Alternate History Weekly Update

Showcase: The Tales of Alvin Maker

2012-02-25T20:48:00.003-06:00

Few authors have managed to master science fiction, fantasy, and alternate history effectively and as skillfully as Orson Scott Card. Given his ability to cross genres without sacrificing the quality of his work, it makes perfect sense that he is one of the few people to pen a work that manages to be of all three genres at once, and fitting in with this months theme, is one of the more fascinating balkanized America scenarios I’ve come across. This my dear readers, is my look at Orson Scott Card’s series of Tales of Alvin Maker.

The story revolves around Alvin Miller, the seventh son of a seventh son, which among the divided and superstitious folk of the Americas, whose various inhabitants have knacks and powers of varying powers and types, makes him a child of particular importance. Specifically, thanks to his birth, Alvin has a knack which allows him to change both living and nonliving matter simply by force of will, else wise known as a Maker, the last of whom died on Cavalry - though some insist Ben Franklin was a Maker himself. As he grows older, and his knack stronger, Alvin feels a burden to use his power to protect those near him and for the good of all - and to face an ominous universal force of destruction known as the Unmaker.

The series itself follows Alvin as he realizes the bounds of his powers, and interacts with a diverse and fascinating group of characters, some fictional, and some historical (albeit most are different), boasting a cast that includes the traveler Taleswapper, the brother chieftains Ta-Kumsaw and Tenskwa-Tawa, Quebecois generals Napoleon Bonaparte and Marquis De La Fayette, river man and rogue Mike Fink, and even King Arthur Stuart of the Crown Colonies. Real, fictional or altered, all are fascinating to follow and watch grow before your eyes, and make the story of Alvin all the better.

Of course, the way Card shaped his magical and divided America is worth reading the series for in its own right. The world diverged from our own starting with the English Civil War, with Cromwell and the Commonwealth remaining in control of the British Isles until the present, as well as retaining control over a still Puritan New England currently governed by an aging John Adams. Having never returned to the throne in London, the Stuarts set up a Kingdom-in-Exile in the Southern Crown Colonies, with their seat of power in Camelot. Not wanting to see his native Pennsylvania caught in the crossfire of a colonial civil war, Ben Franklin declares the independence of the United States under the American Compact whose seven initial states includes Pennsylvania, New Sweden, New Netherland and even the Irrakwa, and during the course of the series, integrates Appalachee, a nation forged by Thomas Jefferson and other Republican-leaning citizens of the Crown Colonies who fled to live among the Cherriky. The French still control Quebec and Canada, the Spaniards have Florida and a region surrounding Nueva Barcelona, and the entire continent stands on the brink of a war that will likely shift the balance of power entirely. The maps are worth pouring over for hours, for the obvious and subtle details changed, and the reasons why gradually given over the story make for fascinating world building, as does the way they divide the magic between races and cultures, the Europeans knacks pulled from folklore, the Native Americans typing theirs to nature or blood rites, and the African slaves channeling their skills into objects of power. Altogether, it makes for a world unlike nearly any other I've seen in alternate history, fantasy or any genre.

Needless to say, the series is a must for fans of card, AH, fantasy or just great world building and characterization. The series is among one of my all-time personal favorites, and was one of the works that got me into alternate history, and is a great example of how to do it right and very creatively, to say nothing of providing a gem of a Balkanized America scenario. The series is currently six books long and awaiting its seventh, and final book, due out in the next couple years. Needless to say, I recommend you pick this series up before then, and when the final book comes out, you'll be the first to here about it here. Until then, may your knacks stay sharp and your hexes honed, and may the Maker be with you until we meet again.

Soldier, scholar, writer and web-voyeur, Sean CW Korsgaard has been active in the alternate history community since 2006, and was recently elected to succeed Mitro as President of the Alternate History Online Facebook group. In addition to his contributions at the Alternate History Weekly Update, he writes for several websites, including his own, which can be found here.

Review: "The End of Texas" by Juan Batista

2012-02-24T11:00:00.000-06:00

Grade: F

The End of Texas by Juan Batista is 175-page e-book that is more counterfactual essay than alternate history. Originally it cost $9.99, but complaints on Alternate History Online caused Batista to decrease the price to $4.99. The cost is still too high considering that this novel embodies many of the flaws inherent in self-published works of alternate history.

Following a long introduction where Batista presents a revisionist history of Texas, Batista discusses a scenario where Governor Rick Perry's infamous 2009 pro-secession speech is slightly modified. The alternate speech inspires the Texas independence movement, largely made up of violent militia types, to push through a vote for secession on the next ballot. In response, a counter-secession movement grows among the liberal and Mexican regions of Texas that take advantage of a loop hole in the Joint Resolution for Annexing Texas to the United States to form new states from Texas. Perry, thinking he has nothing to fear, allows them to hold their conventions and watches in horror as the new liberal states emerge and change the outcome of the health care debate.

Adelsverein was a planned, but failed, state.in the novel.

Batista's message is clear: conservatives are ruining Texas and it is in liberal Texans best interest to get out. The problem, however, is that the message is spelled out early on in the overly-long introduction instead of allowing the plot to make that message clear. The rest of the novel tries to have a Greenfield-esque format, with dialogue shuffled with news clippings and speeches, but at times degenerates into a liberal rant full of info dumps. Batista overuses words like "racist" and "bigot" to describe the new states' opponents and historical Texans, but does not use the terms fairly. For example, at one point he brushes off criticism of Chicano nationalist groups being racist in their ideology by saying that being Mexican is not a race, yet uses the term "racist" to describe those who direct hate speech at Mexicans.

Batista makes a lot of generalized statements about Texan and American culture, without always backing them up with sources. As an attorney, I also noticed that he misunderstood American law, including the constitutional right of travel and the supremacy of federal drug laws. Probably the worst offense, however, is what happens after the new states come into being. The new state governments each pass a liberal agenda and evolve into better places than the one they left. This seems to much like utopianism to be a plausible alternate history. In many ways The End of Texas is the liberal version of Ball's New Frontier. In this case it is the liberal who have the right of way and the conservatives who are ruining America. In reality both novels are wrong, history rarely offers a simple solution to our problems.

If I can say one thing good about The End of Texas it is that Batista points out a major misconception that authors wanting to write a balkanized North America should take notice of. An individual American state is rarely homogeneous and if you do write a timeline where America breaks into different pieces, remember to do your research on the cultures that reside within your new nation. That fact, however, is not enough for me to recommend this novel.

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Mitro is founder, editor and contributor of Alternate History Weekly Update. When he is not busy writing about his passion for alternate history, he spends his time working as a licensed attorney in the state of Illinois and dreams of being a published author himself one day.

Interview: Carole Scott

2012-02-23T11:00:00.010-06:00

I now present to you dear readers my interview with Carole Scot, author of Clopton's Short History of the Confederate States of America. Enjoy:

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

I am an academic economist and journalist with long experience in both. Economic and business history--particularly of the South--is one of my professional interests.

What got you interested in alternate history?

I have been interested in science fiction and history since long ago when I was a child. I have read extensively in both fields. I published a story in Analog Science Fiction in 1966. I was detoured from further pursuing this kind of career by deciding to become an academic economist engaged in journalism on the side. I am a big fan of Harry Turtledove and Asimov.

What was your story in Analog about?

A terminally ill man decides to commit suicide. Just before he pulls the trigger of a shotgun, he finds out that he is a character in a play who didn't know he was not living in the real world. (This was decades before a movie based on people living in a non-real world was made. I forget its name.)

What is your novel Clopton’s Short History of the Confederate States of America about?

It presents a hypothesized point of view of Confederate historians who lived from 1861 to 1925 in an alternative world radically different from the real world. Both the historians' point of view and the events in the story that didn't really happen are based on my many decades of reading about real people and real events from colonial days to beyond 1925. Neither the views nor imaginary events are, I think, unreasonable. The inclusion of sketches of real people in an appendix--most of who are not mentioned in the story--is to provide evidence of the reasonableness of the imaginary historians’ views and the nature of the alternative world they live in after 1860. (These sketches are largely limited to aspects of these people's lives and views that support the events and actions I made up.) There are no fictional characters in the story.

My story is different from all the counter-factual stories I have read because all the variances from reality are not the result of one, initial change. I did this because it enabled me to follow the ramifications of several initial changes. I do not consider this unreasonable, as no one thing is more likely to have not happened than any other. (The cigars wrapped in Confederate orders are no more likely not to have been found than Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston was not to have been killed early in the war. If an aide had insisted that something be done to stop the bleeding from his wound, he would have survived. ) I anticipated that my story would most appeal to people interested in and knowledgeable about the War and its causes. The story has some of what I guess can be best called “inside jokes”. I let the chips fall where they logically should. Some aspects of the story would be very unpopular with unreconstructed Rebels. Others would infuriate those indoctrinated in Yankee doctrine. This, I thought, would make it difficult to find a publisher, but I wanted to write what I wanted to.

Is it because you have more than one historian “contributing” to this imaginary history that there are different writing styles throughout the book?

If you will compare the foreword to the rest of the book—the first foreword; not the two phony ones to the original and revised copy of the counterfactual textbook—you will see that the style is different. I am pretty familiar with how people wrote in the past, and I wrote the counter factual story in a style similar to what people in the past would have used. The most obvious example of this is a statement like “at the North”. That’s the way they used to write. Obviously, styles changed over the period from 1861 to 1925. Since the imaginary author Clopton was born before 1861, and the pseudo me worked on the textbook before 1930, in the early chapters I included some characteristics of an 1860s style.

What inspired you to write the novel?

It originated from off and on discussions I had with two history majors very interested in and knowledgeable about the War Between the States and the events that led to it. We disagreed about the likelihood that the South could have won and how this could have happened. I wrote a short story in which the South won and gave a copy to each of them. I also put a subsequent, later version on the Web that I changed a little over the years.

What sources did you use when researching for the novel?

A very large number of books and articles I read over several decades before and while I was writing this story, which I worked on periodically for over 20 years, and extensive recent research on the Internet.

How did you come up with the title?

In going over the family tree I found the name Clopton. A member of this family was in the Confederate Congress. I thought it an odd-sounding and, therefore, attention getting name. I’d decided to have the imaginary textbook authored by an imaginary professor that I had to give some name to. If he was famous, his name might be in the title. I included 1861 to 1825 in the title so people would know it was what’s called a counter factual or alternative history.

Who designed the cover?

I designed the cover with a little advice from an Amazon employee. I am entirely responsible for the imaginary Confederate flag. (The flag had to be changed because I added to the states that left the Union.)

What would the history of your Confederacy be from 1925 to the present?

CSA would have fought in World War II. The different situation I created in regard to World War I would have prevented war from having broken out in Europe, as I think the way World War I ended made another war in Europe inevitable. It there had been war in Europe, the CSA might have sat it out like Switzerland, Sweden, and Ireland. If, as would not be unreasonable, the US locked horns earlier with Great Britain by trying to or actually taking over some or part of Canada, neither might have gotten involved in a war in Europe. However, the US was likely to have fought with Japan over control of the Pacific.

How long do you think slavery would have lasted in your CSA?

When the story ended in 1925 it was being phased out. There's no way it would have persisted in the continental CSA into the 1930s. I think it would have persisted for a good while in Cuba, where there likely would have been a slave rebellion. (Remember that in my story the CSA took over Cuba.)

Rarely do you see alternate Civil War stories presented from an economic perspective, even in more scholarly counterfactual essays. Why do you think the economic side of that history is ignored?

Very few people know much about economics, and it is rare for those who do not to find economics interesting; so very few people realize that it was the root of the conflict between the North and the South. I don't know what is being taught today in school and college history courses, but the role of economics was barely mentioned in the history courses I took at the undergraduate level, including a course entitled Civil War and Reconstruction taught by a history professor, who otherwise was quite good. After deciding to major in economics and make economic history one of my Ph.D. fields my eyes were opened to this root cause based on my own thinking and increasingly other economic historians'. Incidentally, despite the almost complete absence of economic analysis in my classes and the books I read when I was very young, I recognized that economics was important. So, my interest in history led to my interest in economics and me becoming an economist. One reason most of the historical articles I have written have appeared in history journals and magazines is that I'm trying to make historians aware of the importance of economics in understanding history. Historians in recent decades have become much more concerned with the role of economics. My interest in history extends beyond economics, and I have written articles in which economics plays no role.

Do you have any other projects you are working on?

I've just completed a real history article--who knows if I'll get it published--and am considering another real history article. The first is just about the Civil War. The war will play a minor role in the possible article. In the past I have published in academic journals and non-academic magazines in history--both Civil War and non-Civil-War subjects--and published a short history of the radio and TV industry in one of a series of books on the history of all major American industries. I have published a textbook in personal finance. Clopton's is the only thing I have ever self published. I was doubtful of getting it accepted for publication and was unwilling to go through what I was sure would be a long and difficult time to possibly getting it accepted. I treated myself by assuring I’d see it in print. Furthermore, I liked completely controlling the book. (I had a lot of bad experiences as a result of not having complete control when I published a textbook.)

Do you have any alternate history ideas in the works?

I would like to do another alternative history, but every alternative that interests me has already been done—some more than once. Of course, the one I’ve done, has been done before—the South gains its independence—but mine is distinctively different from any of the others that I am aware of. I have yet to come up with a distinctly different way to address an alternative that others have already been dealt with. By relying on time travel, Turtledove came up with a new way for the South to win the war via being able to manufacture and use AK-47s—a comparatively simple to make modern gun.

What are you reading now?

Mainly non-fiction concerning economics and political philosophies--the only recent fiction is a Michael Crichton novel I'd missed.

Any advice for would be authors?

Don't start unless you are sure you can deal with rejection, some of which will be unreasonable. Spend as much time writing as you can while most likely having to all your life spending enough time doing other things to support yourself.

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For those interested in learning more about Carole Scott's work, check out my review of Clopton's Short History of the Confederate States of America.

Airship Update #9

2012-02-22T11:00:00.032-06:00

Some technical problems stopped me from posting yesterday, but that will not stop the airships from soaring (or maybe not). Now more wonderful news from those whales of the skies...

A new generation of British-built airships may be bought by the Royal Navy to resupply ships, follwoing their use by the US Army on the front line in Afghanistan. The Ministry of Defense, however, denies having any plans for purchasing military airships.

Solar Ship proposes a new solar hybrid airship that could be the key to green travel in the Great White North.

The newest arrival in the National Air and Space Museum’s inventory of historic aircraft is the C-49 airship control car...

Links in the Air

Comedy inspired by 'flying Titanic' at This is Nottingham.

Issue 174 of the Airship Journal is now available

M1400 Airship Hardware-In-The-Loop Simulator (HILSim) at MAV6.

The U.S.S. Macon's fateful flight by Andy Stiny at The Californian.\

World Surveillance Group Chairman and CEO Outline Strategic 2012 Goals Following Recent $5.5 Million Investment at Market Watch.

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Weekly Update #42

2012-02-20T11:00:00.029-06:00

Editor's Note

Got our first reader from Bolivia. Welcome!

Going to be writing less than usual on Weekly Update in the coming weeks. You will find out why below.

And now the news...

Coming Soon: Once Upon a Clockwork Tale

Echelon Press has announced the authors participating in the upcoming Steampunk anthology, Once Upon a Clockwork Tale. The 2013 anthology will feature four authors/stories that effectively retell a specific traditional fairy tale set into a solid Steampunk theme. This anthology will be published in both print and electronic formats. The authors and stories (with their fairy tale in parentheses) are as follows:

Ella Grey: Wings (The Wild Swans)
Kat French: Bitter Cold (The Snow Queen)
Matthew N. Mitrovich: The Enchanted Bean (Jack and the Beanstalk)
Robin Wyatt Dunn: John and Pearl (Hansel and Gretel)

You read that right. I will be one of the authors showcased in Once Upon a Clockwork Tale. I promise to keep you updated on the progress of the anthology and I hope you all get a chance to read it.

Want to Write Alternate History?

Want to be a published author? Well you should read the 10 Worst Mistakes That Authors of Alternate History Make (plus one) over at io9. Turtledove, Stirling, Priest and others give advice about the common mistakes alternate historians make when writing fiction (including some of their own mistakes). A must read for anyone who wants to be a published author.

After reading that, why not try submitting your short story to Lightspeed Magazine. They have a new submission form in place and are waiting to hear from you. Or you could try being an editor. Ideomancer, a speculative fiction and poetry magazine, is looking for two new junior editors.

As always, good luck.

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

Did Philip K Dick Dream of Electric Sheep? at Fabulous Realms.

Genre Identified #1: The Subgenre of Alternate History by Joyce Alton at Yesternight's Voyage.

Interviews

The Big Idea: Matt Ruff at John Scalzi's Whatever.

Books

An Alternate history of Frank Reade by Claude Lalumiere at The Montreal Gazette.

King's Book - 11/22/63 and the problem with conspiracy theories by Blaine Pardoe at Notes From the Bunker.

Love Among the Stars by Rebecca Buchanan at Sequential Tart.

Reviews... by Bobby Hardenbrook at Shattered World.

Online Alternate History

Alternate History on Google+, administered by Tyler Bugg.

History Alternate Discussion Board: A place for Historical WI discussion

Video Games

In an alternate reality, video games changed world history by Samir Torres at Bit Mob.

RPGs

The Emberverse – an RPG Background by zadokofpavis at Alternaties Corporation.

Comics

#56 Alternate History and Monkeying with Memory: Mark Millar’s Superman: Red Son by Craphixia.

Review: Moriarty Vol. 1 by Daniel Corey and Anthony Diecidue done by Sarah Boslaugh.

Shadowlaw: Action and Alternate History Melded Seamlessly by Corrina Lawson at Geek Dad.

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Review - Young Adolf. An Alternate History

2012-02-17T11:00:00.003-06:00

Review - Young Adolf. An Alternate History

Grade: B-

"Young Adolf as you have never seen him before…
Experience Adolf Hitler's childhood in striking detail. Witness his ordeals, from the rigors of his schooling to beatings by his father. Factual accounts are interspersed with fictional inventions, such as his relationship with a hypothetical girl named Helga. Can young Adolf conquer the personal barriers his difficult childhood presented and become close with her emotionally? How will that change him?
Learn more about Adolf the boy. Experience the molding of his dreams, his predjudices, and his desires in visceral detail. Come to understand the inner-workings of History's most infamous megalomaniac through the perspective of a child's eyes. Follow Adolf from birth to his late teenage years. Know the boy before he was the world's most feared man. Decide for yourself if Helga's influence might have altered the course of History."

This is how Frank P. Daversa and Joseph V. Franciosa, Jr. describe their collaborative effort, an alternate history biography of the youth and teenage years of Adolf Hitler. With roughly 120,000 words on 410 pages the authors describe in rich detail the family life and upbringing of the man who would later become the most infamous dictator of history. I'm no expert on Hitler and therefore can only with reservation judge which parts are fictional and which are factual, but to the best of my knowledge the book clings comparably close to the actual Hitler. Daversa and Franciosa dip into the hypothetical where blank spots remain to find reasonable explanations for attitudes and behaviors the real man would later show in his life, drawing a very real picture of how a teenage Hitler may have been: shy, yet forceful, passionate yet reserved, loving and caring yet full of loathing, physically weak yet able of staggering violence when pushed.

The point where the authors really divert from the historical Hitler is the invention of a love interest called Helga. First interested in her sister, their romance takes time to evolve, and is actually really well done in the book. Here, Hitler the dreamer, the soft-hearted, wins the upperhand over his inner demons, if ever so slightly. Still, in the end their love is doomed, but having fully experienced it leaves the young Hitler a different man.

"Young Adolf" leaves me with conflicted feelings. On the one hand, as the first part of my review should have suggested, it's a genuinely well-written and researched novel that offers the reader a window into Hitler's evolving mind and into the society and family that formed him. And for what it's worth, you get exactly what the book promises. And yet, after it put it aside I felt a somewhat uncouth question rise to foreground of my mind: so what?

It takes the book close to half its length to get to its POD. After that, it spends its time on courtship, on Adolf's family and friends, on his own desires and problems - but aside from the courtship angle, those others don't really seem be significantly affected. When all is said and done, his personality emerges (at least superficially, since we only get a sparse outlook after the climax) more reflective of his own shortcomings and vices.

I know that the novel took this line as its premise:

"Decide for yourself if Helga's influence might have altered the course of History."

As such, I can't really fault the authors for any lack of enthusiasm on my part. Nonetheless, as a reviewer I'm obliged to present my honest opinion of a book. In this case that would be as follows:

Young Adolf. An Alternate History is a well crafted and informative novel, but I suppose it just was not my cup of tea. I believe that as an alternate history novel it may have worked better for me if the authors had condensed the first 120 pages and offered a more definitive view on the changed Adolf's immediate future, maybe up till right after the Great War. All in all, I can still recommend Young Adolf. An Alternate History. It does offer insight into Hitler's personality and his formative years, and the Kindle edition is available for less than $5 at the moment. Give it a shot when you have the time.

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War Blogger is the Internet handle of Sebastian P. Breit, author of the alternate history novel Wolf Hunt. You can find news, reviews, and commentary on all matters regarding WW2 on his blog, The War Blog, and follow his writing progress on his personal website.

Review: "Clopton's Short History of the Confederate States of America 1861-1925" by Carole Scott

2012-02-16T11:00:00.004-06:00

Grade: B-

My favorite history professor once said that every historian's bias is apparent in their writing. This bias is usually shaped by the culture they grew up in, among other factors. Thus an American from one of the northern states might write a history of the American Civil War and end up demonizing the Confederacy, even if he had no intent whatsoever to do so when he started writing. Bias is often written into works unintentionally and even a good author has difficulty finding and removing it. What if that historian, however, came from the Confederate States of America?

Clopton's History of the Confederate States of America, 1861 - 1925 by Carole Elizabeth Scott is a textbook alternate history written by a fictional Confederate historian and an alternate version of Scott in a world where the Confederacy won the American Civil War (or Second Revolutionary War as it is called in this ATL). Major changes included the early death of president-elect Lincoln and Howell Cobb becoming President of the CSA.

