with hundreds of pages of content each). It is not available to subscription, only to contributing members, of which there are normally about two dozen. It functions as a writers workshop in that members can critique each others' stories, discuss general alternate history issues, and share their experiences with each other.
  
  
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 Beyond that, writing a good alternate history requires knowledge, consideration, and an idea of how to get from points A to B to C in a developing scenario. Knowledge means research - read some history books on the period you're interested in. Not only is this information vital to making a scenario that knowledgeable people will believe, it will also suggest ideas and facts which will help you to fill in the gaps and come up with more interesting events. Consideration requires thinking about causes and effects - writing alternate history does require some thought, and you should reflect and re-evaluate what you are writing rather than just spewing out a timeline that seems decent and considering it done. Think about the events you are writing about, and ask yourself how things could go differently in each case, and how they might affect some other event you're writing about. Beyond that, writing a good alternate history requires knowledge, consideration, and an idea of how to get from points A to B to C in a developing scenario. Knowledge means research - read some history books on the period you're interested in. Not only is this information vital to making a scenario that knowledgeable people will believe, it will also suggest ideas and facts which will help you to fill in the gaps and come up with more interesting events. Consideration requires thinking about causes and effects - writing alternate history does require some thought, and you should reflect and re-evaluate what you are writing rather than just spewing out a timeline that seems decent and considering it done. Think about the events you are writing about, and ask yourself how things could go differently in each case, and how they might affect some other event you're writing about.
  
-Getting from A to C requires having some idea of the general direction you think your alternate history should be going in - so that you can catch yourself if you try to butcher history with a dull knife to get there. It can be tempting to come up with a point of divergence and an end result you want, and just try to fill in the gaps from there. The connect the dots approach to alternate history, however, has a problem - it tends to lead people to repeatedly "twist" events in favor of where they want them to go, at many different points in their alternate history scenario. Before long, though, the reader starts to catch on to the fact that "God" (the author) has definitely taken sides. When that happens, they are going to have real trouble suspending their disbelief.+Getting from A to C requires having some idea of the general direction you think your alternate history should be going in - so that you can catch yourself if you try to butcher history with a dull knife to get there. It can be tempting to come up with a Point of Divergence and an end result you want, and just try to fill in the gaps from there. The connect the dots approach to alternate history, however, has a problem - it tends to lead people to repeatedly "twist" events in favor of where they want them to go, at many different points in their alternate history scenario. Before long, though, the reader starts to catch on to the fact that "God" (the author) has definitely taken sides. When that happens, they are going to have real trouble suspending their disbelief.
  
 There are two main ways to resist this problem. First, be willing to consider many different points of divergence if you have a certain sort of end result in mind. You may be able to get the results you want as fairly straightforward effects of one or a few big changes, rather than many many small shoves. Second, don't become too attached to a particular result. If a particular event looks really unlikely but also necessary to get where you want to go, consider where the likely course will lead. It may not be somewhere you expect. Some of the most interesting alternate history scenarios out there have been produced by people who took a few historical "turns" because they seemed sensible consequences of (alternate) past events, rather than because they wanted to turn a particular way, and who thus ended up in a surprising and interesting place. Sometimes a relatively "blind" process of reasoning from a few changes can be more creative than the list of destinations that are though of in advance.  There are two main ways to resist this problem. First, be willing to consider many different points of divergence if you have a certain sort of end result in mind. You may be able to get the results you want as fairly straightforward effects of one or a few big changes, rather than many many small shoves. Second, don't become too attached to a particular result. If a particular event looks really unlikely but also necessary to get where you want to go, consider where the likely course will lead. It may not be somewhere you expect. Some of the most interesting alternate history scenarios out there have been produced by people who took a few historical "turns" because they seemed sensible consequences of (alternate) past events, rather than because they wanted to turn a particular way, and who thus ended up in a surprising and interesting place. Sometimes a relatively "blind" process of reasoning from a few changes can be more creative than the list of destinations that are though of in advance. 
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