The Way It Wasn't : Great Science Fiction Stories of Alternate History
by Martin Harry Greenberg (Editor)
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The Way It Wasn't takes an amusing, intellectually stimulating excursion into speculative history. Here are thirteen memorable stories by renowned science fiction writers, telling what things might be like if... Elvis Presley weren't the "King" but the President of the United States ("Ike at the Mike" by Howard Waldrop)... The Black Death had killed the entire population of Europe in the fourteenth century ("Lion Time in Timbuctoo" by Robert Silverberg)... John F. Kennedy had survived the show more 1963 shooting in Dallas ("The Winterberry" by Nicholas A. DiChario). Included, too, is fascinating short fiction by Mike Resnick, Susan Shwartz, Larry Niven, Pamela Sargent, Fritz Leiber, Greg Bear, Barry N. Malzberg, Harry Turtledove, Gregory Benford and Kim Stanley Robinson. After reading these stories - some of the most compelling examples of alternate history anywhere - your mind will keep spinning the question "What If...'" show lessTags
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everyone has wondered "what if..." at some point, whether the question involved his or her own life or some pivotal event in history. history as we know it is jolted and questioned at every turn in this emotional collection of engaging and imaginative fiction. many "what if..." questions are addressed in this volume that allow authors and readers alike to rewrite history, correcting perceived wrongs or tragedies ("suppose they gave a peace..."), creating heroes where none existed before ("the lucky strike"), and exploring horrors best left to imaginations and late night readings ("we could do worse"). any fan of science fiction will enjoy these well-selected, well-ordered stories.
Everyone has wondered "What if..." at some point, whether the question involved his or her own life or some pivotal event in history. History as we know it is jolted and questioned at every turn in this emotional collection of engaging and imaginative fiction. Many "what if..." questions are addressed in this volume that allow authors and readers alike to rewrite history, correcting perceived wrongs or tragedies ("Suppose They Gave a Peace..."), creating heroes where none existed before ("The Lucky Strike"), and exploring horrors best left to imaginations and late night readings ("We Could Do Worse"). Any fan of science fiction will enjoy these well-selected, well-ordered stories.
Dnf. Poor audio quality.
An excellent collection of alternate histories. I've reviewed each story on the story's work page.
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Author Information
Martin Harry Greenberg (March 1, 1941 - June 25, 2011) was an American academic and speculative fiction anthologist. In all, he compiled 1,298 anthologies. He founded Tekno Books, a packager of more than 2000 published books; he was also a co-founder of the Sci-Fi Channel. Some of his anthologies included: Past Imperfect (2001), Once Upon a Galaxy show more (2002) and Sirius: The Dog Star (2004). (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Way It Wasn't : Great Science Fiction Stories of Alternate History
- Original title
- The Way It Wasn't : Great Science Fiction Stories of Alternate History
- Original publication date
- 1996
- People/Characters
- William Pratt; Elvis Presley; John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy; Louis Armstrong; Dwight D. Eisenhower; George S. Patton (show all 23); Woodrow Wilson; Theodore Roosevelt; John J. Pershing; George McGovern; Gene Trimble; Yesuntai Noyan; Michel Bahadur; Adolf Hitler; Horst von Ranke; Albert Fischer; Christopher Columbus; Basil Argyros; Anthimos; George Lakhanodrakon; Mirrane; Joseph McCarthy; Richard M. Nixon
- Original language
- English
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, Science Fiction
- DDC/MDS
- 813.08708 — Literature & rhetoric American literature in English American fiction in English By type Genre fiction Adventure fiction Collections
- LCC
- PS648 .F3 .W39 — Language and Literature American literature American literature Collections of American literature Prose (General)
Statistics
- Members
- 163
- Popularity
- 200,738
- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (3.74)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 1
- ASINs
- 1