This book provided an excellent example of how history professors have biases that can shape how the history is presented. The story successfully demonstrates the likely difference between how a victorious Confederate historian would have viewed events and the Confederate practice of slavery. At times I found myself wanting to go on the Internet and attack the fictional Clopton's theories on slavery. If slavery was preferable to wage labor in the North, why did the South need a Fugitive Slave Act? I had to stop myself, however, and remember the point of the novel. Clopton is biased and to truly grasp the history of this alternate Confederacy you have to read between the lines.

I wish I could have given this novel a better review, but there were some major flaws that prevented me. First, there were the usual grammar-errors found in self-published works, including a weird habit of using periods when commas were appropriate (and vice-versa). Then there is the fact that you can only get Clopton's Short History in paperback form. That might not be so bad, unless you consider the actual amount of allohistorical content available. Close to half of the book is made up of short OTL bios of the many historical persons mentioned throughout the novel. In an age where I have access to vast amount of historical data from my cell phone, having such a large appendix of OTL information is unnecessary.

Clopton's Short History is a well research and written novel of the Confederacy that has a unique take on the genre. I still recommend the novel, despite some of its flaws, though I hope to see it in e-book form soon.

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Showcase: America the Fallen

2012-02-15T00:01:00.002-06:00

Happy Balkanized America month my dear readers!

Given my levels of patriotism that, on occasion, reaches near religious levels of devotion, my love of Balkanized America scenarios may seem a bit odd. While it may seem a tad hypocritical, getting to enjoy colorful and creative worlds and histories without actually having to live in them is one of the great boons of AH - why not enjoy it?

Of course, given the popularity of the trope, the large number of works featuring the shattering of the Union is hardly surprising, nor is the AHWU’s decision to dedicate a month toward examining such tropes. The variety of tales and timelines are nearly as diverse as the ways the Balkanization is achieved, and I will showcase a number of my personal favorites this month, beginning with IchBinDieKaiser’s timeline, America the Fallen.

Like a number of Balkanized America stories, it chooses to smash the United States to pieces at it’s fragile foundation. This ‘strangled-in-the-cradle’ approach typically involves the redcoats trouncing the rebels in the American revolution or avenging their defeat in 1812, but America the Fallen takes a different, and more plausible approach.

The fall of the Union begins with the attendees of the Constitutional Convention altered just slightly. George Washington chooses not to not attend as he is content to stay out of the public eye, Ben Franklin doesn’t attend due to ill health, and on the flip side, Patrick Henry does attend. The results of two of the cooler headed founding fathers absent from the convention, and the presence of one of the biggest Anti-Federalist firebrands comes with predictable results. The delegates fail to pass even a watered down version of the Constitution, allowing for the USA to remain in limbo under the Articles of Confederation.

This state of affairs would not persist long. Despite the best efforts of George Washington to preserve the union, it would not long outlive him upon his death from disease in 1789. Tensions between the states reach the breaking point, with the powder keg set alight by Virginia declaring it’s independence, and winning it on the battlefield. The peace treaty would serve as the nation’s death certificate, with the states south of the Mason-Dixon line all declaring their independence, and after a number of border conflicts, New York and Pennsylvania secede, leaving the Union reduced to what we know as New England.

As the dust settled, new nations formed from the bones of the old United States. Chief among them is the Commonwealth of Virginia, the most powerful and populous of these nations. Spanning from the Chesapeake Bay to the Mississippi River, with ambitions over the OTL Northwest Territory and Maryland/Delaware, it’s system of checks and balances and a three branched government would be familiar to most Americans, with the current leader Chief Executive Patrick Henry. To its south, you have the Carolina Confederation, which also includes OTL Tennessee, a plantation-based nation under the strong guiding hands of President Charles Pinckney, and to its south, a very British-influenced Georgia under Prime Minister William Few. In the North, you have a very centralized Maryland under President John Eager Howard that has just conquered Delaware and is contemplating Union with Virginia. A parliamentary republic has formed in Pennsylvania, with Chancellor William Bingham and President Thomas Mifflin overseeing Pennsylvania settling OTL Ohio and, along with New Jersey, find it’s place as the middleman between these nations. To the Northeast, after a number of wars, the region looks like it will either unify under the nationalist New York under Governor George Clinton or the remnant United States under John Adams.
Outside the former USA, changes happen as well. In France, Louis-Charles has succeeded Napoleon as King Louis XVII, having bold plans for his nation even after it’s defeat in his predecessors wars. During the Napoleonic Wars, Louisiana gained it’s independence as a Constitutional Monarchy, with Louis XVII choosing his uncle Charles Philippe to rule it, and he was crowned Emperor Charles I of Louisiana. Similarly, Spain’s new world colonies would be split between Charles IV of Spain’s youngest son Francisco de Paula, Emperor of the Mexican Empire, and Charles’ oldest son Ferdinand ruler of the Kingdom of Antilles (Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Hispaniola). As you can tell, the world is shaping up quite richly, and IchBinDieKaiser hints that the future will see a host of other nations rise and fall in North America and elsewhere, as well as interesting events including Karl Marx playing revolutionary in a heavily German Texas, civil wars regularly shifting the borders of the southwest and Mexico between various peoples and factions, and a Native American nation rising in the north under a leader hinted to be Tecumseh.

The one downside to this vivid and magnificent TL is it updates rarely, mainly due to IchBinDieKaiser developing some of his other timelines. Nonetheless, he has crafted a creative host of nations that is fully enrapturing, resulting in a unique and fascinating Balkanized America scenario I hope he comes back to soon. Until then, I urge you to get acquainted with both versions of America the Fallen, both the original and the reboot. Until then, Sic Semper Tyrannis!

Soldier, scholar, writer and web-voyeur, Sean CW Korsgaard has been active in the alternate history community since 2006, and was recently elected to succeed Mitro as President of the Alternate History Online Facebook group. In addition to his contributions at the Alternate History Weekly Update, he writes for several websites, including his own, which can be found here.

DD Date 1984.02.14

2012-02-14T22:01:00.004-06:00

February 14, 1984

Back in October we were worried about "nuclear winter" freezing us to death, but the mild winter so far has caused problems we did not foresee! The cold of the winter here in the upstate of South Carolina usually keeps down pests -- like insects and mice. But with practically NO cold weather the pests are over-running our house! It does not help having a wooded area with standing water just a stone's throw from the back porch.

Long story short, the bugs carry "bugs" -- we all got sick! I'd say if we did not have connections with the hospital we may not have survived. Debbie's job provided the support we needed to get clean water and food. I guess I could say we just got careless. Even with running water, we didn't always wash properly. The food get from the distribution center has to be eaten as soon as the cans and boxes are opened because we have no refrigeration.

Little Rebecca got sick first, and since I was with her more those first days (it was in the middle of the week when Debbie was working her twelve-hour shifts), I had to clean up after her puke and diarrhea! It spread to the boys, and even to Debbie. About that time, to make matters worse, I lost my job as I feared might happen. Debbie tried to pick up a few more hours but then she was out sick as well. Finally, on February 2nd, we moved as a family into adjoining rooms at the hospital!

The support we had from the church and from Debbie's work was great. But there were times when I had fevers so high that I was seeing things. Drugs have already become scarce so the most they could do for us was keep us comfortable and have us drink plenty of water to replace what we were losing.

Friends from church moved our stuff to the new house, but I had someone drive me over to see Nanny after we were released from the hospital. Thankfully, Nanny was healthy. She shared with us some herbal remedies a friend of hers recommended. Even the doctors at the hospital are beginning to use natural medicines whenever they can. Most of them are realistic about the current situation and know that out of state suppliers are out of the question for quite some time.

Oh yeah, I just noticed that today is Valentine's Day. Funny, but I don't think many folk were celebrating today. Those that were gave hand-made cards and flowers from the back yard -- yeah, in February? Mostly weeds! Candy was homemade as well -- mostly cookies made from cornmeal and honey since the sugar supplies are gone. I guess the Christmas treats used up most of the sugar on hand.

Well, I'm still weak, and some of those herbs I'm taking are making me drowsy! Well, it's getting dark anyway. I'm going to bed early.

Previous Entry: DD Date 1984.01.25

Multiverse Profile: New England

2012-02-14T11:00:00.020-06:00

New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States and a common actor in many balkanized North America timelines. It usually consists of the six states known in OTL as Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The area is known for being the home of the Pilgrims, a religious community from England who formed the Plymouth Colony in 1620 to avoid religious persecution. They were followed ten years later by the Puritans settled north of Plymouth Colony in Boston, thus forming Massachusetts Bay Colony. It was these English settlers who gave the region its name and the foundation for it's culture.

Though it might be hard to believe, the region has a long history of rebellion and secession. In the late 18th century, the New England Colonies initiated the resistance to the British Parliament's efforts to impose new taxes without the consent of the colonists. The Boston Tea Party was a protest that angered Great Britain, which responded with the "Intolerable Acts", stripping the colonies of self-government. The confrontation led to open warfare in 1775, the expulsion of the British from New England in spring 1776, and the Declaration of Independence in July 1776.

It is here we must consider what would have happened to the region if the Americans lost their war for independence or if the war was avoided all together. J.C.D. Clark speculated in his short essay "British America: What if there had been no American Revolution?" that the Revolution could have been avoided if the British allowed the colonies to have their own Parliament and continued the Dominion of New England. This Dominion could have come to dominate the entire British North America, making it more an alternate version of the United States than an independent New England. For those interested in a New England that won its independence from the British without the help of the other colonies, you should check out The Alteration by Kingsley Amis, where New England is a lone protestant state in a world dominated by the Roman Catholic church.

After the success of the American Revolution, the region experienced the Shays' Rebellion, an armed uprising that took place in central and western Massachusetts from 1786 to 1787. The rebellion was named after Daniel Shays, a veteran of the American Revolutionary War. The rebellion started on August 21, 1786, over financial difficulties and by January 1787, over one thousand Shaysites had been arrested. A militia that had been raised as a private army defeated an attack on the federal Springfield Armory by the main Shaysite force on February 3, 1787, and five rebels were killed in the action.

The rebellion energized calls to reevaluate the Articles of Confederation, which were eventually disbanded and replaced by the current United States Constitution. Yet even here a New Englander could have thrown a monkey wrench into the plans for a stronger Union. In William H. Riker's short story "What If Elbridge Gerry Had Been More Rational and Less Patriotic?", Massachusetts delegate Gerry votes against the proposal, causing the entire convention to collapse, the United States to balkanize and a war to break out between New England and New York over Vermont (which at the time was an independent republic). The Constitution, however, was adopted and bloodshed between the states was avoided.

Even the Constitution did not stop the calls for secession and independence. From 1814-1815, New England politicians opposed the War of 1812 met at the Hartford Convention to air grievances concerning the war and the political problems arising from the domination of the Federal Government by Presidents from Virginia. Despite many outcries in the Federalist press for New England secession and a separate peace with Great Britain, moderates dominated the Convention and such a proposal was never adopted. There is an online timeline called Decades of Darkness by Jared where New England secedes even earlier then the Hartford Convention after President Jefferson dies earlier and his successor continues the Embargo Act. This eventually leads to a world that looks something like this:

The World of Decades of Darkness in 1935.

Following the War of 1812, New England had increased tensions with the southern states and saw themselves as the victims of a slaveholders’ conspiracy. These tensions arose throughout the 1830s and 1840s due to the Texas Annexation, the Mexican–American War and the expansion of slavery. Anti-slavery proponents began voicing the idea of separation from the South. In the May 1844 edition of The Liberator, William Lloyd Garrison wrote the "Address to the Friends of Freedom and Emancipation in the United States." Garrison wrote that the Constitution had been created “at the expense of the colored population of the country”. With southerners continuing to dominate the nation because of the Three-fifths compromise, it was time “to set the captive free by the potency of truth” and “secede from the government. On the same day that this issue was published, the New England Anti-Slavery Convention endorsed the principles of disunion from slaveholders by a vote of 250–24.

In fact there are several stories featuring a "mirror" American Civil War where New England secedes instead of the South. In "How the South Preserved the Union" by Ralph Roberts in the anthology Alternate Presidents, David Rice Atchison takes office when both Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore are killed in a carriage accident. In the story, New England secedes, then attempts to overthrow the Washington government. In the end, Atchison orders all slaves freed and armed and New England fails. In the same anthology we also find "Now Falls the Cold, Cold Night". In the that story, Millard Fillmore is elected as the Know Nothing party candidate in 1856, resulting in ethnic tensions in New England over the fugitive slave laws. John C. Fremont becomes President of the New England Confederacy with William T. Sherman as his commanding general, opposed by the Army of the United States under Robert E. Lee.

Today there are very few major movements that wish to secede from the United States. Nevertheless, the region remains a unique part of America with a long history of rebellion. Alternate historians will never fail to find inspiration for a new nation in their balkanized North America if they take a look at the history of New England.

* * *

Weekly Update #41

2012-02-13T11:00:00.022-06:00

Editor's Note

Not much to report other then we got our first reader from Taiwan. Welcome!

And now the news...

Gingrich Writes More Alternate History on Wikipedia

So the results are in for whether our readers could recommend any of Newt Gingrich's alternate history. 35% of you said you could not recommend them and 30% of you did not even know Gingrich wrote alternate history. On the positive side, 20% of you said you could recommend some of them and 15% said you could recommend all of them.

For those interested in reading more works of alternate history by Newt Gingrich, you should check out his Wikipedia page. Newt Gingrich's communications director has been criticized by editors on Wikipedia for dozens of edits he has made and requested in defense of his candidate. This kind of behavior is not unknown to Wikipedia. Even a member of Vice President Joe Biden's staff was caught once editing his boss' Wikipedia page.

This just goes to show you that you can get a fancy title and earn a salary just because someone is wrong on the Internet.

New Book: Mirage by Matt Ruff

A new alternate history novel has hit the mainstream media. It is called The Mirage by Matt Ruff and below is the product description from Amazon:

A mind-bending novel in which an alternate history of 9/11 and its aftermath uncovers startling truths about America and the Middle East.

11/9/2001: Christian fundamentalists hijack four jetliners. They fly two into the Tigris & Euphrates World Trade Towers in Baghdad, and a third into the Arab Defense Ministry in Riyadh. The fourth plane, believed to be bound for Mecca, is brought down by its passengers.

The United Arab States declares a War on Terror. Arabian and Persian troops invade the Eastern Seaboard and establish a Green Zone in Washington, D.C. . . .

Summer, 2009: Arab Homeland Security agent Mustafa al Baghdadi interrogates a captured suicide bomber. The prisoner claims that the world they are living in is a mirage—in the real world, America is a superpower, and the Arab states are just a collection of "backward third-world countries." A search of the bomber's apartment turns up a copy of The New York Times, dated September 12, 2001, that appears to support his claim. Other captured terrorists have been telling the same story. The president wants answers, but Mustafa soon discovers he's not the only interested party.

The gangster Saddam Hussein is conducting his own investigation. And the head of the Senate Intelligence Committee—a war hero named Osama bin Laden—will stop at nothing to hide the truth. As Mustafa and his colleagues venture deeper into the unsettling world of terrorism, politics, and espionage, they are confronted with questions without any rational answers, and the terrifying possibility that their world is not what it seems.

Acclaimed novelist Matt Ruff has created a shadow world that is eerily recognizable but, at the same time, almost unimaginable. Gripping, subversive, and unexpectedly moving, The Mirage probes our deepest convictions and most arresting fears.

Early reviews of the book are positive. Cory Doctorow from BoingBoing said: This is one of those books that you read while walking down the street and long after your bedtime, a book you stop strangers to tell about. I may post a review of this novel in the near future, but in the meantime, if you would like to learn more about the author and the novel check out this interview with Ruff at CBS News.

More Shattered World e-books

The next two Shattered World ebooks by Bobby Hardenbrook (Storm in the West and Global War), covering up through part 43 of his WWII alternate history timeline, are now published on the Amazon kindle store for $.99. Those sections of the timeline are no longer available online, you will have to buy the e-books instead. The rest of the existing timeline will be released as e-books in the near future. Bobby has also stated that he will begin working on new Shattered World content as well.

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

Chrysler, Dirty Harry and the bailout by Jon Talton at The Seattle Times.

Class, cricket and the French Revolution by BBC News.

A Counterfactual Buildup by Michael Bevacqua at Marianas Variety.

Deathless prose: the vampire novel of the century by David Barnett at The Guardian.

Pastwatch Reflections: Cause, Counterfactual and Fracturing the Past by Trevor Owens at Playing the Past.

Interview

Jacqueline Carey at Gollancz Blog.

Online Alternate History

Alternate History: Super Bowl XXI by Jesse Lamovsky at The Cleveland Fan.

Books

Review of Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood done by Axie at The Figment Review.

Review of 1635: The Cannon Law by Eric Flint and Andrew Dennis done by Master of All Things at Geeky Scifi.

Review of Frank Reade: Adventures in the Age of Invention by Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett done by Ay-Leen at Tor.com.

Multiverse Profile: Texas

2012-02-10T11:00:00.011-06:00

In honor of Balkanized North America month and a new book I am about to read, I decided to do a multiverse profile on one of the more common nations found in BNA TLs: Texas. Settled originally by the Spanish until Mexico assumed control of the territory until 1836 when Texas won its independence, becoming an independent Republic. In 1845 it joined the United States as the 28th state. Texas is nicknamed the Lone Star State to signify Texas as an independent republic and as a reminder of the state's struggle for independence from Mexico. The "Lone Star" can be found on the Texas state flag and on the Texas state seal today.

Perhaps this is one of the reasons why Texas has had such a long history of rebellion in the United States. A slave state, Texas declared its secession from the United States in early 1861, joining the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. Though Texas eventually returned to the Union after the war ended, the calls for secession were never silenced. Proponents of the idea include fringe organizations like the Republic of Texas and former Republican presidential candidate and current governor of Texas, Rick Perry. In April 2009, Perry raised the issue of secession in disputed comments during a speech at a Tea Party protest saying "Texas is a unique place. When we came into the union in 1845, one of the issues was that we would be able to leave if we decided to do that...My hope is that America and Washington in particular pays attention. We've got a great union. There's absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, who knows what may come of that." Of course, Texans have a lot of odd ideas about their rights as a state.

So with that in mind, it is easy to see how Texas provides fertile ground for the imagination of an alternate historian. Ignoring the Confederated State of Texas (except for those that eventually secede from the Confederacy, like the Texas in Harry Turtledove's Timeline 191 series), alternate history is full of independent Texas nations. Roswell, Texas by L. Neil Smith and Rex F. May features a timeline where Davy Crockett survived the Alamo and Santa Anna did not. Texas would eventually become the libertarian "Federated States of Texas" rather than becoming a part of the United States. Other independent Texas nations include the one found in the short story "Soy la Libertad!" by Robert Coulson and Captain Confederacy by Will Shetterly and Vince Stone. In the later, the United States balkanized following the American Civil War. The creators were kind enough to share a map of the former United States on their blog:

So what would happen if Texas seceded again, like it did in the Family Guy episode "Back to the Pilot"? To answer that questions, perhaps I only have to read the The End of Texas by Juan Batista. Here is the plot summary:

The End of Texas is a work of alternate history showing how one governor's treason could have led to a secession movement countered by a movement of loyal patriots, ending in a shattered state. Militias launch more campaigns of assassination and bombings. Loyal Americans rise up against secession. Loyal patriots in the state, Mexican-Americans, Blacks, progressives, moderates, and non-treasonous conservatives struggle to keep much of Texas in the USA, and break away from Texas to form their own states.

A book for anyone asking the question, "How can anyone claiming to be a loyal American favor secession and treason, and what can true patriots do to stop them?"

The End of Texas is also a thorough debunking of the John Wayne image of Texas, an incisive look at the real Texas, stripped of myths. The book is a salute by a lifelong Texan to the best parts of the state. Texas, far from being a land of rednecks or rigidly fundamentalist conservative Christians, also is diverse and modernizing land, a state with one third of its people Latino, with one of the highest Muslim populations in the nation, and even a lesbian mayor of Houston. Texas is a state where one can find kosher chili and leftwing country music. It is that part of the state that must win out over its redneck past.

And for those who like maps, here is what Texas will come to look like in the story:

So stay on the lookout for my review of ryThe End of Texas and stay tuned for the next multiverse profile on an imaginary North American nation: New England!

* * *

Review: "New Frontier" by Cliff Ball

2012-02-09T11:00:00.007-06:00

Grade: F

Politics is rarely an ingredient for a good alternate history. While most authors will attempt to lessen the impact of their own political beliefs on the story, those who do not will often find that their story suffers for it. New Frontier by Cliff Ball is no exception.

The POD for this world is Robert Kennedy being convicted of murdering Marilyn Monroe. Afterwards, John Kennedy's two terms, Barry Goldwater's two terms and several prominent Democrat politicians either killed off or transformed into stereotypical liberals. Jimmy Carter is made to look like the enemy of the space program (while even NASA admits he was the least supportive president, he did contribute the message sent with the Voyager probe and was a proponent of planetary exploration) allowing Ronald Reagan to be elected President in 1976. Reagan goes on to declare that America will establish a colony on the Moon and Mars. The Soviets try to one-up him by building a nuclear-powered interstellar starship with a computer using technology stolen from a young Bill Gates (the reference to the blue screen of death was amusing) that can apparently break the light barrier.

This is where things start to become implausible. While a better-funded space program might have accomplished some of the goals that Ball described in his novel, the idea that the Soviets (whose space program was insane to begin with and did not always have the reputation for their engineering ability) could build a starship that could reach FTL speedy simply by going faster then light takes a concept that is already controversial in scientific circles and makes it seem implausible to the extreme.

Though the cover and description seem to suggest that the story will focus on the alternate space program, Ball spends an inordinate amount of time Earthside. Iran still has the hostage crisis in 1979, but Reagan handles it differently then Carter and is more successful. In this ATL, however, Osama bin Laden is working with Ayatollah Khomeini who even calls Osama his "apprentice", which makes him sound less like the religious and political leader of Iran and more like a Sith Lord. Nevertheless, this pairing is very implausible. The issues between Sunnis and Shias are well documented and Osama is on record as saying that Shia Muslims are one of the four principal "enemies of Islam" along with "heretics, [...] America, and Israel". Worse yet is America's reaction to Osama's revenge on America, which includes the mass expulsion of American citizens due to their religion, an action very out of character with America society.

The writing was poor, with too much tell and not enough show. Plot and character development was minimal, in truth the story was just a retelling of the events stemming from the original POD. What really hurt this book, however, was the author's political bias. Though S. M. Stirling would lecture me that only an idiot would take a character's viewpoint as the voice of the author, too often I felt I was being preached at instead of being told a story. While the next volume in this series might be a better, I cannot recommend New Frontier.

* * *

One Way to Divide America: Ethnicity

2012-02-08T14:16:00.000-06:00

I promised posts on the balkanized North America trope, and damn it, I am going to do it. So let us consider the one issue that makes it hard to divide America: ethnicity. One thing the United States lack are large concentrations of ethnic minorities. Below is a map of self-reported ethnic groups by county from the year 2000:

Now do not let yourself be confused by this map. The coloring each country received represents the largest single ethnic group in the country. It does not mean, however, that the group is the majority of the population. Still it could be fun to speculate what would a balkanized United States look like if it was divided along ethnic lines...

The map above was made by Ben Carnehl. Is it plausible? Probably not, though there have been ethnic-centric secessionist groups in American history like the Republic of Lakotah, the Raza Unida Party, Voz de Aztlan and the Republic of New Afrika. The map does represent the great imagination an alternate historian can possess. Do you have your own maps showing a balkanized North America? Send them to ahwupdate@gmail.com and I will post the best on this blog.

* * *

Interview: George Crall

2012-02-08T11:00:00.006-06:00

I bring you an interview with George Crall, author of Hitler Invades England. Enjoy:

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

I am a native Californian, born in 1923. I Attended Antioch College in Ohio from 1941-1943. Entered the Army in 1943 and served in the 89th Infantry Division, 314th Engineers. Entered West Point in 1945 and graduated in 1949. Was commissioned in the United States Marine Corps and served during the Korean Conflict. Retired from the Marine Corps, and later as President CF Braun & Co, a worldwide engineering and construction company. I am presently an engineering and construction consultant. I have written four books, one of which is a story about my West Point classmates, the others are personal accounts. I live in Newport Beach, California with my wife of 63 years, Muriel.

What are the titles of your 3 other novels?

Night Train From Kiev – very funny, a collection of my writings to friends and classmates. I give it a B+.

Abduction of a General – a semi-fictional account of an abduction of a United States Army General and the efforts of eight retired West Pointers to rescue him. Co-authored with another classmate, Dick Rosenblatt. I give it a C-.

The Consultant – a semi-autobiographical novel about an engineering and construction consultant. My first book, boring.

All of the above are available from Amazon. I believe Night Train is also on Kindle.

What got you interested in alternate history?

I became interested in military history at West Point, and in alternate history as I learned about the blunders that Hitler made, particularly his fantasy that he could arrive at an understanding with England.

Why do you think Hitler had this fascination with England?

Hitler’s fascination with England was his hope that, since they were “Aryans” that he could induce England to accept an accommodation with Germany. He probably felt that defeat of England was not vital to the security of the Reich. Thank God he was wrong.

What is your novel Hitler Invades England about?

Hitler Invades England is a historical novel starting before World War II. It describes England’s failure to prepare for war, Germany’s preparations for war, the invasion of the Low Countries and France, the Battle of Britain, the invasion of England, the successes and final defeat of Hitler’s navy, and how Germany’s invasion of England ultimately succeeded. Invasion actions take place at strategic beaches, ports, cities and airfields throughout England. The book finishes with the final occupation of the entire country. I researched actual historical events and modified them to show how it would have been possible for Germany to invade England, and to eliminate it as a threat to the existence of the Reich. Characters in the book include: Stauffenberg, Hitler, Goering, Speer, Rommel, von Rundstedt, Kesselring, Raeder, Doenitz, Neville Chamberlin, Winston Churchill, and other British and German soldiers, sailors, airmen and civilians. The book contains battles at sea, on land, and in the air over Britain. Battles, captures, escapes, treachery and murder are included in the action.

What inspired you to write the novel?

The recent media and public interest in Hitler.

What sources did you use when researching for the novel?

I used my personal library which includes West Point, United States Naval War College, and United States Marine Corps Staff and Command College material, the public library, and the Internet as sources of information for the novel.

How did you come up with the title?

The title was logical for the nature of the book. I also felt that recent interest in Hitler would draw attention to the book.

Who designed the cover?

I used a stock cover from Amazon Create Space.

Does Amazon have a large selection of book covers to choose from?

Yes, their large selection of covers is available as part of their Create Space program, at no charge.

Consensus among alternate historians is that stories stemming from Operation Sea Lion divergences are inherently implausible. What is your opinion about this?

Most stories stemming from Operation Sea Lion ignore the absolute necessity for Hitler to have devoted more attention and resources to the invasion of England than he is shown to have done in these stories.

If Britain was invaded as you described in your novel, how do you think the eventual war with Soviet Union would play out?

Germany would conquer enough Soviet territory to make her invulnerable. However, it is doubtful that he could have over-run the entire Soviet Union. This would be an interesting book, but I don’t have enough insight or facts to attempt it.

Do you have any other projects you are working on?

Not at present.

What are you reading now?

I read about four books a week. They are mostly military history books, with the occasional book of general interest. I am currently reading The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan. It is about the Dust Bowl tragedy in the early 1930's.

Any advice for would be authors?

Read, read, read.

Weekly Update #40.2

2012-02-07T11:00:00.037-06:00

Editor's Note

Sorry for the links-only post yesterday. I had some real life issues I had to deal with so I had to set my virtual life aside for a moment. I will try not to do it again in the future.

So we surpassed our monthly record...again! That is the fourth time in a row and our new record is 4,725 page views in a month. That accomplishment, however, pales in comparison to what a fan of Weekly Update, Tyler Bugg, wrote on our Facebook page:

Hey, I would like to thank you guys for posting that Candlemark and Gleam were looking for submissions for their Alternate History short story anthology: If it were not for you guys, I would not have noticed, and would not have gotten my story accepted by the editors to actually be published in it!

You are welcome Tyler, but more importantly, thank you. Your statement represents everything I was trying to accomplish when I started this blog last year. I wanted to keep fans of the genre better informed about the world of alternate history and you have provided evidence that I have been successful with my goal. Good luck with C&G, and I look forward to reading your short story.

Meanwhile, we got our first readers from Guam, Honduras and Jamaica. Welcome!

And now the news...

DC Announces Before Watchmen

This summer, DC Entertainment will publish all-new stories expanding on Alan Moore's Watchmen, the alternate history comic book that was also made into a movie. The seven inter-connected prequel mini-series, called Before Watchmen, will build on the foundation of the original story. Writers and artists on the project include Brian Azzarello, Lee Bermejo, Amanda Conner, Darwyn Cooke, John Higgins, Adam Hughes, J.G. Jones, Andy Kubert, Joe Kubert, Jae Lee, J. Michael Straczynski and Len Wein.

Each week, a new issue will be released, and will feature a two-page back-up story called Curse of the Crimson Corsair, written by original series editor Len Wein and with art by original series colorist John Higgins. There will also be a single issue, Before Watchmen: Epilogue, featuring the work of various writers and artists, and a Crimson Corsair story by Wein and Higgins.

Will Before Watchmen live up to the hype? Probably not. Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons are not involved in the project and Moore is firmly against it. More importantly, I have experienced first hand what a prequel series can do to a great story (if you do not believe me, go watch Star Wars: Episode I when it comes out in 3D). I could go on, but Tim Callahan makes a better argument against the series then I ever could.

Will I still read it? Probably. Though I am going to wait for it to come out in graphic novel form.

Is J. J, Abrams Ripping Off S. M. Stirling?

NBC has picked up a new drama pilot from the Star Trek director J. J. Abrams and Warner Bros. TV. The new show is called Revolution and it will be written by Supernatural creator Eric Kripke. The logline: “A high octane action drama from J. J. Abrams following a group of characters struggling to survive and reunite with loved ones in a world where all forms of energy have mysteriously ceased to exist.”

Huh...I could swear that I have seen this before...

Of course! S.M. Stirling's Emberverse series, where alien space bats change the laws of physics and thus wipe out modern civilization. So is Stirling on the phone with his lawyer? Well according to Guadalupe Lopez-Gutierrez (Kier Salmon) on the S. M. Stirling Appreciation Society:

We are discussing this... but the concept of no more power is one used in many books, Ariel, Here be dragons, and others. It's the actual characters locations and solutions that would make a copyright violation.

So it looks like the Stirling camp is in wait and see mode. Whether Revolution even classifies as alternate history also remains to be seen, but perhaps a good post-apocalyptic series is just what network television needs.

Resources to Help You Get Published

If you already have published your own steampunk story, you might be interested in submitting your previously published work to Steampunk Revolution. This new steampunk anthology is being edited by Ann VanderMeer for publication in Fall 2012. Deadline for submissions is March 1.

Not a published author yet? Well I have a few resources to share with you. Those hoping to submit a story to Dark Moon's Zombie Jesus and Other True Stories should check out this interview, which gives a writer some idea about what the editors are looking for. Meanwhile, those looking to improve their writing ability should check out these two writing seminars I found. The first is called Tweaking History: Steampunk And Other Tales Of Alternate History and it is being presented by Beth Daniels. The seminar begins Feb 13 and costs only $25 ($15 if you are a premium member of the website). The second is called Superstars Writing Seminar which will last from April 30 to May 2. Lecturers include Kevin J. Anderson (The Trinity Paradox, Alternitech) and Eric Flint (1632).

As always, good luck.

* * *

Review: The Phoenix Gambit by Douglas McDonough

2012-02-06T14:32:00.006-06:00

Guest Review by Henry Martin:

I want to thank Mitro for this opportunity to try my hand at a review. I am not well-read in this genre, being more of a writer than a reader. This is only the third alternate history book I have ever read, and one of those was a time travel novel. The first, though, was a short novel about the history of the American nations after the CSA won. This book is much better.

Henry Martin

Review of The Phoenix Gambit, by Douglas McDonough
B+

This is a story of two civil wars, taking what was the best of one and the worst of the other and merging them into a story that has a predictable ending.

Douglas McDonough shows a good knowledge of both the dynamics of the Mexican war for independence and the personalities involved. The descriptions of the terrain in northern Mexico are excellent and the human suffering -- be it thirst or blisters -- bring the action to life.

Once one gets past the improbability of the point of departure, the book flows well, preparing the reader for the sequel. A bit of implausibility near the end does not detract from an excellent war story that ends with the hero with his honor intact.

The unusual twist to this overworked theme sets this alternate history apart. Though I am not widely read in this genre, I give this story a B+ as just plain good literature.

Weekly Update #40.1

2012-02-06T09:38:00.000-06:00

Editor's Note

Due to some real life issues, I will be unable to provide you with your usual Weekly Update post this week. Do not worry, I will have Weekly Update #40.2 up eventually with the usual important news stories. In the meantime, here are some links to enjoy.

Links to the Multiverse

Interview

Paul Di Filippo done by The SF Site.

Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett done by CBR.

Books

Review of Boneshaker by Cherie Priest done by Best Fantasy Stories.

Review of The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges done by Books are Wonderful.

Review of The Mirage by Matt Ruff done by Charlie Jane Anders at io9.

Online Alternate History

Crew of the AnnaBella at Indie Gogo.

Tangent Universes: Seahawks Bolt for L.A., Reach AFC Championship Four Years Later by Dave Krieg at Dave Krieg's Strike Beard.

What If Robert Griffin III Had Signed With Texas? An Alternate Recruiting History by Bill Connelly at SB Nation.

What If Tim Tebow Had Signed With Alabama? An Alternate Recruiting History by Bill Connelly at SB Nation.

Media

Alternate History: Soyuz 9 by Troy Larson at Exodus North.

Breaking News: "13 Legends" Kickstarter campaign

2012-02-04T16:20:00.000-06:00

Found an interesting indie/alternate history comic book you guys should check out. It is called 13 Legends and it is written by Jon Eastman and Stuart Thomas, pencils by Gian Fernando, colors by David Ocampo and published by Frosty Ogre.

Here is the plot summary from Frosty Ogre's website:

A World Unlike Our Own

It's the late 1770s, but in this world, the industrial revolution has come hundreds of years early, and with it, war on a massive scale. Against a backdrop of secret societies, powerful cross-border industrialists, constantly shifting political alliances, and rediscovered supernatural realities, fully armed super-states carve up the globe, monarchs rule as despots, and the masses are powerless to forge their own destinies. But things are about to change...

A Story of Fate

Two young men have just completed their training at a state-sponsored military academy. Due to their superior intellects and uncanny skills, they've been selected for the honor of serving in one of the most prestigious elite units in the English Empire. They don't know it, but on the eve of their departure to fight for King and Country on the battlefields of the New World, they stand on the edge of destiny...

Their names are Arthur and Lancelot.

Currently Frosty Ogre is running a Kickstarter campaign to raise money for the comic and all supporters will get a hardback edition complete with various extras. Those wishing to receive updates about 13 Legends can check out Frosty Ogre's Facebook page.

Airship Update #8

2012-02-02T11:00:00.007-06:00

More from the wide-world of airships. Enjoy!

Thanks to The Steampunk Tribune for finding this.

The main engine pylons are mounted on the M1400 power car.

And there is the tail fin!

The...um...flying sperm?!?! Yep I guess that is what people are calling.

Another artistic rendering from the game Guns of Icarus.

Links in the Air

4th Airship Regatta Winners announced at New Babbage.

To the Sky Whale by James Hope Howard at Uptown.

World Surveillance Group Provides Approved Footage of the Argus One UAV at Government Demonstrations in Nevada at Market Watch.

* * *

Introduction to the Balkanized North American trope

2012-02-01T11:00:00.003-06:00

All this week, Korsgaard and I will be writing themed articles involving the the common alternate history trope: the balkanized North America . What am I taking about? See below:

The map from Matthew White's Balkanized North America TL.

The name for the trope derives from the geopolitical term "balkanization" used to describe the process of fragmentation or division of a region or state into smaller regions or states that are often hostile or non-cooperative with each other, and it is considered pejorative. Though the term originally referred to the break-up of Ottoman Europe, but it came into widespread use after the break-up of Austria-Hungary and Russia following World War I. Alternate historians generally use the term balkanization when they are breaking up an OTL state into smaller components. For more info on the trope, go to TV Tropes.

So stay tuned for reviews, showcases and profiles on alternate nations...and the OTL people who wish to balkanize North America!

2012 AH.com Turtledove Awards

2012-01-31T12:38:00.000-06:00

Welcome my dear readers, and prepare for a real treat! On the tail of Mitro's splendid coverage of the AH Wiki's Stirling Awards, I will be covering it's Alternatehistory.com cousins, the 2012 Turtledove Awards!

Every year in January, the members of AH.com choose what they feel are the cream of the crop of the past years Timelines, stories and images posted on the site, and from there, vote on what they feel happens to be the very best of the very best. It goes without saying that for AH fans, receiving a Turtledove is one of the highest honors online AH can receive, and are always among the best to be found on the Internet. Needless to say, for the AH community as a whole, this is a big event.

Some of the nominees may be familiar to a number of you. Some, we've even profiled for this very site. All of them are superb, fascinating, and above all else, the very best AH.com has to offer from the last year. Without further adieu, let us introduce our winners:

Our first award goes to the best new Prehistory timeline, which covers all new works that involve a POD prior to 3500 BC. This year, the winner is...

Neanderthals in the America's by Domoviye

I personally have not read it, but given the interesting concept, and that it has now won a Turtledove, I will look to change that.

Next up ladies and gentlemen we have our continuing Prehistory Timeline, which goes to the best work that is older than a year with the POD prior to 3500 BC. This year, our winner is...
Lands of Red and Gold by Jared

The TL, which involves a breed of yam ending up as a staple crop in Australia, allowing for a number of strange and wonderful Aboriginal civilizations to pop up in parts of the continent. Very well researched and detailed, it has earned its Turtledove - certainly since the TL is now going into first contact with the European explorers.

Next up, we have our new Ancient TL category, which covers the period of classical antiquity. Our winner?

The Realm of Millions of Years: The World of an Atenist Egypt by NikoZnate

The TL covers a successful transition to the Atenist beliefs of the Pharaoh Akhenaten is adopted by Egyption society, and how Egyption society and the world at large is shaped by it as a result. A facinating TL, especially given the shocking shortage of Egyptian TLs, I recommend it highly.

Next up for our continuing Ancient TL, we have:

The Weighted Scales: The World of an Aborted Rome by Errnge

A world without Rome is one utterly alien to us, so the realism and detail of this TL is a treat. Check it out if you haven't already.

Next up are our two Medieval Era categories. Our winner for new is a shocker given that compared to it's competitors, it is a very young TL - but then you read it, and you know why it won. For Best New Medieval TL:

Lands of Ice and Mice: An Alternate History of the Thule by both DirtyCommie and DValdron

While I will admit I voted for An Age of Miracles, this superb TL on how a few changes in lifestyle turn the Inuit into a powerful sedentary civilization, in spite of carving a home for themselves in one of the planets most inhospitable climates is a great TL as well, and one you must check out.

For Best Continuing Medival TL:

Issac's Empire 2.0 by Basileus Giorgios

The original is an AH legend online, so that's it's equally superb continuing relaunch wins the Turtledove is no surprise. Read this at once, and then go read the original.

Moving on to the Renaissance and Reformation era, for our Best New Renaissance and Reformation TL we have:

The Bloody Man by EdT

Written by the man behind both Fight and be Right and A Greater Britain, his latest TL takes us make to the English Civil War, with Oliver Cromwell off in the new world leading the settlement of colonies in New England, and the rise of the Commonwealth without him. A Fascinating read, and one of my favorites.

As for continuing TLs, we have another great one. Our winner for Best Continuing Renaissance & Reformation is:

Anahuatlacanco: The Land Between the Waters, Land of the Nahuatlaca by Cuāuhtemōc

This TL is one of the rare alternate Aztec TLs, and one with a VERY interesting concept: Rather than conquer the Aztecs for Spain, Cortez instead forms an independent kingdom out of the ashes of the Aztec - one ruled by himself naturally. Having gone through a couple of reboots, this is a superb TL, please give it a read.

Now into the awards for 18th Century, we open with the award for Best New 18th Century TL:

The Hero of Saratoga: The Presidency of Benedict Arnold by IchBinDieKaiser

Following an American Revolution where Benedict Arnold rallies American troops after the death of General Gates at the battle of Saratoga, not only resulting in Arnold never betraying the Americans and remaining a hero of the colonists on par with Washington, a very diffent world takes shape, one where the USA is a Centralized Republic with a strong military tradition and no slaves, and Europe was just been torn apart by another war on the scale of the Napoleonic War, which ended in a truce in this world.

As for Best Continuing 18th Century, we have a favorite of mine - and not just for the prominent cameo I have:

Dominion of Southern America by Glen

I did my first showcase for this site on this masterful TL, and a great deal of changes happened in this world since then. For starters, a proto-fascist ideology has taken hold in great swaths of the world, and a war over it has consumed this once peaceful planet. Right now, the sides are evenly matched, so please, give this a read if you haven't already.

Next up, we have the award for Best New 19th Century TL, which goes to...

The Stars at Night: A Texas Timeline by Sicarius

A shockingly plausible look at an independent Texas that thanks to it's humor never takes itself too seriously, the mixture results in one of the best new TLs on the site. Go read it at once!

For Best Continuing 19th Century, we have another returning favorite for our winner:

Union and Liberty: An American TL by Wilcoxchar

In this TL, a more amiable relationship between President Andrew Jackson and then-Senator John Calhoun, which keeps the two from splitting like in OTL - which leads to a horde of butterflies getting unleashed when Calhoun accends to the presidency when Jackson is assasinated. A splendid vision of an alternate America and an alternate world, check it out with all haste.

Noe entering the modern era, we have our award for the best New Early 20th Century TL, which goes to:

What If - Finland had been prepared for the Winter War? by CanKiwi

Following a POD of the newly independent Finland paying special attention to ensuring it's new found nationhood is aptly defended, details of how to make Finland both a viable military and economic powerhouse, one that will not fear facing down the Soviets or the Nazis.

As for the award for Continuing Early 20th Century, it goes to one of the rare WWI TLs:

A Shift in Priorities by rast

This is one of the most discussed TLs on AH.com, and the POD focuses on a change of German battle tactics in WWI, and all the changes to the Great War that it brings, for better and worse.

Now we get to see our winners for World War II, begining with the Best New World War II TL:

Happy and Glorious by Devolved

This TL starts with a very small POD, certainly compared to the size and scope of World War II: The HMS Glorious survives it's encounter with Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, and sinks the former, robbing Nazi Germany of one of it's big naval victories, and butterflies taking wing over the European front.

As for our Best Continuing World War II TL, we have a rather facinating role reversal:

The Anglo/American - Nazi War by CalBear

Following events in a world where Nazi Germany successfully overcame Soviet Russia, in part by Germany preparing it's troops with winter gear, in part due to Stalin purging what remains of the Soviet High Command after the fall of Stalingrad, and afterwards gets locked into a Cold War with an Anglo-American alliance that, though unable to make landfall in Europe, stands stalwart for what remains of the free world. Not surprisingly, this doesn’t remain a Cold War for long, and the detailed writing on the liberation of Nazi Europe inch by bloody inch is gripping and well worth a read.

Moving on to the awards for the Cold War AH, we have a pair of interconnected Tls, starting with the award for Best New Cold War TL:

Land of Flatwater: Protect and Survive Middle America by Chipperback

A spin-off on the massively successful Protect and Survive TL (more on them later), this one follows survivors of a mid-eighties Nuclear War centered on Nebraska. Having just delved into the aftermath of the conflict, this TL is going to tread some interesting territory in the upcoming months.

Given the winner of the new, the winner for Best Continuing Cold War TL shouldn’t be too surprising:

Protect and Survive: A Timeline by Macragge1

This TL follows the aftermath of a mid 1980s nuclear war, less like 1983:Doomsday and more akin to The Day After. Having inspired a number of spin-offs, the original is still a gripping read, and a must for fans of post-apocalyptic TLs.

Now we have reached our final category for the awards for Timelines, Modern and Future history. Our award for the Best New Modern/Future TL goes to a personal favorite of mine:

A Giant Sucking Sound: a President Perot TL by MaskedPickle

Following Texan Billionaire Ross Perot winning the Presidency in 1992, all sorts of events wonderful and tragic unfold. Perot spearheads many reforms for the nation and the government, including a national Internet network, a balanced budget amendment and the creation of a viable centrist party. He also presides over the rise of violent terrorism at the hand of extremists that make the OTL militia movements look like hippies, and one cult in Japan that set off a nuclear weapon. Even pop culture is drastically different, with Brandon Lee surviving, Titanic flopping and Jon Stewart elected as a Congressman. Very detailed and filled with fun and frightening tidbits, I urge you to see this TL for yourself.

Finally, we have the award for Best Continuing Modern/Future TL, which goes to:

A Revised History of the Future (2001 - 2150) by Pkmatrix

A massively detailed TL that starts in the recent past and shoots forward step by step more than a century, all of it within the realm of possibility. One of the rare good Future Timlines, this is a treat you have to read.

With the Timelines awarded, it is now for the Media awards:

For the Best Map, we have Eigenwelt's United States and the Nations of North America
For Best Flag, we have Cazaril's Communist Scotland
For Best Photo, we have Color-Copycat's Alternate Manhattan
Finally, for Best Artwork, we have Pischinovski's Empire of Bryton Family Tree

Moving on to the awards given to the work of the Writer's Forum and the ASM Forum, I've discounted many of the awards given for work not AH-related (ie, fanfiction, work based of published media, etc), even then we have a fantastic lot, and we open with one of the best, our winner of the Best New Fantasy/Sci-Fi Story:

For All the Marbles by William Dellinger

Now this is among the finest works of fiction I've read all year, and by that, I mean ANY fiction. The premise is brilliant in it's simplicity: A god-like entity (or ASB, if you prefer) has gathered over a hundred of human histories best and brightest leaders, generals, scientists and cultural figures to fight in an interstellar game of war. The very idea of having Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Thomas Jefferson, Genghis Khan, Whinston Churchill and a hundred more of humanities best on the same side is fascinating enough, and coupled with the narrative style, this story will have you from the first paragraph. Currently undergoing it's second draft, I cannot urge you to read and support this classic in the making enough - and not just because I, your humble narrator, have a cameo as an apprentice to Shakespeare!

Next, we have our Best Continuing Fantasy/Sci-Fi Fiction award:

Great Interstellar War mini-comic by BlackWave

With perhaps the only comic series on AH.com, this is unique enough before you dive in and discover a fantastically entertaining tale of a cosmic conflict between Wester civilization and the dreaded hordes of the Red Russian-Chinese in a delightfully over-the-top space opera.

Nest up we have the award for Best New Historical Fiction Story:

The American Invasion of Libya by MacCaulay

Penned by AH.com's own military fiction master, the story follows the formation of a Volunteer Brigade recruited, trained and deployed in a fashion somewhat between a Mercenary company and a Yankee version of the French Foreign Legion, as they deploy to Libya in an attempt to aid the Rebellion against Qaddafi. For fans of military fiction, this is a must read.

As for the award for Best Continuing Historical Fiction Story:

The Revolution Will Be Live - A Prose TL by The Vulture

The POD starts with a far more severe Red Scare in the 1920s that leads to the USA taking a far more militant stand against Communism and Communist influences, both real and percieved, resulting in both a highly polarized nation come TTLs 1950s, and a strong backlash and revolution in which this stories protaganist first plays witness, and then plays a part participating in. Very grim and dark, and very well written.

For the Best Continuing Geographic/Evolutionary Story, we have a returning feature of the AHWU:

Green Antarctica by DValdron

Given the vivid profile I did of this story back in October, what else is there to say? That this world of a Green Antarctica that plays host to a horde of monsters, human and otherwise, that will make your skill crawl and give you nightmares on a scale that makes HP Lovecraft look like Dr. Seuss? That sums it up, and given that, the story fully award it won... I just hope the Tsalal don't rape it.

For the award for Best Continuing Alien Contact Story, we have another AH.com classic:

Swarm on the Somme by BlackWave

This sci-fi feature follows the landing of an alien prob in the middle of World War One, one that spits out assimilationist alien life forms that push humanity to the brink all over the world. It is gripping, creative and a must read for fans of science fiction - plus, you get to see Teddy Roosevelt fight alien robots!

For the award for Best New ISOT/Other ASB Story, we have another returning TL:

Ad Astra Per Aspera: A Modern History by rvbomally

As Mitro wrote in his profile of this TL, this takes place in a future dominated by three pan-galactic dictatorships locked in a war that the destruction of entire planets is child's play, and the modern ideals of freedom and liberty are all but dead in the face of cosmic war. A must read.

For our final award before the best in show, we have Best Continuing ISOT/Other ASB Story:

United American Flight 817 2.0 by Jim Smitty

Following a group of 747 passengers who get taken back into the 1930s USA, and use thier knowledge and expiriences to shape the world in many ways big and small. Detailed and charachter driven, this is a great ISOT story.

Now, for the moment we've all been waiting for, the awards for the Best of the Best Turtledoves... drumroll please:

Best Timeline: Lands of Red and Gold by Jared

Best Media: United States and the Nations of North America by Eigenwelt

Best Alien Space Bat Story: Swarm on the Somme by BlackWave

Best Story: For All the Marbles by Willaim Dellinger
That concludes my coverage and tribute to the many winners and nominees of the 2012 AH.com Turtledove Awards, to whom I all congratulate and ask to keep the good stuff coming. To all of our readers, I cannot urge you enough to take a look at these magnificent works! Until nest year, lets give a saulte to the best of what AH.com has to offer!

Good night everyone!

Soldier, scholar, writer and web-voyeur, Sean CW Korsgaard has been active in the alternate history community since 2006, and was recently elected to succeed Mitro as President of the Alternate History Online Facebook group. In addition to his contributions at the Alternate History Weekly Update, he writes for several websites, including his own, which can be found here.

Review: "Hitler Invades England" by George Crall

2012-01-31T11:00:00.002-06:00

Grade: C

Operation Sea Lion has plagued alternate historians since its inception. It has been the fodder of many alternate timelines...most of them implausible. I do not have to remind you that "alien space bats" was first coined during a debate about an Operation Sea Lion timeline. It seems almost impossible to have Germany successfully invade England, but many still try even today.

Hitler Invades England by George Crall, however, presents one of the more plausible scenarios I have ever read involving a German invasion of England. Crall does not diverge his TL in 1940 and try to follow Sea Lion to the letter as many have mistakenly tried before him. Instead the timeline begins to diverge years earlier in 1938 when Claus von Stauffenberg manages to convince Hitler refocusing his strategy on defeating Britain as soon as possible. According to Stauffenberg, Britain is to key to the Reich's victory and once he convinces Hitler of this fact Europe's future begins to grow dim.

As his plans takes shape, Germany develops the industrial and technological capacity to invade England and keeps the British unaware by following a foreign policy that makes the Germans seem less antagonistic (the war actually does not start until 1940). The book covers the initial planning, to the start of the war, to the invasion of England and the early advancement into the interior. It ends with a series of OTL bios of the historical actors in his book along with further speculation on history. I would have liked to learn more about the later campaign and what would have happened after England eventually surrendered, but that story was not available.

The book contains a lot of historical data on the people and weapon systems used in the war. If this was a textbook AH, like When Angels Wept, I probably could have given it a better review. Crall, however, attempted to tell the story using a large cast of characters both historic and fictional, but with the large amount of info contained with the book, the transition to the narrative form hurt the story in the long run and distracted me from the scenario Crall was crafting.

The dialogue was rather weak (I lost count of the number of times I read someone say "as you know" to someone else) and the characters were not believable. The Germans sounded more like 21st century Americans and the British characters acted more like stereotypes than people from that period. Though it is possible to find a balance between info dumps and characterization (see Then Everything Changed), Crall was unsuccessful in this attempt.

Crall has managed to make Operation Sea Lion more plausible, but how he presented his ideas prevents from giving this novel a better review. With more work on his writing Crall may be an excellent alternate military historian and I hope to see more of his scenarios in the future.

Weekly Update #39

2012-01-30T11:00:00.069-06:00

Editor's Note

When I first started Weekly Update, I used a series of Google Alerts to keep me updated on what was going on in the alternate history community. Now I have discovered that Twitter is much more helpful on keeping track of what is happening in the larger world of fake history. Most of the big news stories you see below you are a result of that social networking site.

Speaking of social networking, do not forget to follow us at our new sub-reddit. We only got one reader so far (guess who it is), so help us build up the number of our subscribers.

This week I will be announcing the start of Balkanized North America month, plus I will be reviewing Hitler Invades England by George Crall. I also started reading New Frontier by Cliff Ball and you can expect a review about that next week.

And now the news...

Could Compensation Have Ended Slavery?

It is very common to find alternate histories that bring up the idea of a compensated end to American slavery. Sometimes this is a solution to avoid the American Civil War altogether or a scheme that the Confederacy would eventually adopt when they decided to free their slaves. Ta-Nehisi Coates of The Atlantic, however, questions whether such a scheme would have been feasible.

Texas Congressman Ron Paul (W) speaks during a Compensation Day Celebration.

In a two-part article (here and here) Teri discusses the history of this option and the counterfactual economics involve. In short, the total cost of the American slave population in 1860 was $3 billion ($70-75 billion today), making it near impossible for the government to pay for all of the salves at once. Even figuring in payments spread over 25 years and other cost-saving measures, government expenses could triple, especially since the slave owners would have no reason to accept the minimum price since it is the government that is attempting to avoid bloodshed and not them.

I highly reccomend any alternate historian who is writing a timeline during this period to check out these articles.

More Calls for Submissions

Want to be a published alternate history writer? Well here are a few open calls for submissions that you should keep in mind:

Nevermet Press has open submissions going for their Stories in the Ether series. Stories will be published online first and then published in book form later. They are looking for science fiction, fantasy and steampunk stories.
Echelon Press is accepting queries for a fairy tale/steampunk mashup. All queries must be sent before February 15.
Strange Chemistry is going to be accepting novel-length submissions for young adult literature in fantasy, science fiction and horror. Submissions must be sent between April 15-30 and follow these requirements.
Fantasy Fiction is going to be publishing an anthology of fantasy stories, which does include steampunk stories. Deadline in June 30 and you can find more details here.

Gingrich Returns

With Newt Gingrich once again one of the frontrunners for the 2012 Republican nomination, it was only a matter of time before someone used Twitter to poke fun at the former Speaker of the House. The best part of Newt Gingrich is that his alternate history background provides some interesting fuel for laughs. Just check out this Tweet from @gingrichfiction:

“His Satanic rituals complete, President Roosevelt resumed work on the architecture of The New Deal.”

Hilarious, though not as bad as this review of Newt's 1945, which was called "a fairly primitive example of the kind of speculative fiction known as 'alternate history'.”

Speaking of Gingrich's alternate history, check out the poll I have going at the top right.

Convention Watch: Harry Turtledove at A-Kon 23

Do you live in Dallas, Texas and want to meet Harry Turtledove? Well you can! The master of alternate history will be a guest at A-Kon 23, which will run from June 1st to the 3rd. Those interested in attending can find more information here. In the meantime, why not check out this review of Homeward Bound done by Emma at Em and Emm Expound on Exposition.

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

Doomsday Speeches: If D-Day and the Moon Landing Had Failed by Dominic Tierney at The Atlantic.

An exercise in insanity (or: an alternate history of the New York Rangers by Joe Reiter at Blueshirt Banter.

It’s Time to Rethink Steampunk by Jess Nevins at io9.

Shortlists revealed for British Science Fiction Awards by Alison Flood at The Guardian.

Interviews

Greg Ahlgren done by JeanzBookReadNReview. (You can check out my interview with Greg as well)

Books

Fantastical Fake Machines, Rendered With a Historian's Eye for Detail by Steven Hellr at The Atlantic.

Review of The Great Game by Lavie Tidhar done by Traveler at The Traveler's Steampunk Blog.

Review of Soulless by Gail Carriger done by Weirdmage's Reviews.

Steampunk at Audible.com by Steampunk Scholar.

Online AH

Eagles and Hawks by LSCatilina.

Odessa by Christian Rubiano and Louie Chin.

Media

Alternate History: Three Mile Island by Troy Larson at Exodus North.

Gifts

Alternate History Jewelry at Etsy.

* * *

DD Date 1984.01.25

2012-01-28T21:46:00.005-06:00

January 25, 1984

It's getting where I can't concentrate at work. Beth Eden Nursing Home has been officially closed. It has become clear that there are no more funds available from US governmental agencies to support the residents. It will continue as a nursing facility for the treatment of private citizens with the funds to keep their aged parents hospitalized. Medicines are scarce and getting scarcer. Meanwhile, herbal and alternative treatments are on the rise.

This does not bode well for me, for my job is low skill (taking blood pressures, checking temps) and physical (turning patients and bathing, for instance). As the needs increase, administrators are looking to hire more nurses and do with fewer aids. My hopes to finding a church to serve are slim, so it's going to be into the odd jobs market for me if I get let go. I would have thought in the current situation healthcare would be the securest of all fields. I certainly hope Debbie's job holds up. The hospital she works at is privately owned, but I'm pretty sure a lot of the patients there depend on government insurance to pay for their care (like Veterans' Administration).

On another related note, the abortion clinic near the hospital has been shut down! It came as a result of a rash of abortions after the reports of nuclear war became public in October. Hundreds rushed to end the lives of babies they didn't think they could afford. Some of my friends were outside on Grove Road trying to stop them, holding signs and all that. But mostly just praying publicly. Well, anyway, without proper facilities, the doctors got sloppy. Some girls died as a result, so charges were filed. The local police made it a priority, the courts pushed it through, and quite appropriately the order to close was affective last Sunday, January 22, on the eleventh anniversary of the famous Roe v. Wade decision.

The abortions continue over on Laurens Road, though. I talked with some friends at church and they want to picket the place. It's the least we can do, I guess. I wonder if the politicians locally will change things after this. I doubt if any courts of appeal will take a case when we can't even get a phone call to reach Asheville anymore. Maybe the next election will change things. You never can tell.

Previous Entry: DD Date 1984.01.21
Next Entry: DD Date 1984.02.14

Multiverse Profile: United States of America

2012-01-27T11:00:00.001-06:00

If you look at the large library of alternate history, you cannot help but notice that the United States plays a large role in many stories. And why not? The United States is one of the most influential nations of the world. It has the world's largest economy and it is an important cultural force in the world. So it only stands to reason that when I start discussing how different nations are portrayed in alternate history, I should start with the United States. Perhaps by seeing how it is altered in different stories, we can get a snapshot of the OTL United States and its people.

Note: While there are many alternate versions of the United States in the multiverse, the versions I will be discussing are the most common. Also I will not be discussing balkanized United States. That is a discussion for next month.

Let us begin...

Fascist United States

Americans takes pride in being a liberal democracy. For centuries the country has managed to hold an unending streak of free and fair elections. What would happen, however, if the United States lost this aspect of its culture? That is where the "fascist United States" of alternate history comes into being. This version of America does not have to follow a fascist ideology per se, but it does have to be authoritarian and have some sort of tyrannical dictator in charge. Versions of the fascist United States can be found in Amerikan Eagle by Alan Glenn and The Plot Against America by Philip Roth. In these stories authors play on Americans greatest fear: that the freedom they have learned to cherish and protect will be taken away by some power-hungry maniac. Obviously it is impossible for one person to show up and take power without support, but these alternate dictators usually receive it from a populace that is scared and desperate. That is why you see American politicians and their supporters use words like "Nazi" and "fascist" to describe their opponents. Americans still fear this possibility.

Communist United States

After fighting a decades long Cold War against the Soviet Union that could have ended with the nuclear annihilation of most of the world, it is easy to see why alternate historians would take to creating a "communist United States". Of course there is also the factor that the United States is a more conservative culture than most Western democracies, but nonetheless, most Americans have it in their minds that if the United States became communist, it was because they "lost". Worlds where the United States lost the Cold War can be found in The Gladiator by Harry Turtledove or the first episode of the TV series Sliders. Sometimes, however, the United States and the Soviet Union simply switch places. The United States goes through a communist revolution, while Russia either remains an empire or becomes a democracy. This example is most prevalent in Back in the U.S.S.A. by Eugene Byrne and Kim Newman. Rarely do any of these worlds make things "good" for Americans. Most alternate historians hold to the belief that communism was, is and forever shall be a "bad" thing.

British United States

Americans tend to respect and glorify their founders. They are taught how they were men of genius and integrity and fought to free the colonies from the tyrannical George III. Ignoring the fact that the founding fathers were treated with more reverence then even the most popular monarch, Americans still feel that remaining a British colony would have been a disaster...or would it? Most alternate historians do not paint grim pictures of what a British America would look. How this American dominion is created varies across the genre. Sometimes the Americans lose the American Revolution, as they did in For Want of a Nail by Robert Sobel. A British America could also have been founded if cooler heads prevailed and the Revolution never happened in the first place, as it did in The Two Georges by Harry Turtledove and Richard Dreyfuss. Rarely are these alternate histories dystopias like the last two. Perhaps alternate historians are trying to tell us that not all divergence points lead to a nightmare scenario. Maybe some even share Winston Churchill's belief that the English speaking-world should have been united.

American Wanks

These Americas are probably even more then the dystopias I mentioned before. These are American wanks and in them you find a version of the United States that is richer, larger and more technologically advanced then OTL. They strain and often break all the rules of plausibility and often reflect the author's own nationalist sentiment of the United States. Good (or bad?) examples of an American wank include the North American Confederacy series by L. Neil Smith and the United States of An Independent in 2000 that can be found on the AH Wiki. Both alternate histories are made worse due to fact that they encapsulate the political beliefs of each author. Their message is clear: if America adopts my politics it would be a better place! History rarely agrees with such statements.

Other Alternate Names for the United States

Union of Free States, Columbia, Allied States of America, Commonwealth of America, Commonwealth of American States, Confederation of American States, Confederation of British North America, Fredonia, New England, North American Confederation, People's Republic of America, United Provinces of America, United States of North America, Vinland.

Next Profile: The United Kingdom!

* * *

2012 AH Wiki Stirling Awards

2012-01-26T11:00:00.004-06:00

The 2nd Annual Stirling Awards have been annouced. For those who do not know, the Stirling Awards are the AH Wiki's annual awards given out the best timelines, articles, editors, etc. of the previous years. There are also Lifetime Achievement categories for content and editors who made there marks in earlier years. Nominations are made throughout the month of December and voting runs from Jan 1 to Jan 25. Winners are announced on Jan 26, which happens to be the day the wiki was founded.

So without further ado, here are the winners:

Writer Awards
Best Male Writer: KingSweden

Best Female Writer: Smoggy80

Best New Contributor: Detectivekenny

Best Writer in a Community Timeline: Mister Sheen

Best TSPTF Member: Lordganon

Best Copyeditor: Katholico

Best Ban: Rebelsoldier

Timeline Awards
Best Timeline: L'Uniona Homanus by Hidan43vr

Best Article: French Trafalgar, British Waterloo (1978-1997) by Tbguy1992

Best OTL/non-AH Work: ASB, Historical Fantasy, and Future History by Lordganon.

Best Non-English Wiki: Альтернативная История

Best Map Game: Greater Europe by Doctor261

Best 1983: Doomsday Article: Second Sicily War by various authors

Content Awards
Best Photoshopped Picture: Detectivekenny wins with this...

Best Flag: Bobalugee1940 wins with...

Best Map: ChrisL123 wins with...

Best Template: Mister Sheen with GWS-Santiago

Special Nominations
Lifetime Achievement Award - Writer: C II R

Lifetime Achievement Award - Timeline: Napoleon's World by KingSweden

Lifetime Achievement Award - Article: Roman Empire (Superpowers) by Red VS Blue

Lifetime Achievement Award - Flags and Coats of Arms: There is a tie! First is Xi'Reney...

and then we have Oerwinde...

Lifetime Achievement Award - Maps and Other Files: Lordganon wins with...

Breaking News: Extraordinary New Book Rewrites Adolf Hitler’s Childhood

2012-01-25T11:00:00.005-06:00

from Digital Journal. Crossposted over at The War Blog.

Frank Daversa, author and writer, recently published his new book “Young Adolf: An Alternate History” with AuthorHouse. It revisits Hitler's childhood as an exercise in developmental psychology: can an early romance overcome the domestic challenges of young Adolf's life? The story, written by Frank and Joseph Franciosa Jr., starts with Hitler’s birth, and proceeds through his adolescence. It depicts his childhood in striking detail. You will observe his ordeals, from the rigors of his schooling to beatings by his father Alois. Factual accounts are interspersed with fictional inventions, such as his relationship with a hypothetical girl named Helga. Can young Adolf conquer the personal barriers his difficult childhood presented and become close with her emotionally? How will that change him?

Learn more about Adolf the boy. Experience the molding of his dreams, his prejudices, and his desires in visceral detail. Come to understand the inner-workings of history's most infamous megalomaniac through the perspective of a child’s eyes. Follow Adolf during his younger years. Know the boy before he was the world's most feared man. Witness his courtship with good-natured Helga. Decide whether her influence might have altered the course of history.

Frank is based in Houston, TX. It all began there back in early 2008, when he was thinking of how Adolf Hitler must have had a difficult childhood for him to turn out the way he did. He had no girlfriends during that time to speak of. Then it occurred to Frank, what would happen if someone intervened, someone to show young Hitler true love? Would this be enough to change him for the better as an adult? That is how “Young Adolf” was born.

This does seem like an interesting premise, though I'm rather doubtful as to its overall plausibility. By that I don't mean the possibility of Hitler getting a girlfriend, but of it having an overall impact on his personality and politics. But then I'm rather sceptical of the whole psycho-analysis as an approach anyway since in the end it always seems to boil down to some issue about one's mother and/or sex. Contrary to that I think that even people who one would identify as "good" and even "kind", who had a good childhood and experienced stable relationships, can through deliberations and the setting of priorities come up with ideas and concepts we would rightfully abhor.

Having said that, I may well be doing the whole project premature injustice (...can injustice be mature?^^). It certainly addresses an aspect few if any other writers have tackled in that way. That alone makes me anticipate reading it!

Mitro, the founder of the Alternate History Weekly Update, contacted the author of the above mentioned novel and secured a review copy for yours truly! Thanks, Frank and Mitro!

* * *

Airship Update #7

2012-01-24T11:00:00.002-06:00

Airship Updates is back with more news about those wonderful whales of the skies:

Blue plaque unveiling to commemorate the bombing by Zeppelin air ship in Great Yarmouth.

The Sunrise! A thermal-powered, eco-friendly ariship.

World's Largest Airship Available to New Sponsor for First Time in Two Years at Market Watch.

The future or Arctic travel? Canada thinks so.

If Canada can do it, why not Australia?

Links in the Air

Andy Lester thrilled residents by bringing a dirigible to Stuart in 1930 by Alice L. and Greg E. Luckhardt at TC Palm.

Argus One airship undergoes initial testing by Defense Systems.

The Fate of the K-14: Navy inquiry was fast, ignored key evidence by Earl Brechlin at Fence Viewer.

No Airship Was Safe From Nora by Jack Marsh at the North West Evening Mail.

* * *

Weekly Update #38

2012-01-23T11:00:00.027-06:00

Editor's Note

So I have started reading Hitler Invades England by George Crall. Its definitely not one of your usual Operation Sea Lion alternate histories, the POD is earlier then you think. Whether the book holds up though remains to be seen. Check back next week for the review.

I have been having a case of writers block lately, both with this blog and my own stories. I hope to change that around very shortly, so expect to see some new articles on how OTL nations are portrayed in alternate history and a new Airship Update.

Good news, Weekly Update now has their own sub-reddit! Look for updates on reddit /r/adwupdate.

And now the news...

Shattered World now an e-book!

Shattered World by Bobby Hardenbrook is an epic alternate World War II timeline that starts with the Soviet Union invades Poland in 1936. It has been one of my favorite online alternate history, but as of late it has only been updated sporadically.

Yesterday, however, Bobby announced that the first 29 segments of Shattered World, the "Eurasian War" period and the "Between the Wars" period, will be published for $0.99 as e-books on Amazon. These parts of the timeline can no longer be found on the Internet, so you have to buy the e-books if you want to enjoy this excellent timeline.

6-Commando

Found a new online graphic novel called 6-Commando by Mathieu Moyen. Set in the 1990s, here is a more detailed description of this alternate history:

The state of the world in the year 1997 is unstable, at best. Early in the century, a Great War lasting over a decade bled the world white, and culminated in revolutionary bloodshed in Russia, China and Eastern Europe. The great powers realized that a second direct confrontation of that kind would mean the end of civilization, and that the only answer was to establish a balance of power to forestall such a conflict for as long as possible.

Thus, three gigantic superblocs developed, divided by ideology and geography. The UNA, an alliance of Western nations, calls itself the defender of the world’s Democratic ideals. The FSR, a conglomerate of Socialist states, claims to be struggling for the liberation of the world’s underprivileged classes. The Nonaligned Movement, dominated by the South American Coalition and the Arab League, is a loose confederation of states that claim to want no part of the Cold War.

Between these states lie areas of constant political and social upheaval called Disrecognized Zones. In these areas, the three power blocs fight out their disputes by proxy, with little regard for the misery inflicted upon the hapless inhabitants of these perpetual warzones. For eighty years, this has allowed the three alliances to defuse many political and ideological tensions, but recent developments threaten to upset this delicate balance of power.

Katanga, India, UNITA, and other newly-formed nation-states in Africa and Asia have grown weary of the constant devastation of their lands, and are starting to rise up and take their place as independent countries. As their buffer zones shrink, the superstates are beginning to confront each other directly for the first time since the Great War, and the threat of all-out conflict on a truly global scale has suddenly become very real.

A cursory look at the graphic novel tells you that this world is more advanced then ours. Several characters are wearing power armor and there are other sci-fi weaponry scattered through the pages. Should be interesting, keep an eye out for a review. In the meantime you can check out 6-Commando's Facebook page.

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

Alternate history lessons for children's fiction by Imogen Russell Williams at The Guardian.

Mark Wahlberg could have stopped 9/11, according to Mark Wahlberg by Sean O'Neal at AV Club.

Poe's Birthday by Russell Scott at TimeDonors.

Thoughtful Thursday: Alternate History by Justin at Fantasy Literature.

Online Alternate History

The Case of the Small-Minded Medium by Benjamin Jacobson at SteampunX.

Video Games

Steampunk Batman Game: Why Hasn’t This Happened? by Caitlyn Muncy at gamefront.

Media

How the West Wasn't Won: Powell's Water-based States by Frank Jacobs at Strange Maps.

"What if..." Movies reimagined for another time & place... by Peter Stults at Behance Network.

* * *

DD Date 1984.01.21

2012-01-21T21:40:00.005-06:00

January 21, 1984

Winter has been milder than scientists ever thought a "nuclear winter" would be. In fact, we are experiencing a rather warm and wet winter here in South Carolina. Or at least in our little corner of that fine state. From what has been gathered so far by authorized explorations - gasoline and diesel being scarce as it is with no new deliveries in over three months - the state south of Laurens county may have been largely destroyed. Nobody seems to be coming up the interstate since the first of December, so whoever is still living counties outside of the upstate are keeping to themselves nowadays.

Local politicians, not knowing what is happening nationally, nevertheless are busy gearing up for the presidential race in November. The Democratic party is all excited about the candidacy of local hometown candidate Jesse Jackson - presently living and working in Chicago. Of course, like all big cities in a nuclear war, Chicago may have suffered like Charlotte and Atlanta did. But anyhow, talk is all around town - especially among the black community - that Jackson has a chance against former vice president Mondale. The Iowa caucuses are a month away - and if anywhere survives today it would be Iowa! - and both Jackson and Senator Hollings are on the ticket then. Of course, if the world beyond our state is like what we have seen so far, there probably hasn't been any campaigning going on. But still, you never know.

If there is an election, though, I think President Reagan can beat anybody the Democrats end up with. I really wish we'd get at least some radio coverage from somewhere. I mean, we've got some electricity and there are at least some radios that didn't die from the electromagnetic pulses. The mayor's office and county counsel insist that everything is being done to restore communications with the rest of the world, but I'm not so sure anything can be done. Well, it's time for my ride to work to get here, so I'd better turn out this light and say good night to Debbie.

Previous Entry: DD Date 1984.01.11
Next Entry: DD Date 1984.01.25

Alternate Space Race

2012-01-19T11:00:00.003-06:00

One of our contributors, Korsgaard, shared a new blog with me called the Alternate History of the Space Race. Written by David S. F. Portree, this blog imagines space missions that never were. After reading it I started thinking about the Space Race from an alternate history perspective and how alternate historians have approached this competition for space between the United States and the Soviet Union.

To a nerd like me, there is something really exciting about the Space Race. A program built off the remains of an evil empire that allowed adventurous explorers to strap themselves to an explosive pile of lowest bids for a potentially one-way ticket to the unknown. All of this set during the back-drop of the Cold War, where two nations focused on attaining firsts in space exploration, which were seen as necessary for national security and symbolic of technological and ideological superiority. Did the astronauts/cosmonauts in orbit ever fear that when they looked outside their windows they would see the cities of man blossom into nuclear flame? What would happen to those in space when the world went mad?

Thankfully that never happened. The Soviet Union collapsed, but their existence and competition with the United States over space helped spark an unprecedented increase in spending on education and pure research, which accelerated scientific advancements that led to beneficial spin-off technologies. Counting all of that and a man landing on the moon (which some people still refuse to believe), is it possible that we could have done more? Where are our cities in space? Where are the colonies on Mars? Where are the interstellar ships leaving to colonizing Earth-like worlds? Where the hell is my jetpack? Perhaps that is one of the reasons why so many people confuse 2001: A Space Odyssey as alternate history. It represents that lost opportunity to accomplish something greater.

That is where alternate historians come in. We are the men and women who can look back at history and see the divergence points necessary to make our science fiction dreams a reality. Now we have all heard of some of the more the more well-known alternate histories of the Space Race, like Warren Ellis' Ministry of Space or Stephen Baxter's Voyager, but there are other alternate histories out there that cover an alternate Space Race. An excellent short story I read last year during my honeymoon was Paul J. McAuley's Sidewise-nominated short story, A Very British History. The story is actually a review of a fictional history book titled A Brief History of the Colonization of Space (Oxford 2001), which describes what happens after the British got to Peenemunde before the Russians or Americans. You can find the full text of the story here.

If you are looking for some original, online alternate history you should check out David Atwell's Human Timeline, an epic alternate history, with references to various sci-fi franchises, that once again features Britain getting a piece of the Peenemunde pie. The point of divergence leads to a mutli-sided Space Race and takes the reader far into the future as humanity advances and interacts with other intelligent species. I first read it back when I was a teenager and you can still find the entire series on Changing the Times.

That is why I am looking forward to reading and reviewing indie author Cliff Ball's new novel, New Frontier. Here is a description of the novel:

In this speculative fiction novel, what-if Ronald Reagan became President in 1976 instead and the Space Race turned out differently? He continues with the moon landings, and declares that a moon base would be established by 1979, followed by a Mars Base by 1989. The Soviets decide to up the ante by building an interstellar starship, and send it on its way as the US establishes a permanent presence on the Moon. The US builds a space station, followed by a base on Mars, that will eventually be turned into a colony.

The rest of Earth follows the original timeline, so terrorism rears its ugly head, which will forever change American politics. Iran and its attempt at taking hostages is taken care of in 1979, but a new threat emerges because of it. The new POTUS has to pursue these enemies of the US to secure America's future. We follow America's progress from Moon to Mars, along with the Teacher in Space Program, to an eventual starship mission out of the solar system, which will continue in book two.

Even though the Space Race may be over and the Space Shuttles retired, do not lose hope about getting your very own asteroid retirement home. Here are some upcoming events to look forward to by the end of the decade:

Write for Weekly Update!

2012-01-18T10:14:00.000-06:00

I had every intention of making Alternate History Weekly Update a community project. At first I sought out good writers who I though my readers will enjoy. Then I tried to use my Want to Contribute? page to reel in some interesting writers, yet that has not been very successful. Now I realized that the reason it may not be successful is because people might not know what to write about. So here are a few ideas:

Book Reviewer: Alternate history is primarily a literary genre, but I cannot possibly read all of those books on my own. Please share your thoughts on all of these wonderful books. You may even get some free review copies in the process.

Films, Television and Video/Computer Game Reviewer: There are a lot of other media that uses an alternate history storyline. Weekly Update could use your help in reviewing works from these media, especially video games.

Showcaser: There are a lot of online work of alternate history...mostly bad. The job of the showcaser is to find those few nuggets of good alternate history and share it with the world.

AH Directory Admin: Some of you may have seen the AH Directory. The problem is I need someone to better manage it, keeping it updated with new site and removing dead links. Meanwhile you can post about changes to the Directory to remind people of the ever changing world of online alternate history.

Misc.: Do not hold yourself back. Wayne Gretzky once said you always miss the shot you never take. If you have an idea that you think will work for Weekly Update, whether it is an essay or an original work of alternate history, then share it with us. You never know what it will lead too.

If any of the above positions fit you then contact me at ahwupdate@gmail.com to apply to be a writer.

Pros and Cons of Textbook AH

2012-01-17T11:00:00.000-06:00

In a recent post about how an author took their online alternate history and turned it into a novel, one of contributors Korsgaard left this interesting comment:

Wow! All of the textbook style TLs have a publication potential now!

This got me thinking textbook alternate history in general. Certainly they are not ignored by the community. When Angels Wept by Eric G. Swedin won the Sidewise Award in 2010 and For Want of a Nail by Robert Sobel won the 1997 Sidewise Award for special achievement in alternate history and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. The question remains: are textbook alternate histories the way to go? Here are some pros and cons to consider:

Pros

Alternate Historians Love Them: True fans of the genre will spend money on books, anthologies, comics, etc. with a narrative format, but they will also spend significant amount of their own time on forums, wikis and other online communities discussing and sharing their own original works. These original pieces of alternate history tend to be in the textbook format, with pictures, maps and footnotes included. Publishing a textbook alternate history is an easy way to reach the diehard fanboys.

Easier to Write: Narratives are hard to write. It takes years of practice and some skill to be an effective story teller. It is difficult to capture real life drama using the printed word. Just look at some of these articles if you do not believe me. Textbook, however, do not require the level of creative writing necessary to write a successful narrative. An educated and experienced writer can produce a good quality textbook.

Cons

Smaller Audience: Alternate history is already a niche market, but it is not impossible for a good story to reach a larger audience. Textbook alternate history, however, may have even a smaller chance. History is already an unpopular subject for many people, so a wider audience may be even less interested in reading a textbook of fake history then they would reading a textbook of real history.

Plausibility Hounds are Looking for Blood: Alternate historians are notorious for demanding a high level of plausibility, but some will let it slide for narratives in deference to the "rule of cool". Textbook alternate histories, however, will not get such a pass. A writer willing to write a textbook alternate history must have his facts in order.

Conclusion

Every style of storytelling has its advantages and disadvantages. A good writer has to weigh the pros and cons of each and consider their own comfort level. Remember that when you sit down to write your next novel.

* * *

Weekly Update #37

2012-01-16T14:36:00.000-06:00

Editor's Note

So I had to postpone my "Introduction to the Balkanized North America trope" again, but this time for a better reason besides laziness. Korsgaard and I will be teaming up for a Balkanized North American themed month of February. I hope you are all looking forward to it.

Meanwhile, I am going to be reading and reviewing Hitler Invades England by Colonel George Crall and Clopton's Short History of the Confederate States of America, 1861-1925 by Carole Scott.

Here are few posts to keep an eye out for: "The Pros and Cons of Textbook Alternate History" and "Nightmare PODs...or not."

And now the news...

New Calls for Submissions

While this Weekly Update's true purpose is to keep our readers informed about what is new in alternate history, I also like to share opportunities available for those among us who wish to be published authors. I am pleased to announce two new calls for anthology submissions that were announced last week.

The first is by John Joseph Adams who is collecting recommendations for a reprint anthology called Other Worlds Than These. Those interested in making those recommendations can do so at his Parallel Worlds Database. Adams is also willing to submissions for the author's themselves. Send an email to Adams with a copy in RTF or Doc format to jjadams.anthology [at] gmail [dot] com.

The second call for submissions comes from Dark Moon Digest, a horror fiction quarterly. They are putting together a alternate history/horror anthology with the working title Zombie Jesus and Other True Stories. Deadline is May 31st and you can find more information here. I am already working on a new short story for this submission and I hope some of our readers will join me in submitting.

Bighorn

What does General Custer and the New England Patriots have in common? The question is not as silly as it sounds. General Custer's bandmaster was an Italian immigrant named Felix Vinatieri and was the great-great-grandfather Patriot's kicker Adam Vinatieri. That was the same Vinatieri who with seven seconds left in the 2002 Super Bowl kicked a 48-yard field goal and won the game.

Now in OTL, Felix Vinatieri was ordered to stay behind at the 7th Cavalry's Powder River camp and missed the Battle of the Little Bighorn...but what if he did not? That is the POD for the award-winning, 15-minute short film Bighorn (which describes itself as a supernatural historical fantasy. Those interested in watching the film can do so on the film's website. You can also learn more about the film on their Facebook page.

Convention Watch: Dragon*Con

It was announced on January 11th that the Artifice Club will be running the Alternate History track at Dragon*Con. The Artifice Club describes itself as "a society of steampunks, retrofuturists, and like-minded creative folk who host and run amazing events." I wish the Artifice Club the best of luck and it is shame I will not be able to attend. If any of my readers are going to Dragon*Con, please let us know how it went.

Links to the Multiverse

Books

Barbara’s Picks, July 2012, Pt. 1: From Kurt Andersen to James Howard Kunstler by Barbara Hoffert at Library Journal. (Editor's Note: see the review on The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln by Stephen Carter).

Feature: Taft 2012 by Jason Heller at the AV Club.

Review of 11/22/63 by Stephen King done by Bane of Kings at The Founding Fields.

Review of Amerikan Eagle by Alan Glenn done by Dave from Dave's Buttoned-Up Mind.

Review of The Eyre Affair by Jasper Forde done by 15GoldsmithA at Youth Voices.

Review of Half a Crown by Jo Walton done by Jenny from Shelf Love.

Review of Tears of the Sun by S. M. Stirling done by Storybook Forest.

Online Alternate History

Affiliated States of Boreoamerica by Ben Karnell.

A Nicer by Nixon? at Y Files.

Television

Life After Terra Nova: 4 Sci-Fi Subgenres We'd Like to See on TV by

Video Games

Getting serious about video games by Thomas E. Rick at Foreign Policy.

* * *

Do Not Give Up on Your Online AH

2012-01-14T15:38:00.000-06:00

It is not completely unheard of for an author to take something he or she posted online and later publish it. Sebastian Breit and Matthew Quinn both took ideas that originated at Alternatehistory.com and turned them into their own contribution toward the larger library of alternate history.

That is why I was happy to learn about this novel that was published last September:

It is titled Clopton's Short History of the Confederate States of America, 1861-1925 and it is written by Carole Scott. Here is the book description from Amazon:

Other counterfactual histories are based on a concept from chaos theory called the butterfly effect. According to chaos theory, a very small difference in one initial condition of a dynamical system, such as a butterfly flapping its wings, may cause a series of changes that in the long run produce a vast change in conditions. "Clopton's History of the Confederate States of America, 1861 - 1925" by Carole Elizabeth Scott is different. So that the ramifications of several things that could have happened can be explored in one story, there are several precipitating initial changes in this story, and the story continues much further into the future than does the typical counterfactual history. This story is very unusual in that it takes the form of a textbook. A unique twist is that this counterfactual textbook was co-authored by a fictional college professor and a counterfactual version of Scott. History professors have biases. By taking the form of textbook, this story is able to demonstrate the likely difference between how victorious Confederate historians would have viewed given events and issues than have real world American historians. Real textbooks often have an appendix; so does this counterfactual textbook. The appendix provides biographical sketches of a number of real people. It provide readers with some insights into often not widely known aspects of the real world that guided the author in fabricating a reasonable alternative history.

Now I am not the biggest fan of American Civil War alternate histories, but I am looking forward to reading this book because of its history book format and the fact that I have already read it before! Those interested can check out an earlier version of the idea that novel would become here. This website was first created in 1997 and I first discovered it when I was a teenager obsessed with worlds that weren't.

I am interested in seeing how the story has evolved from its modest online beginnings and I also hope all of my readers who dabble in online alternate history will take this lesson to heart. Do not give up on your online alternate history works. You never know where they will take you.

* * *

Breaking News: 20,000 Page Views

2012-01-13T11:00:00.000-06:00

So today the blog surpassed 20,000 page views. This is a great milestone for the blog and I would like to thank our fans for helping us grow. The last time the blog reached such a milestone was 11/5/11 when I announced the 10,000th page view. Let us see how the blog has progressed since then. First, the map of our readers between the two events:

World map of readers 11/5/11

World map of readers 1/13/2012

South America and the Middle East are starting to fill out nicely, but what is more important is how we have grown in our social networking presence:

We had 23 Google followers on 11/5/11, now we have 30 (Goal: 100 by 6/12).
We had 66 Facebook fans on 11/5/11, now we have 76 (Goal: 300 by 6/12).
We had 17 Twitter followers on 11/5/11, now we have 22 (Goal: 50 by 6/12).

If you would like to help us reach our goals, please follow us through Google, Facebook or Twitter. Those interested in sponsoring this blog should check out our Sponsors page for more details. Also feel free to check out our Amazon page or donate through PayPal. All proceeds go to reward our contributors for their hard work and to promote the blog. If you are interested in contributing to this blog, contact me at ahwupdate@gmail.com.

And thank you for reading Alternate History Weekly Update

Breaking News: "Substitution Cipher" Deadline Extended

2012-01-12T12:39:00.000-06:00

I spoke to soon when I reported that Candlemark and Gleam's deadline for Substitution Cipher was approaching. The publisher has just announced that the deadline for the anthology has been extended to January 31st. In fact, they seem very interested in anything set pre-1900.

So if you thought you did not have enough to finish or start your story, think again.

* * *

Rule of Cool vs. Historical Accuracy in AH

2012-01-12T12:00:00.007-06:00

Happy New Year my dear readers! For my first post of 2012 for the Alternate History Weekly Update, I'm starting the new year the only proper way: with a bang. Today, I'm taking a look at the major stylistic divide in the genre, between those who aim for historical plausibility, and those who toss plausibility out the window in pursuit of what is collectively know as the 'rule of cool'.

Such divides are not unheard of in literature, especially in speculative fiction, typically called the divide between hard and soft fiction. Science Fiction is split between the fairly accessible space operas or future thrillers like Star Wars and the hard science-based works of authors like Asimov. The fantasy genre has factions made up of the fairly lightweight stuff like Harry Potter, and then you have the sprawling detailed epics like Lord of the Rings or A Song of Ice and Fire. So it makes perfect sense that alternate history has its own divide between those who use history to explore historical alternatives and those who prefer to explore some of the more outlandish and unique possibilities of alternate worlds. As you can expect, both have their upsides and downsides, which I hope to explore in depth here today.

I shall start with looking at the sect of the AH community that aims for historical accuracy, the most prominent circles found on the Internet, most notable among them AH.com, the majority of the works of the site striving for plausibility, and the works that do not achieve that are quickly labeled ASB. That aim for accuracy and realism is a trademark of hard AH, the more detailed and researched the work, the better. A main tool of the plausibility supporters is the butterfly effect, which as most of you know, is where the effects of a change to OTL ripples out to the point the entire world is unrecognizable - for example if you have a POD in the War of American Independence, Barrack Obama shouldn't be President of the United States in the present day, because due to butterflies, he shouldn't exist at all. Timelines and stories that strive for such (alternate) historical accuracy are often more focused on the world and societies created by the original POD, allowing a window into a drastically different world, with characters and events typically taking a secondary role.

In direct contrast, groups that spend more focus on creating a cool world with interesting characters, original and historical, with less focus on making it historically accurate. This is typically because these sorts of stories are more traditional with their focus on plot and characters, which is also why it has found commercial success with writers like Harry Turledove and SM Sterling. Being that there is less focus on realism in a lot of stories, this is where many of the genres biggest tropes first came into being, with such examples including zeppelins, steam-punk, balkanized Americas or surviving Byzantine Empires, various wanks and screws, and even the genre staple ISOT scenario. Also, while the stories and timelines that aim for plausibility typically manage to range in quality from middle of the road to superb, for ever wonderful rule of cool AH, you typically have one or two others that are plainly terrible.

But which of the two approaches happens to be the better one? To reiterate, the both have their strengths and their weaknesses, to say nothing of both personal preference of both the writer and the author.

Historically accuracy is obviously favored by many history buffs, simply because thinking of the most plausible alternate worlds and histories makes for not only great mental gymnastics and fictional narratives, but provide greater appreciation or remorse over our own past. Of course, insight alone is not the main reason so many favor the plausibility side, but from the fact so many of these worlds seem detailed, involved, and above all else, real. That realism is the strength of so many of the stories on this side, and one of the reasons that more ASB stories are dismissed, and why the more astute readers will point out that due to the Butterfly effect, Barrack Obama shouldn’t be the leader of the USA in a story where the POD was in 1812. That’s one of the nice things about aiming for historical accuracy is that the shape of the world you're making is grounded mainly in historical fact and realisms, and thus, wiggle room over plot points and details is fairly plausible, if limited.

Of course, with so much focus on the world, many times the characters or plots suffer, or at least take a back seat to the greater world. As a result, too many of these kinds of AH stories read like history books. Of course, depending how much of a plausibility fanatic they are, in that quest for plausibility, writers often dismisses many great narratives as ASB or implausible, forgetting that many of histories most interesting chapters - from Alexander the Great to the Mongol invasions, Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, to even the American republic not only defeating Britain in its quest for independence, but conquering the majority of a continent and becoming a global hegemony in the course of two centuries - at times read like the creations of an overly creative alternate historian.

When one writes according to the rule of cool, it really is an entirely different ball game. Often times historical plausibility will take a backseat, or be ignored entirely, in the pursuit of a grand story with a rich cast of characters and a strange, exciting world. As mentioned before, many of the genres biggest standby tropes, ranging from steam-punk and zeppelins to Teddy Roosevelt being a larger than life hero, got their start in the pulpier AH, and have made their way in to both sides work. If you can ignore how implausible it is to have a front of WWII fought between the USA and CSA, or sky pirates raiding zeppelins in the skies above a shattered 1930s USA, these often make for brisk and memorable reads, especially for those who are not fans of the textbook approach often used in the plausibility school. While it may be unrealistic to see Barrack Obama in a story where, due to butterflies, he shouldn't even exist, having contemporary and historical figures provides a familiar and relatable perspective to many of these stories, plus the added bonus of seeing how historical figures would react in such a world.

One obvious weakness of the rule of cool approach is that often times, people will carry it too far. This can range from the USA invading Britain and winning during the 1860s, Nazis ruling the world, or Joan of Arc coming back to life to fight in WWII (I've seen it happen). Not surprisingly, many of these scenarios are what genre detractors use to bash the greater AH genre, and it has lost many a reader of Alternate History. Another big weakness of the rule of cool approach is that author bias often seeps its way into the story. Sometimes that works well (Say what you will, Harry Turtledove rehashes WWII time after time because he can do it very well), and at other times, it backfires horrifically (How much of SM Sterling's work contains a balkanized USA, a wanked British Empire, a marginalized Christian church and gratuitous amounts of graphic lesbian sex?). In the end, the biggest weakness a lot of these stories and timelines suffer from is lacking that same realism that is so strong in the more plausible stories. At a certain point, having clockwork automatons fighting WWI isn't nearly as personal a story as, say, the despair of a French soldier in the trenches upon hearing the Kaiser's forces had captured Paris.

In short, that divide can be explained simply by the aim of the work. Most plausible AH aims to take a look at history. Most Rule of Cool AH seeks to . In the end, most great AH dabbles in a bit of both.

While there are supporters and detractors to both sides, I myself tend to subscribe to both sides, depending on the work. I can enjoy something pulpy and implausible like Crimson Skies or Harry Turtledove, just as much as I can foam at the mouth over how awful Spike TV’s Alternate History was from both an artistic and historical perspective. It is not mere egotism that I hope to see this approach embraced by the larger alternate history community. Just as Science Fiction can have both Star Wars and the Foundation, and Fantasy can have Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter under its banner, Alternate History can have works that appeal to the history buff and the ravenous reader alike, and so long as the quality of such works remains superb, our genre will only be made better for it.

Soldier, scholar, writer and web-voyeur, Sean CW Korsgaard has been active in the alternate history community since 2006, and was recently elected to succeed Mitro as President of the Alternate History Online Facebook group. In addition to his contributions at the Alternate History Weekly Update, he writes for several websites, including his own, which can be found here.

Alternate Destinies

2012-01-11T22:15:00.005-06:00

Most of us have pivotal points in our lives that determine who we become as adults, and thus how we affect the world around us. For some of us, it may not make much difference in the whole scheme of things, but when the life history of world leaders are examined, we can speculate how the world itself may have turned out much differently if a certain person had not stepped onto the stage of world history at all, but had advanced into a life quite different in the shadows.

Consider the alternate history in which a young Osama bin Laden, at the age of 10, could have been converted to the pacifism of Quaker Christianity. At the time, he was attending Brummana High School in Syria. He had lived with his mother after her early divorce from Osama's father and was raised with half-siblings. He became an heir to his father's wealth at about this time, sharing it with around 50 other children! His step-father was Muhammad Al-Attas, hand-picked from among Bin Laden's employees.

Perhaps, by some miracle that most Christians believe is afforded anyone who truly comes to God, the Quaker teachers had convinced the youngster that their life was the truth. This is far out there - even ASB I suppose -- but bear with me a bit on this one. The child was in his formative years and anything is possible with God. And so, the alternate destiny moves him in the direction of this Christian sect (readers might remember that Richard Nixon was a Quaker). Back home in Saudi Arabia the teenage Osama went to an elite private school, but was not particularly religious, though religion was an essential part of the curriculum.

In this alternate reality, though, Osama put on a good show, adapting to the expectations, until he reached an age of majority, being married in an arranged marriage as in our own reality. But once an adult, he took his young family with him when he accepts an offer to attend Oxford University. Never having hooked up with the Muslim Brotherhood, the young Saudi gladly traveled out of the Arab world and into academia. While at Oxford, he breaks with his family, changing his name to Leon Attas ("Osama" means "lion") and officially disappears from sight. Leon becomes an engineer for a firm in New York City after immigrating with his family.

It would be years before the Bin Laden family could locate him and his wife (a cousin), and he escapes death due to the close ties the family has with the Saudi royal family. All knowledge of the wayward son of the late Saudi billionaire is disavowed, even though he had not only converted, but brought his wife along with him. It is decided that it is not worth an international incident.

This does not mean that some terrorist group like Al-Qaeda would not have arisen in the wake of the Iran hostage crisis. It probably would have. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan would have happened and some Muslim leader would have probably raised an army to repel them. Enemies of the west would have seen reasons to attack weak targets in protest to intervention in their affairs. The particularly harsh ways of Al-Qaeda, though, may not have brought so much damage in the jihad to follow though. Such a man as Osama bin Laden does indeed make his mark on the world.

DD Date 1984.01.11

2012-01-11T20:59:00.006-06:00

January 11, 1984

Well, I survived another year. My birthday turned out rather nicely yesterday as Debbie and some friends put together a surprise party for me down at Freedom Baptist Church. Some BJ grads had worked with Debbie's brother Chuck to work things out. They called it a Bible Study and I couldn't resist checking it out since they had said there would be baby sitting for the kids.

There was even a cake -- 31 candles actually is quite a few to blow out at one time, but I did it! The ladies at the church had done their best to fix the dinner of green beans, pork chops and mashed potatoes using the facilities in the church kitchen. The families had called in some favors and collected some books and things from the campus bookstore at Bob Jones. They were cheering me on in my search for a church even though I'm a Presbyterian and they're all Baptist! But these last few months I've learned that the BJ community here in the Berea area is quite strong.

One of the men from the school works in the shop and he helped me set up the bicycle I got for Christmas to turn the car alternator and recharge the battery. It takes quite a bit of work, but it's like those exercise bikes -- peddling as fast as you can and getting nowhere! But I keep in shape while in the house while the kids are napping. Of course, I have work I could be doing, but I can do some of that at night to use up some of the battery!

Oh yeah, one of the birthday presents was a ream of notebook paper, a binder and a pack of pencils! I'm set to keep a record of this surreal adventure for months to come. Perhaps one day these pages will be read by civilized folk with electricity and automobiles of their own. I hope those people aren't Russians, though. That's the one thing that bothers me about this whole adventure -- the probability that the enemy is coming any day to clean up the mess they have made. The fact that we have not received any word from the federal OR state government is highly disturbing. Of course, we may have got them before they could completely destroy us - that "MAD" thing, "Mutually Assured Destruction!" I guess we'll know some day what really happened.

Previous entry: DD Date 1984.01.04
Next entry: DD Date 1984.01.21

Interview: Andy Johnson

2012-01-11T11:00:00.003-06:00

I now bring you my interview with Andy Johnson, author of Seelowe Nord:

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

Sure. I was born and grew up in York, England. I joined the British Army at the age of sixteen just a couple of weeks after leaving school. I then served for twenty four years with a regiment called the Coldstream Guards, which is one of the Queen’s Bodyguard infantry regiments. I did active combat service in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan, in addition to training and residential postings all around the world. I have taken part in Trooping the Colour, Changing the Guard, and a range of other State Ceremonial events. I also spent a total of four years as an instructor at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. I finished my time as the Regimental Sergeant Major of the Coldstream Guards and retired from the Army in 2009 after being awarded the Meritorious Service Medal.

I then started a number of civilian careers. I immediately began writing military history themed novels, took a job as a youth worker, and became the chairman of a military charity. I have now finished the youth work job and am in the process of starting up my own leadership and management consultancy business. I donate a percentage of the profits from my novels annually to British military charities. This year I am supporting the Army Benevolent Fund, The Casualty Fund of the Coldstream Guards, The British Limbless Ex-Servicemen’s Association and Combat Stress. It’s not a ground breaking sum of money but I like to do my bit for them.

What got you interested in alternate history?

I think all of us, even the most pragmatic, can’t resist looking back at events and thinking ‘what if…’ As an author, Alternate History is a great genre, because you can make up your own plots, story-lines and endings as you would with any other kind of fiction, but at the same time, you don’t have to spend too long inventing your own little world, and the people who populate it; history has already produced the background context and over-arching scenario for you. Also, as I’ve found out these last couple of years, there’s nothing guaranteed to get tongues wagging than messing about with the history books!

What is your novel Seelowe Nord about?

It is essentially the story of the proposed German invasion of Britain in 1940 which obviously came to nothing in reality. In my book however, I credit the Germans with achieving a partial victory in the Battle of Britain and then successfully getting their invasion force past the Royal Navy and onto British soil. Almost everything is based on actual military strengths, plans and orders of battle existent at the time, but I’ve changed the German plan by moving the landing area some 200 miles north so that they launch their invasion against the east coast, in the county of Yorkshire. There follows much blood and guts – I’ll say no more.

What inspired you to write the novel?

Firstly, I’ve always wanted to write a novel that communicated the reality and intensity of frontline combat. In this modern world of console and computer games, people are deceived into thinking that war is a relatively straight forward and clinical business. It is far from it.

Regarding the scenario, I grew up in the area where the book is set and, as a child, I remember wondering why there were dozens of military bunkers, pill-boxes and other field defences littered around the fields and coastline of Yorkshire. Only as I grew up and learned the history of 1940 did I understand the reality of the invasion threat back in that fateful year.

In my final military appointment, I decided to run a tactical training exercise for my Junior NCOs, in order to develop their conceptual ability, and my staff and I came up with a scenario that would require those NCOs to plan an amphibious assault against the Yorkshire coastline and then fight their way inland for about forty miles, using all these original defensive positions as the enemy objectives. Essentially, they would be playing the German role in the exercise. Unfortunately, the battalion was deployed at short notice to Afghanistan and then I reached my retirement point, so the exercise never took place. Despite that, I was left with this very detailed scenario sitting around in my mind and, suddenly, everything came together; I’d found the right vehicle for my first novel.

What sources did you use when researching for the novel?

I was lucky that I am quite familiar with the early years of World War II as it’s something that the military world studies in quite some detail. There were however, some long days at the city library, followed by visits to various museums and archives around the country. However, most of the research was on the ground. I spent many glorious days in both rain and sunshine, hiking over the hills and dales of Yorkshire, as well as walking the coast itself, tracking down all the obstacles, defences and bunkers that are still in existence. I then spent many hours reverting to my military training and thinking to myself ‘so how would I attack this position?’

How did you come up with the title?

I wanted an unusual, punchy and dramatic title. The original German plan for invading Britain was Seelowe (Sealion) and because I’d moved the German plan north I decided to add Nord onto it; hence Seelowe Nord. At the same time, I was conscious that not everyone understands German, so I had to add an English sub-title that would give a hint of what was to come inside the book. Because I wanted the book to be very blunt, direct and uncompromising, I went for a very straight forward sub-title of ‘The Germans are coming’.

Who designed the cover?

The design team at the publisher did the artwork, but in line with my fairly detailed wishes. Again, I wanted a pretty ominous looking cover and found the perfect photograph in the US National Archives (NARA). I purchased the photograph and license through them and then passed it to the design team, with the instruction that the cover should look ‘dark, ominous, threatening, suggesting immediate action or imminent violence’. They did a brilliant job and their first attempt was spot on. Even now, I get a shiver of excitement when I look at the cover.

Consensus among alternate historians is that stories stemming from Operation Sea Lion divergences are inherently implausible. What is your opinion about this?

As a former soldier, I am as aware as anyone that looking back in history, with the benefit of hindsight, the reality is that Operation Sealion was always going to be a non-starter, and I was especially aware that any book written along the lines of an alternate history of the operation would throw people into a frenzy of debate. However, having said this, I would make a few points. Firstly, the whole idea of alternate history is that we are looking for an alternative outcome from a historical event which is firmly embedded in everyone's folk-memory and therefore, any reader has to willingly suspend their disbelief in order to read the genre in the first place. Secondly, the main lesson that I learned as a soldier was that you can never say never. If you look at the great military feats of history, it is littered with events that at the time, defied belief. The reality in war can often be far more stunning and unbelievable than anything a novelist could conjure up. As a soldier, I learned to never say 'that is impossible' or 'the enemy would never do that', because, as sure as eggs is eggs, if you said those things, you invariably ended up having to eat your words. More than any other human endeavour, war is far from being a science. It is entirely exposed to the vagaries of human spirit, human ability, Mother Nature, and just old fashioned luck and coincidence. And of course, when you see the amount of concrete that was poured along the east coast of Britain in 1940 in the construction of bunkers and field defences, you see at a glance that those who lived through that period in history were under no doubt whatsoever that the Germans really were coming.

Interestingly, a joint German-British wargame was held at Sandhurst in the early 1970s with many original commanders from both sides playing staff roles in a play-test of the original German Sealion plan. Both German and British commanders agreed that the landings would probably have achieved initial success, but that the attrition caused by Royal Navy interdiction and the constraints of supplying and reinforcing the landing force would result in an eventual defeat on land for the Germans. As for the opinion of historians, well, at the end of the day all historians, be they highly qualified professionals or self appointed amateurs, are essentially just commentators on past events as opposed to the architects of the future. So, all in all, I don't take the Operation Sealion debate too seriously at all; I just wanted to find a scenario where I could write a rattling good war story in an unfamiliar context, and I have to say, I had tremendous fun doing so. As I mention in the foreword to the novel; please take the novel for what it is - a story of men at war.

Will there be any sequels to Seelowe Nord?

Seelowe Nord is the first novel of my World War II series, and my second is entitled Thunder in May, which was published in July last year. The third book in the series I am currently working on and is due to go off for publishing in April/May this year. Its title is being kept under wraps until April but the book will be a late-war scenario.

What is Thunder in May about?

Thunder in May is a part dramatisation, part fictionalised story of the German offensive in the West in May-June 1940, culminating in the evacuation of Dunkirk. Many of the characters from Seelowe Nord reappear in the prequel, including the central British character, Sergeant Jackson of the Coldstream Guarrds. The book covers some of the well known, and some of the lesser known actions of the campaign, including the assault on Fort Eben Emael, the German assault crossings of the Meuse, the bayonet charge of the Coldstream Guards at Herent on the Dyle, the BEF's stand on the River Escaut, the British counter-stroke at Arras, and of course the battle for the Dunkirk perimeter.

Do you have any other projects you are working on?

I am toying with the idea of writing some near future military novels, a dark-future gangster style novel, along with some ancient history/fantasy fiction stuff. Fortunately, I’m not stuck for ideas just yet; it’s really a case of trying to establish what people want to read about. I don’t want to overdo a particular theme.

What are you reading now?

Apart from lots of World War II research stuff, I’ve just read Harvey Black’s first novel Devils with Wings, and I’m now flicking through my brand new Kindle to see what I’m going to treat myself to next. The only thing is, I can’t read other peoples work while I’m writing my own stuff, as it tends to throw my literary style all over the place, so I’ve got quite a disciplined leisure-reading calendar!

Any advice for would be authors?

Be disciplined. You’ve got to treat writing like a job and make time for it so you can get into the flow of writing and make real headway; otherwise you’ll never get anywhere with it. I learned that the hard way. Most importantly of all though; don’t be afraid to put pen to paper and put your work out there. It would be a poorer world if people didn’t write new books. Don’t be scared of getting a bad review. Everyone in this world has an opinion; some are good, some stink; just don’t take it personally. What’s the worst that can happen? Not many people buy your book? Well, if you don’t try in the first place then NOBODY will ever read your book. I’ve got a new Kindle and I want something to read, so all of you get writing!

----

Those interested can catch War Blogger's review of Seelow Nord. People interested in learning more about Andy Johnson and his novels can check out his website, where they will find maps and photographs of the terrain, weapons, equipment, etc. They can also follow him on Twitter (@shelowenord).

Breaking News: "Substitution Cipher" Deadline Approaching

2012-01-10T15:00:00.002-06:00

So on 10/18/11 I reported that Candlemark and Gleam, a speculative fiction publishing company, that they were looking for submissions for an anthology of alternate history titled Substitution Cipher. The instructions can be found here, but most important is that the last day for submissions is January 15, 2012. So you only have a few more days to send a submission.

I have submitted my own short story to the anthology. It is titled "Collapse Theory" and I will keep you updated in case it gets published. In the meantime you can check out some background material at the AH Wiki.

* * *

Review: "Boneshaker" by Cherie Priest

2012-01-10T11:00:00.031-06:00

Grade: B

I seem to have a steampunk craving these last couple of weeks. First The Five Fists of Science and now Boneshaker by Cherie Priest. I am not saying here is anything wrong about liking steampunk, it brings a lot of good things to the genre.

A good thing.

Since Boneshaker has been getting a lot of press lately, however, I wanted to see if the novels holds up to the hype. Thankfully, it does.

The story is set in an alternate 1880s Seattle. Mad scientist Leviticus Blue is blamed for destroying much of the city when his new invention, a mining device known as the "Boneshaker", causes a massive earthquake that expels a gas known as the "Blight". The gas is incredibly lethal and worse yet, causes the dead to rise and hunger for human flesh (called "Rotters"). The people of Seattle build a wall around downtown Seattle and retreat to the remaining safe portions of the city, called the Outskirts.

Sixteen years later, Zeke Wilkes, Blue's son, goes into the walled city to clear his father's name. Zeke's mother, Briar Wilkes, follows him in an airship, determined to rescue her son. Inside she finds people who stayed behind after the wall went up. Most are helpful, but there is also the mysterious Dr. Minnericht, who eerily resembles her dead husband. Zeke and Briar's arrival upsets the status quo and they find themselves caught in a battle between the factions within the wall.

The story is exciting, with mysteries and secrets aplenty, and twist at the end. Plausibility hounds, however, will cringe at the number of points of divergence. The earliest POD involves an earlier Klondike Gold Rush that leads to Seattle being a larger city by the time the Boneshaker destroys most of it. Besides smaller changes to Seattle history to allow for iconic buildings to be included, the American Civil War is also still going on. There are a lot of PODs involving the war, including a southern transcontinental railroad and Stonewall Jackson having a longer life.

The most perplexing of these PODs, however, is the mention of British troops fighting in the south. This seems to suggest that Britain has recognized the CSA and is at war with the USA. Yet all the characters act as if the war is an eastern problem and not something they need to worry about. Now my geography is a little rusty, but I believe Seattle is pretty damn close to British Columbia. Did the Canadians decide to sit this one out or what?

I almost forgot: there are zombies. That is why I can ignore (most of the time) the plausibility issues because the story is what makes this book an excellent read and a good introduction to steampunk if you have not tried that sub-genre yet.

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Weekly Update #36

2012-01-09T11:00:00.011-06:00

Editor's Note

Wow got a lot of things to talk about in this Editor's Note. First we got new readers from Nigeria, Jordan and Albania. Welcome!

Next, I will be posting an interview this week with Andy Johnson, author of Seelowe Nord. I also will be posting a review of Boneshaker by Cherie Priest. Finally, I will be finishing "An Introduction to the Balkanized North American trope" that I promised to write last week. Sorry about not posting it last week. Sometimes I find it hard to write articles, especially when new ideas pop up into my head. That is why I wrote the "Kings of the United States of America" instead, but I will try harder to keep my promises. Thanks by the way to the Facebook fans who helped promote the article.

The results of the best contributor of 2011 are in. Korsgaard was voted the best contributor of 2011, followed by myself, Henry Martin, War Blogger and Teramis. Congrats to Korsgaard and hopefully we will see him post later this week as well. Meanwhile, we have a new poll. This time I am asking you whether you think an alternate history publishing company could be successful. See this thread at AH.com for more details.

By the way, I forgot to mention this last week, but we broke our monthly page view record again! Our new record is 4,541. This is the third month in a row that we have broken our record and I plan to do it again this month. So keep checking for more updates.

And now the news...

Samuel & Alasdair: A Personal History of the Robot War

Found a peculiar radio play called Samuel & Alasdair: A Personal History of the Robot War. It is retro-futurist, alternate history radio-play comedy put on by The Mad Ones. The story goes like this:

In an alternate global history, the cold war was decided not by detente, not by nuclear holocaust, but by massive robot invasion. Among the survivors, a team of Russian radio hosts, warmed to a lost culture of 1950s Americana, broadcast a story of brothers’ love drawn straight from the American heartland. “Samuel & Alasdair: A Personal History of the Robot War” combines 1950s radio drama, vintage country music, and Soviet science for a look back in time and forward to what’s next.

Samuel & Alasdair will be playing at the New Ohio Theater, 154 Christopher Street, between Washington and Greenwich streets, West Village, NYC, New York. It will run from January 5th to the 21st. Ticket prices range from $15-$18. If any of our reader get a chance to check it out, please let me know.

Alternate History Prints by Matthew Buchholz

Artist Matthew Buchholz has produced some excellent prints of an alternate history where America is beset by monsters and aliens. Winextra and Geek System have given them "awesome" reviews, so you should definitely check them out. Below are a couple of my favorite, but you can purchase your own at Etsy.

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

2011 In Review: The Year That Wasn't by Jeff Miller at Seeking Alpha.

In some alternate universe, this is the iPhone by Mark R at Coolest Gadgets.

Liberation Blues by The Times of India.

Some New Year's resolutions a bit closer to home by Matthew Quinn at Appen Newspapers.

Books

Review of Dies the Fire by S. M. Stirling, done by Elfy at Travels Through lest.

Review of Tears of the Sun by S. M. Stirling, done by Domenico Bettinelli at Bettnet.com.

Films

More Development Art From Tim Burton's Aborted SUPERMAN LIVES!! by Merrick at Ain't It Cool News.

Star Wars: The Alternate History by Marcell Currin at Ministry of Ideas.

* * *

DD Date 1984.01.04

2012-01-06T19:51:00.005-06:00

January 4, 1984

It seems a little strange, it being the long "predicted" 1984. George Orwell's classic tale of a land ruled by a socialistic leader who took Machiavelli to the extreme has served as a warning to Western democracies of what the world would be like if the ways of the Soviet Union prevailed. Orwell was writing in post-war England in 1948 as London was rebuilding from German attacks not so many years earlier. He knew that Russia was an ally in that war, but he also realized the danger of the socialism that nation represented.

Well, I guess he was right, in a way, Russia seems to have been much more evil that even president Reagan imagined. For all of his talk, I shouldn't be surprised that Russia's leader Yuri Andropov attacked us. The man was KGB, and from what I have read those guys are not nice! Well, we survived his attacks, for now anyway. The winter is about to set in, though, and without electricity we'd better hope that the wood holds out.

As scheduled, I was working Sunday night when the year began. The silence was broken in the minutes before midnight by fireworks in the neighborhood. I don't know if the firecrackers were left over from the Fourth or whether people actually spent money on them instead of more important things. There's no explaining some folks. At least the patients I take care of didn't particularly care. Many of them only have days to live anyway, since we now are a kind of clearing house for the morgue. I think it's called 'hospice' and we are trying to keep the people comfortable without much more than out of date narcotics. I still visit some of the elderly folks that we sent home to live with family as part of my job, though. They at least have the comfort of knowing their family is near.

The good news is that we now have running water! Mayor Workman's office has worked with the utility companies to bypass electric pumps with a low pressure system bringing water downhill from the lakes and reservoirs. Flushing toilets is forbidden, though, since the sewage treatment system cannot handle the waste. Our outhouse is going to have to last a bit longer, I guess. As it is, runoff from the drainage systems is going directly to the rivers downstream. I suppose this is not good news for folks living downstream!

Well, Debbie will be home soon (it's been dark for some time and the kids are in bed). So I think I'm going to put down the pencil and paper and pick up a book to use up a little more of this light. I finally got plans on how to hook the car's old alternator up to a bicycle to charge the battery. Now if I can only get it working before the battery goes dead!

Previous entry: DD Date 1983.12.30
Next entry: DD Date 1984.01.11

Kings of the United States of America

2012-01-05T11:00:00.016-06:00

Americans are very proud of their republican government. Thus if you want to learn about a "King of the United States of America", you will have to look toward alternate history. One example is American King by Napoleon53.

There are, however, Americans that consider monarchy to be a superior form of government. The following are a list of possible points of divergence that may have resulted in a "King of the United States". Some are speculative on my part, but a few were OTL proposals that could have changed the course of American politics if they were ever implemented.

House of Stuart, Kings of Virginia

The House of Stuart (previously spelled Stewart) is a European royal house. Founded by Robert II of Scotland, the Stewarts first became monarchs of the Kingdom of Scotland during the late 14th century, and subsequently held the position of the Kings of Great Britain and Ireland. They eventually lost their position as monarchs of Great Britain and their claim is currently held by Franz, Duke of Bavaria.

During the English Civil War, most Virginia colonists were loyal to the crown (Charles I), but in 1652, Oliver Cromwell sent a force to remove and replace the government with one loyal to the Commonwealth of England. During this time, however, it was the local legislature that exercised most controlling authority. Meanwhile, many royalists fled to Virginia after their defeat in the English Civil War.

One wonders what would have happened if the Stuarts had also fled to Virginia following their defeat in the English Civil War and later in the Glorious Revolution. Would we have seen them take the title of King of Virginia? Could they, using Virginia as a base, expand their control over the other British colonies along the coast? What would have been the OTL United States could have gained independence from Britain a century early. Such a situation was envisioned in Orson Scott Card's The Tales of Alvin Maker.

George Washington and (1782)

George Washington is one of the founding fathers of the United States. He was commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, presided over the drafting of the Constitution and was the first President of the United States. He was also a firm believer in the virtues of republicanism, but not everyone agreed with him.

On May 22, 1782, disgruntled army officers who were upset over inadequate payment sent the Newburgh letter to George Washington who was camped at Newburgh, New York with the rest of the Continental Army. It proposed that Washington should become the King of the United States, establishing a constitutional monarchy. A similar proposal would be made later to Napoleon by Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès, so the idea of a general using the loyalty of his troops to put him on a throne is not entirely implausible. Nevertheless, Washington never accepted the offer to become King of the United States.

The letter was still a turning point in American history. Perhaps if things had been worse, if there were more incompetent men running the Continental Congress, Washington may have lost faith in republicanism and took up the offer to establish a constitutional monarchy in the United States. Whether he would have been successful is up for debate, but if was successful, this man could have been King of the United States.

Horatio Gates (1783)

The Newburgh letter was a larger part of the Newburgh conspiracy, a period of unrest in 1783 among officers of the Continental Army due to not receiving any pay for many years. With Washington uninterested in using the army to overthrow the civil government, a group of officers decided to replace Washington as Commander-in-Chief with Major General Horatio Gates.

Horatio Lloyd Gates was a retired British soldier who served as an American general during the Revolutionary War. He took credit for the American victory at the Battle of Saratoga (Benedict Arnold, who led the attack, was forced from the field when he was shot in the leg) and was blamed for the defeat at the Battle of Camden. Nevertheless, Gates might have been able to rally the support to overthrow Washington at a meeting of the officers on March 15, 1783, until Washington himself arrived at the meeting. After an impassioned speech, Washington was able to reaffirm the officer's loyalty to himself and to Congress.

George Washington's intervention prevented any serious attempts at a coup, but what if he failed or else was prevented from attending the meeting? If Gates had successfully assumed command of the Continental Army he could have taken control of the country. Members of Congress who were sympathetic with the officer's original demands and desired a stronger central government (like Robert Morris, Gouverneur Morris, and Alexander Hamilton) would have probably thrown their support behind the "Hero of Saratoga". The original proposal of establishing Washington as King of the United States might have been offered to Gates instead.

Prince Henry of Prussia (1786)

Frederick Henry Louis (a.k.a. Prince Henry of Prussia), was a Prince of Prussia. He also served as a general and statesman, and, in 1786, was suggested as a candidate for a monarch for the United States.

In 1786 either Nathaniel Gorham, then President of the Continental Congress, or Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, the Prussian general who served in the Continental Army, suggested to Alexander Hamilton that Henry should become President or King of the United States, but the offer was revoked before the prince could make a reply.

Perhaps if things had been more unstable in 1786 or else the Constitution (which would be created only a year later) never came into being, the offer might have been held open long enough for Henry to accept. Whether the rest of the country would accept him as king is up for debate, but one wonders how America's relations with Germany would have been different with a Prussian king in power...

Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany (1787)

Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany was a member of the Hanoverian and British Royal Family, the second eldest child, and second son, of King George III. From the death of his father in 1820 until his own death in 1827, he was the heir presumptive to his elder brother, King George IV, both to the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Hanover.

As an inexperienced young military officer, he presided over the unsuccessful campaign against the forces of France in the Low Countries, during the war which followed the French Revolution. Later, as commander-in-chief of the British army, he reorganised the army's forces, putting in place administrative reforms. He also founded the United Kingdom's renowned military college, Sandhurst, which promoted the professional, merit-based training of future commissioned officers.

In the summer of 1787, American newspaper accounts said that a government plot was under way to invite Prince Frederick to become King of the United States. Whether there actually was a plot is unknown, but if there was you could bet that Alexander Hamilton would have likely had a hand in it. If the Constitution failed to be ratified, pro-British supporters of a strong central government might have reached out to the young prince to bring stability to a nation on the verge of falling apart.

Emperor Norton I (1859)

Joshua Abraham Norton was born in England, Norton spent most of his early life in South Africa. He emigrated to San Francisco in 1849 after receiving a bequest of $40,000 from his father's estate. Norton initially made a living as a businessman, but he lost his fortune investing in Peruvian rice. After losing a lawsuit in which he tried to void his rice contract, Norton left San Francisco. He returned a few years later claiming to be the Emperor of the United States in 1859 (later the protector of Mexico). Despite being obviously insane, he was treated deferentially in San Francisco, and currency issued in his name was honored in the establishments he frequented. He has become a folk hero and has been immortalized by writers Mark Twain and Robert Louis Stevenson who based characters on him.

OK, I will level with you, this is the most implausible of all the claimants I have mentioned thus far. Nevertheless, if anyone can come up with a plausible (or at least entertaining) scenario as to how Norton could have become Emperor of the United States, I will post it on Alternate History Weekly Update. Email your submissions to ahwupdate@gmail.com.

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Review: "The Five Fists of Science" by Matt Fraction and Steven Sanders

2012-01-04T11:00:00.003-06:00

Grade: B+

One of the conundrums of alternate history is how does one balance the "rule of cool" with the demands for plausibility. Often when the author throws plausibility out the window it can hurt the story. Yet there are times when an author fully embraces alien space bats plot device and creates something extraordinary.

The Five Fists of Science is a steampunk graphic novel created by writer Matt Fraction and artist Steven Sanders. The novel follows a crime-fighting Nikola Tesla, a broke Mark Twain and younger-then-she-ought-to-be Bertha von Suttner as they team up to bring about world peace through superior firepower. Before the story even begins we are introduced to Mark Twain who breaks the fourth wall by assuring us that this story is true, only that everything has been changed. Release the alien space bats!

The plan is simple: convince the nations of the world to buy Tesla's new secret weapon. With everyone owning the most powerful weapon ever invented, the likelihood of war would be greatly diminished. When the world leaders do not buy it, Twain comes up with a hoax to better sell the weapon. Fights are staged in New York between "monsters" created by Tesla's own science, which are defeated by Tesla's weapon. Twain is on hand to boast about the weapon to the grateful citizens.

Dark forces, however, seek to prevent our good-intentioned team from ensuring world peace. Yeti-hunter Thomas Edison, dark wizard John Pierpont Morgan, sinister Andrew Carnegie, and nervous-eater Guglielmo Marconi are working together to build a bizarre new skyscraper, named the Innsmouth Tower, on whose building site many construction workers have already died in mysterious accidents. All this leads to a climatic battle-scene between science and magic.

While the personalities of the villains may have been tweaked, Twain's humor and Tesla's quirks were effectively captured and Bertha worked well as the cliche hot steampunk girl. Plausibility hounds, however, may not enjoy the amount of liberties taken with the source material. Furthermore, though the story was entertaining, the artwork was very dark. To dark even, there were times where I had to squint to figure out what was going on. Nevertheless, seeing some of my favorite historical figures do battle with one of the classic figures of horror is enough for me to recommend The Five Fists of Science to anyone looking for a good alternate history comic.

Weekly Update #35

2012-01-03T11:00:00.000-06:00

Editor's Note

Woot! The first Weekly Update of 2012. I am looking forward to once again bringing everyone the good news about alternate history until the world ends in December (stupid Mayans).

Got some good things coming up this week. I will be doing a review of The Five Fists of Science and an introduction to a new recurring segment. Korsgaard also has a new post in the works and I will also e conducting an interview with Andy Johnson, author of Seelöwe Nord. I plan to post it no later then next week. Meanwhile, I am reading Boneshaker by Cherie Priest, so I promise to report back on whether the book lives up to all the hype.

And now the news...

Gorbachev: World Would be a Safer Place with the Soviet Union?

When we look back at the fall of the Soviet Union happening twenty years ago, rarely does anyone look at the end of the Cold War and the collapse of communism as a bad thing. Yet Mikhail Gorbachev (you heard me right, the Soviet Union's last leader and first constitutional president) disagrees in a counterfactual article he wrote for The Nation and promotes a theory that states that the world would have been a safer (better?) place with the Soviet Union.

Gorbachev begins by refuting that the Cold War ended with the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. He instead claims that the Cold War ended two years early at the Malta summit with President Bush, where the two leaders announced they no longer considered their nations enemies. He also claimed that communism was on its way out in the Soviet Union, with new reforms implementing freedom of speech and a market based economy, and internal changes were only prevented by the August Coup of 1991 and the secret meeting by Yeltsin and other presidents to abolish the union despite the will of the people.

Gorbachev goes on further to suggest that the idea that the United States was the "victor" of the Cold War led to Cold War thinking to continue into the 21st century. He blames this misguided sense of the West's victory and the belief that militaristic solutions (or might is right) for the violent break-up of Yugoslavia, the war in Afghanistan, the war in Iraq and Iran's determination to gain nuclear weapons. He also states that the belief that the Western way of business was superior to all other kinds led to the economic crisis that we know as the Great Recession.

In summary, Gorbachev feels the West missed out on a golden opportunity to work with the Soviet Union, to seek out collective solutions to global problems and to make the United Nations a serious force in global peace. Now these ideas certainly have critics, but even some alternate historians may hesitate to say that Gorbachev is full of hot air. At the AH Wiki, there is a timeline called New Union, which features a Soviet Union that reformed itself in a way that Gorbachev discussed in his article. The author of this timeline at one point felt he was turning the world into a utopia as history played out from the August Coup never happening. What do you think?

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

The Power List: 23 Movers and Shakers in Science Fiction and Fantasy by Charlie Jane Anders at i09.

Interview

Comic book writer Alan Moore talking about science and imagination - Nine Lessons 2011

Online AH

Episode Three: The Railroad Underground by Benjamin Jacobson at SteampunX.

Prince Henry of Prussia: The Rise of U-Boat by BlondieBC.

Polls

"Clash of Eagles" Concept Art & Poll at Sebastian P. Breit's homepage.

* * *

Op-Ed: Sibling Rivalry

2011-12-30T16:22:00.002-06:00

Recently, the leader of North Korea, who had followed in his father's footsteps in 1994, died of a heart attack. Kim Jong-Il had a half-brother that was serving as Chinese Ambassador to Finland in 1994, having been kept out of the country to assure the ascendency of his older brother to succeed his father. Kim Pyong-Il seems happy with this arrangement, having chosen not to return to North Korea to attend his brother's funeral. As of now, he is still in Poland, his last unofficial post.

What would have become of the world's most isolated government if Pyong-Il instead of Jong-Il had become the leader in 1994? An alternative historian would have to reach back into North Korean history to "make this happen," of course, but it does present a good example of sibling rivalry and what a difference a decision on a parent's part can make concerning not just a person's life but perhaps a whole country's development.

How much difference can a single person make in history anyway? Would the choice of Esau over Jacob have made a difference in the history of Abraham's linage? These twins were dramatically difference, and Isaac had actually preferred Esau, but according to the Bible, God had a different idea! A much more robust people came out of Esau (Edom) that would one day even rule over the people as puppets of Rome. Romulus and Remus were equals - twins said to be the founders of Rome, but Remus is lost to history. Would "Reem" have been much different?

Similar histories produce similar results. It is doubtful that one brother will depart to far from his roots. However, in the case of another prominent death in recent days, as in the case of Jacob in the Bible, God's choice can make a big difference. I speak, of course, of the passing of noted atheist Christopher Hitchens. His brother, Peter Hitchens, by all accounts is as intelligent, but chose to believe in God. But as the Bible indicates this choice works two ways, God chose Peter to be a follower. Both brothers have written books, but the world remembers Christopher because he was more controversial.

And so, it seems, siblings can be different to extremes, even having grown up in the same environment. It is something beyond that environment - and beyond genetics - that guides the course of history. In that, we alternate historians must be ultimately humbled, for history has happened in just the way it has for a reason -- even if we would have it to be different.

DD Date 1983.12.30

2011-12-30T12:27:00.006-06:00

December 30, 2011

Well, this ends three months of weekly diary entries to try to make some sense out of life after the "unthinkable" has happened. It is a wonder that civilization here in the USA has not collapsed. Of course, it may have outside of our immediate area. As far as I know there have been no expeditions beyond short ones across the state lines to Georgia and North Carolina, and no one has received any messages from further away.

So, while I still have some notebook paper, I guess I will write what I remember of the "last year of the United States of America." I don't follow world events too much, so this will be somewhat short.

Back in January, President Reagan surprised many when he nominated a woman from North Carolina, Elizabeth Dole, to oversee the Department of Transportation. She is the second wife of Senator Bob Dole of Kansas. We got a preview of "hard times" to come when the Independent Truckers Association went on strike in response to the federal tax on fuel going up. Some stuff got scarce for about two weeks. The trucks stopped running three months ago and we are learning that the shelves don't restock themselves!

February saw the first of a bunch of Democrats after Reagan's job in 1984. In all I think seven -- including Fritz Hollings! -- had declared their intent by the end of September. Personally, I think American hero, now Senator, John Glenn is the best among them all. We can assume president Reagan was waiting to announce his intentions sometime this winter. I don't think there is any question that he will be the candidate -- if there is an election next year and he is even alive. It's hard not knowing what's happening around the world! Bringing a 'light note' to a bad situation (the Korean War), the television show M*A*S*H ended a series that lasted three times as long as the war it portrayed. -- I missed that show but caught it on the summer reruns!

Spring time saw more conservatives in high places -- Germany elected Kohl and in England Margaret Thatcher got re-elected. It was looking good for us conservatives. Reagan has been talking tough against the remaining Communists out there and I think we may have been winning that ideological battle before what I guess is World War III -- still no draft or anything -- began. I think the "new enemy" we were facing was a religious one in Israel and surrounding countries. The Muslim fighters don't hesitate to kill others by killing themselves. They showed the world that the US was their enemy by blowing up the US Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon!

In America, though, the Supreme Court made what could be a "liberal" decision concerning what would seem to be a freedom of assembly issue -- against Bob Jones University! Back when I was there I let it be known that I thought some of their policies didn't go along with my interpretation of the Bible. One of the things I disagreed with was their stand on 'inter-racial' dating. Heck, I had a great 'preacher boy' in a group that I ministered with that was from the Caribbean that was of 'mixed race' heritage. Anyway, the school would not change this on threat of 'losing' its tax exempt status. Well, its seems that the IRS can trump the constitution! The school lost its exemption. From now on, any contributions to the school cannot be counted as deductions.

The Summer saw more terrorism - hijackings and bombings - around the world. From the Mideast, to South Africa, to the Pacific, things started going bad. I don't understand how people can be so deranged as to kill themselves to make a political point. Assassinations at least make sense - going back to ancient Rome and beyond - but suicide bombs are insane! There was a major assassination, in fact, in the Phillipines -- Aquino, I think, sometimes this past summer. Anyway, the summer ended with the mess between the US and Russia - first the downing of that Korean jet with Americans on it -- a congressman from Georgia being one of them -- on September first. I'm sure that probably had something to do with the beginning of the war that perhaps has destroyed this country. And then, three weeks later we get the world as we NOW know it!

The fall months were a time of getting used to the weirdness of life without the pleasantries of the twentieth century - at home anyway. I am sure that the emergency generators in use won't last much longer either. According to the authorities - as posted on bulletin boards and spoken in town meetings - the nuclear power plant is a long way from being fixed. Other power alternatives - such as the coal powered facility in Pelzer, are closer to being on line, but the EMPs that wiped out electronics all over the place mean that re-wiring and re-engineering will take quite some time.

And so, there it is, what I remember about this year. I'm sure it won't be part of any history archives anyway, but it helps me put things in perspective as I look forward to a new year coming up this weekend. I will be working, of course, and probably won't actually 'celebrate' 1984 -- the year of "Big Brother"! getting here. Ironically, I suppose, the computers that were predicted to usher in that socialist era have been largely silenced. Wow. I wonder if that means we win after all.

Previous entry: DD Date 1983.12.21
Next entry: DD Date 1984.01.04

Best of 2011

2011-12-30T11:00:00.012-06:00

I know I said I would not post anything until 2012, but I thought I should take a moment and list some of the best of 2011. Now there is nothing scientific about the selection criteria (I do not even limit winners to those works published in 2011) and I probably never will have any official rules if I do this again next year. The one constant is that AH Weekly Update discussed them at some point. This is still my opinion, so feel free to disagree (in fact I encourage it).

Anyway here are the winners of the best alternate history for 2011:

Best Novel: I am going to have to go with When Angels Wept by Eric G. Swedin (certainly this is a greater honor then winning the Sidewise Award). War Blogger, however, might disagree with me and go with East Wind Returns by William Peter Grasso. They are both good books and I highly recommend that you read them if you get the chance.

Best Anthology: While there were only two anthologies reviewed this year, I have to give the nod to Robert Cowley's What if? series. It is still an excellent series of counterfactuals and a must read for any legitimate alternate historian.

Best Short Story: "Coil Gun" by Matthew Quinn gets the nod, but by default since we did not review any short stories separately this year. Next year I will try and bring you more reviews of short stories.

Best Showcase: This is a difficult category to rate, especially since an online timeline does not get a showcase unless the reviewer already believes this is an excellent piece of alternate history. So to make things simpler I am going to give it to the most viewed showcase, which is Dominion of Southern America by Glen from Alternatehistory.com. Congrats!

Best Comic: Titan by Michael Tymczyszyn and Andy Stanleigh also gets the nod for best comic by default, but let me stress the fact that getting the nod this way does not mean it is a bad book. It just means that we need to review more comics.

Best Television Show: I was not sure whether I should have changed the title of this category to "Worst" instead of "Best", but I decided to go with "Best" for sake of conformity. I have to admit this year was a bad year when it came to watching alternate history on television, so as much as I hate to do this, I have to given the nod to Spike TV's Alternate History. Sure it was overly dependent on bad special facts and loaded with implausible gibberish, it still managed to maintain a shred of dignity by not forcing me to stare at underage crotches!

Best Interview: Well this is a very difficult category to choose from. I did some great interviews over this year and certainly Matthew Quinn would win if I just did it by the number of page views (by the way everyone should read the end of this interview where Matt gives some good advice about how to deal with arguments on the Internet). Yet I think I will call it a tie and also give a nod to Dale Cozort, the long time alternate history fan who I just had a great time talking with.

Best Contributor: I cannot make this decision by myself, but if you look to your right you will see a poll where you can help select the best contributor of 2011. I will announce the winner in two weeks time.

Well everyone I had a great time this year and I am very happy with how far this blog has come. I look forward to making 2012 an even more remarkable year for Alternate History Weekly Update!

* * *

Review: "Japanese Military Strategy in the Pacific War: Was Defeat Inevitable" by James B. Wood

2011-12-29T11:00:00.006-06:00

Grade: B-/C+

I believe this is a first for the AH Weekly Update insofar as this is the first review of a non-fiction alternate history book. Now, you may think: aren't those terms mutually exclusive by sheer definition? Yes, they usually are. However, Wood's book combines both traits as he first briefly analyzes various fields that influenced and guided Japanese strategy and plans during WWII, only to summarize counterfactual approaches which could have helped the Imperial Japanese forces in his final chapter.

It is of import to notice that all the counterfactual possibilities presented by Wood share one commonality, which is that they were choices that were actually recognized and advocated by ranking members of the Japanese military. They are, as such, not products of the author's mind and 20/20 hindsight.

Going chapter by chapter, Wood takes a look at Japan's preparations, at the reasons commonly attributed to the nation losing the war and what could have been changed, going from the preventable losses inflicted on its merchant marine, the mishandling of its potent submarine force, the naval leadership's fetish with wishing for a decisive battle and avoiding it at the same time (the Japanese plan for the Battle of Midway is such an example), the shortcomings of its air force and the mishandling of the war by the Japanese army.

Now, each of the factors Wood addresses are significant enough to warrant at least one book of their own. The internal fractures not only between the Army and Navy High Command, but between leading figures within each branch of the armed forces, already on their own deserve a thorough "What if?" treatment.

For example, did you know that Admiral Yamamoto actually threatened that he and the whole Navy staff would resign if his plan to attack Pearl Harbor was not adopted? Admiral Chuichi Nagumo, his superior, had favored an attack against the Malaya and Indonesia that would potentially have kept the USA out of the war a bit longer. Most other professional militaries would have called the bluff and sacked such an insubordinate subordinate. But Japan's command structure was so fractured, mired in political infighting, and fragile that this type of behavior became endemic.

Wood's book is not without problems, of which many can be directly connected to the book's short length. Each chapter is, at best, 15 pages long.

I will cite from a very good review on Amazon to specify them:

His critique of Japan's war effort fails to distinguish between strategic mistakes and defeat in battle. When the Japanese lose while pressing their initiative, they are guilty of systematic over-extension; when they lose on the defensive, they are guilty of conceding the fight to the enemy's terms. They are criticized simultaneously for failing to stick to their game plan and for failing to adapt to new situations. Apparently the Japanese can neither have their cake nor eat it.

Likewise, readers must go without a precise definition of the defeat in war that Japan is trying to avoid. Is any negotiated settlement that prevents occupation of the home islands better than a "defeat"? Wood seems content to see Japan lose all its conquests and all its continental holdings, avoid invasion, and call it a draw.

This brings me to the two decisive questions: is the book worth your while, and is it worth your money?

On the former point, the answer is a clear and endorsing "Yes". Yes, it is. It provides ample sources for its points and covers lots of ground, albeit in rather brief episodes. If there was nothing else, it would still serve as a good introductory read for all those interested in the problems (and chances!) of the Japanese military in the Pacific Campaign 1941-45.

The latter, sadly, is a "No". "Japanese Military Strategy in the Pacific War: Was Defeat Inevitable", discounting the chapter and final bibliographies, covers barely 115 pages worth of text and sells for more than $25 on Amazon at the moment. That is not a favorable ratio for the content that is provided, especially since Wood could easily have made his chapters twice as long. He certainly had enough material to work with for that.

As such, I can recommend "Japanese Military Strategy in the Pacific War: Was Defeat Inevitable" as a book you ought to get from your local library, or if you find it massively discounted from an online retailer. Spend the full price only if you're desperate.

* * *

Airship Update #6

2011-12-28T08:28:00.001-06:00

Did you think I was really not going to post anything this week? Well I lied both to you and myself. So enjoy this new Airship Update:

The steam airship from the 2012 post-apocalyptic/steampunk MMORPG "Era Zero".

The R101 which crashed in 1930 in northern France, killing a Major Johnston and 47 others. Johnston's medals were recently auctioned off.

An airship emerges from the reddish clouds of dawn, concept art by William Smith.

Links in the Air

Avionics displays and processing units for Zeppelin NT airships to be provided by Barco by John Keller at Military and Aerospace Electronics.

Congress: Time for a Defense Department Airship Czar by Bob Brewin at Nextgov. (Editor's Note: "Airship Czar" sounds like the coolest title anyone in the government could ever have.)

Navy Lakehurst blimp veterans recall Cold War submarine hunts by Kirk Moore at Asbury Park Press.

Weekly Update #34

2011-12-27T11:00:00.015-06:00

Editor's Note

As promised here is the late edition of Weekly Update. Sorry guys, but with the holidays and all, I have been very busy. Some of the other contributors may be publishing something this week, but I am not making any promises. The good news is we got our first readers from Kuwait and Réunion. Welcome!

And now the news...

Coming Soon: Infinity Ring

Scholastic Books announced a new alternate history/time travel 7-book series called Infinity Ring for 7-12 year olds. Like the 39 Clues series, Infinity Ring will combine books and an online game that allows kids to go back in time and try to “fix” historical events that have gone wrong. Six different authors will write the series. James Dashner will write the first book, A Mutiny In Time (to be published in September 2012), and a yet untitled final book. Other authors include Carrie Ryan, Lisa McMann, Matt de la Peña, Matthew J. Kirby and Jennifer A. Nielsen. The final book will be published in March 2014.

For information about the plot, here is the press release from Scholastic:

History is broken, and a long-feared Cataclysm seems imminent. The capital of the United States is Boston. Lincoln’s face is nowhere to be seen on Mount Rushmore. Everyone’s buzzing about the French royal wedding. And an international group of men and women known as the SQ is more powerful than kings, richer than nations, and more fearsome than armies. When best friends Dak Smyth and Sera Froste stumble upon the key to time travel – a hand-held device known as the Infinity Ring – they’re swept up in a centuries-long secret war for the fate of mankind. Recruited by the Hystorians, a secret society that dates back to Aristotle, the kids learn that history has gone completely, and disastrously, off-course. Now it’s up to Dak, Sera, and teenage Hystorian-in-training Riq to travel back in time to fix the “Great Breaks”… and to save Dak’s missing parents while they’re at it. First stop: Spain, 1492, where a sailor named Christopher Columbus is about to be thrown overboard in a deadly mutiny!

The online gaming experience, however, is key to this new series. Each book in the series will be packaged with a unique "Hystorian's Guide," a collectible map that includes a special code to unlock exclusive content on the online game. Readers can go to http://www.infinityring.com/ (site currently under construction) and play as the main characters from the books as they attempt to fix history. The online game, which will be available through most platforms, features a virtual world, where players can interact with other characters, and explore key events in history alongside historical figures.

There are few alternate history books for children currently. Even Harry Turtledove's Crosstime Traffic series is geared more to young adults. Whether this new series will be a success, however, remains to be seen. Still it is good we are starting the kids young on this particular unhealthy obsession!

Update: Newt Gingrich

Alternate history author and politician Newt Gingrich continues with his campaign to be the Republican nominee for President of the United States, but things are not going well. His policy for the courts has been likened to that of fictional President Jake Featherston of the Confederate States of America. You heard that right, Gingrich has been compared to a Harry Turtledove character that is an analog to Adolf Hitler. Meanwhile another reviewer has attacked Gingrich's works for being both historically inaccurate and overly pro-Confederate. Ouch!

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

Alternate Hollywood History: Nick Nolte, Al Pacino and Burt Freakin' Reynolds Almost Played Deckart in Blade Runner by Alex Pappademas at Grantland.

Imagining a world without Hanukkah by Lawrence M. Pinsker at Winnipeg Free Press.

The Implications of Less Devastated Empires by Silver Goggles at Steampunk News.

Stimulus Counterfactuals by Matthew Yglesias at Slate.

Thoughts on Animating "Coil Gun." by Matthew Quinn at The World According to Quinn.

Interview

Arlan Andrews with Mark Lord at Alt Hist.

Online Alternate History

Ad Astra Per Aspera Wiki page.

The Use of Dragons In Warfare - Part One by Luka Novak at AH Fiction.

Wal-Mart Tests Online Music Site at Express After Deadline.

A Wasteland Yuletide: A 1983 Doomsday Special Tale by mdc1957.

Books

New Cover for the German Market by Sebastian P. Breit (a.k.a. War Blogger).

Review of the Emberverse series by S. M. Stirling done by Fabulous Realms.

A Holiday Message from AH Weekly Update

2011-12-23T11:00:00.002-06:00

Merry Christmas...

Happy Hanukkah...

Joyous Kwanzaa...

Happy Holidays...

Happy Festivus...

Cthulhu fhtagn...

Winter is coming...

Etc., etc., etc...

Well guys with the holiday season upon us I want to announce that I am going to be taking a break over the next week. What does that mean? Well Weekly Update #34 will be published on 12/27/11 and Weekly Update #35 will be published on 1/3/12. I do not plan to write anything else from now until 1/3/12, except for any Breaking News stories that may arise. My contributors are more then welcome to post anything if they wish, but they are under no pressure. Enjoy the holidays you guys, you deserve it.

In the meantime, why not show your appreciation to Alternate History Weekly Update by giving the gift of social media recognition! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@ahwupate) or Google. We also would appreciate anyone who would go and check out our new Amazon page. Not only can you now read AH Weekly Update from your Kindle or Kindle app, you can also like the page or write a review!

So I will see you all again next year in 2012!

Christmas without Santa

2011-12-21T22:53:00.006-06:00

I am going out on a limb here, and producing a 'bonus' column for Christmas. Here in the United States it has become fashionable in public places to downplay the very word "Christmas" for it's obvious religious meaning. On the other hand, some of the very people that bemoan the criticism of Christmas contribute to the cheapening of the holiday by the almost religious devotion to the fictional character known as "Santa Claus" to much of the world.

Oddly enough, if the religious founders of the American colonies would have had their way, the celebrations we know in this country, including Santa Claus, would never had been attached to the remembrance of Christmas day. On Christmas Day, 1776, George Washington crossed the Delaware River to surprise German mercenaries celebrating on the holiday. Such celebrations - with joyous frivolity and 'good will,' were not a part of the majority of American colonists in those days. The Dutch "Sinterklass" was lampooned in the newspapers of the day. The British had their "Father Christmas" but he had little in common with the legend that was by then at least four hundred years old.

And so, what if the popularization of Santa Claus had not made the character part and parcel of the holiday we know today? Consider the possibilities of a holy day that comes once a year, observed briefly by the pious faithful, but not trumpeted to the world as a time to buy presents for child and adult alike. No 'black Friday' when the retail stores seek to make a profit by practically giving away loss leaders. No "cyber Monday" upon which geeks jam the bandwidths looking for just the right gifts to be shipped in time for the big day less than four weeks away!

Without Santa Claus the mention of the holiday might not be seen for a full eight out of fifty-two weeks of the year! That is, until merchants began taking "Christ" out of Christmas, the name of Christ was at least acknowledged almost one sixth of the year! But when people think Christmas, they say "krismus" and it does not even sound like the reason for the season. Of course the original model for the myth - Saint Nicolas - is hardly noticeable in the name used today either. Certainly "Santa" is Spanish for "Saint" and "Claus" is a clipped form of Nicolas, and most people know "old St. Nick" to be the same "person," but "Santa" could be any saint! To the uneducated, the mention of "Krismus" and "Santa" brings no knowledge of Jesus the Messiah nor the saints who are his followers.

Without Santa, the solemness of the holy day would cause the world to pause and think something like: "Why are you celebrating the birth of a baby that lived so long ago?" The unbeliever might wonder why such a scene as a baby in a feeding trough means so much to so many. The lights might not be gaudy but might shine on the manger like the stars that did so that night at the turning point of human history -- the point where the calendars divide from minus to plus.

If gifts were given, perhaps they would not be as 'rewards' but as 'gifts.' They might even be given back to the one whose birthday is being celebrated - consecrated to his service. Dear Saint Nicolas, dead some sixteen hundred years, might be remembered as a diligent servant of God who defended the faith in the face of rising opposition. A man who helped the Church define what it means to believe in God as seen in Jesus, the Word made flesh.

The world without the modern legend of Santa Claus might be a little less colorful, but I doubt if it would be the least bit less joyful. May all who read this have a blessed Christmas as we remember the one for whom the holy day was named.

Op Ed: Depression

2011-12-21T21:43:00.005-06:00

Well, it's a few days before Christmas and we're talking alternate history. That can mean only one thing -- the annual viewing of It's A Wonderful Life with Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed. Yes, the original, preferably not colorized. And contrary to rumors, the movie is not 'retiring' on its 65th birthday (this week, on Dec. 19)! But I digress.

This movie is a classic using the alternate history genre to teach a lesson. In this time of year, when joy and peace is supposed to be the norm, there is an increase in depression and even suicides among seemingly normal folk. Such was the case with the fictional character of George Bailey, president and CEO of his family run "Savings and Loan." The Savings and Loan was a service much like the "Credit Unions" of today, but dependent on banks to handle most of their money. When a large deposit is lost at the greedy Mr. Potter's bank, Potter takes the opportunity to ruin his 'competition' and George Bailey take it hard, even to the point of seeking to jump off a bridge to kill himself.

Unknown to him, his family is worried about him and prays for his safety. Clarence, an angel with no wings, is sent to save George from himself. When George jumps in the water to save Clarence instead of to kill himself, he confides with the wet angel that he wished he had never lived! Apart from Clarence having just been saved by the man, he figured in a moment of despair, he was not worth much! How often does this thought come to us in times of trouble? We begin to consider that things would be so much better for those around us if we weren't around. We might not consider suicide - since we value life itself - but we are willing to consider "non-existence."

But, ah! What a mistake that is! Any reader of alternate history - and especially writers of alternate history - knows that a little thing like the absence of an "important" person can change the course of history for perhaps the whole world! But what of the normal guy trying to make ends meet? How could his absence make a difference. George Bailey is given a chance to see that world that he "wished" for. And it wasn't pretty. Of course, his reason for staying around and running the Savings and Loan was so that people would not be controlled by Potter. And alas, that is what happens as Bailey enters the alternate present. However, it was not just the present that he is shown. Clarence gives him a glance at his past - or the past as it would have been if he had not been born. The seemingly little things he did - from saving his brother when he fail through the ice to courting his wife - made a big difference.

Each person is on this earth for a purpose, and contemplating what is might have been is a way that we can see what that purpose is. It forces us to consider the reason we did what we did, and the consequences (good or bad) of those actions. Little kindnesses turn the despondent stranger from a course of destruction, perhaps; or meeting our spouse turns that person from a life that would have been a disaster with someone else! It makes us appreciate our relationships with family and acquaintances alike. George Bailey finds out that even though he had lost a small fortune of other people's money, those same people - people that he had helped with a loan at just the right time - came through for him when Potter had the police converging on him. He had friends that he did not even know!

Our lives might not touch as many people as Bailey's did, but the very fact that we interact with others means that we do make a difference. Let us learn from this classic piece of alternate history. When we tend to feel sorry for ourselves, let us instead think of others. Let this be as season of giving rather than getting. It may not be "about us," but it would not be the same without us.

DD Date 1983.12.21

2011-12-21T20:16:00.005-06:00

December 21, 1983

Wow, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Really. I would have thought with all the doom and gloom about the end of the world as we know it we would be "canceling Christmas" this year. I guess being a preacher-in-training I should have known that the meaning of the season isn't wrapped up in fancy paper under an artificial tree in the living room. Anyway, with Debbie and I both working full time - and that in health care (I can't think of a more secure field right now!) - our employers have been able to pay us well in credits good at K-Mart, Bi-Lo, and even Wal-Mart. I read about Wal-Mart a few years back when the first stores came to Greenville. Some guy in Arkansas of all places started out in the dime store business thirty years ago. He took the first part of his name - "Walton" - to come up with a competitor to K-Mart. The article said he likes to deal in American goods when he can. Well, I guess that will be the "new way" around here, huh? A guy named "Walton" from the Ozarks, kind of like "John-boy" and the rest on family on Walton's mountain.

Funny, but that show began at Christmas time back when I was in high school! And then lasted up through last year's three TV movies. Sort of like us today, but with a mountain, I guess. They were in the Great Depression, a time when a lot of people didn't have running water and electricity -- but they made it through some how! Sad, in a way, also, because that was all about a family all living close together -- not separated by hundreds of miles like we are now. And there's not going to be a family reunion like there has always been in the past either. Yeah, Chuck will be coming over from BJ for the weekend -- Christmas on Sunday -- happens about every five or six years, but still seems a bit strange.

Well, I'm wrapping some simple stuff tonight after the children are in bed. I set up the car headlight in the kitchen so we could use the table after dark -- going to be a long night tonight, this being the first day of winter. Strangely, though, it's not too cold. We don't open the doors to the front of the house very often, and that includes the kitchen. Keeps the heat in the bedrooms. However, we're thinking of getting a wood-burning stove to put on the back porch (where it would be safer). I don't think the rental agency would like us putting it in the kitchen -- we'd have put in special tile and figure a way to get a chimney (maybe out the window?). It would be nice to have some kind of oven -- the only bread we have is made in a frying pan!

Speaking of cooking -- the rations this week included hot cocoa mix! No milk needed. I'm betting that stuff is rare enough these days! We even have the kind with tiny dried marshmallows in it. No eggnog, though. But hot apple cider, with a little cinnamon while it lasts, will be available (the local apples had a good season this year). If things are as bad as they say they are this may be the last Christmas that has these luxuries. I'm going to enjoy the memories of Christmases past and not worry too much about Christmas to come. And I am going make this a Christmas to remember - in spite of everything!

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Airship Update #5

2011-12-21T11:00:00.003-06:00

Look up in the sky...

The US Navy's new blimp lands in Edgewater for the Army-Navy game, which the Navy won!

The Farmers Insurance-sponsored airship was seen hovering over the Town of Los Gatos the afternoon of Wednesday, Dec. 14.

University of Manitoba professor's airship is unveiled with the goal of being used to move goods and equipment to remote communities in Canada's north.

The gondola of the "Sky Whale" airship unveiled in Winnipeg that could carry goods to remote northern communities.