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Historians & philosophers have pondered historical turning points--events that altered the course of civilization. These essays ask "What if..."--Geo Washington hadn't made his escape from the British on Long Island in the dawn of 8/29/1776?--A Confederate aide hadn't accidentally lost Gen. Rbt E. Lee's plans for invading the North?--Alexander the Great had been slain in battle, instead of saved by a bodyguard?--The D-Day invasion had failed?--The Mongols had conquered Europe? Fascinating & frightening, What If? offers reflections on the monumental events of the past & speculations as to what things might be like had things gone differently.List of MapsList of IllustrationsIntroduction/Rbt CowleyInfectious alternatives: the plague that saved Jerusalem, 701 BC/Wm H. McNeillA good night's sleep can do wonders/Barbara N. PorterNo glory that was Greece: the Persians win at Salamis, 480 BC/Victor Davis HansonConquest denied: the premature death of Alexander the Great/Josiah OberFuror Teutonicus: the Teutoburg forest, AD 9/Lewis H. LaphamThe dark ages made lighter: the consequences of two defeats/Barry S. StraussThe death that saved Europe: the Mongols turn back/Cecelia HollandIf only it had not been such a wet summer: the critical decade of the 1520s/ Theodore K. RabbIf the Holy League hadn't dithered/Peter PiersonThe immolation of Hérnan Cortés: Tenochtitlán, 6/30/1521/Ross HassigThe repulse of the English fireships: the Spanish Armada triumphs, 8/8/1588/Geoffrey ParkerUnlikely victory: 13 ways the Americans could have lost the Revolution/Thomas FlemingGeorge Washington's gamble/Ira D. GruberWhat the fog wrought: the Revolution's Dunkirk, 8/29/1776/David McCulloughRuler of the world: Napoleon's missed opportunities/Alistair HorneNapoleon wins at Waterloo/Caleb CarrIf the lost order hadn't been lost: Rbt E. Lee humbles the Union/James M. McPhersonA Confederate Cannae & other scenarios: how the Civil War might have turned out differently/Stephen W. SearsVietnam in America, 1865/Tom WickerThe what ifs of 1914: the world war that should never have been/ Robert CowleyBismarck's empire: stillborn/James ChaceThanks, but no cigar/David Clay LargeThe armistice of desperation/Dennis E. ShowalterHow Hitler could have won the war: the drive for the Middle East, 1941/John KeeganWhat a taxi driver wrought/Williamson MurrayTriumph of the dictators/David FromkinOur midway disaster: Japan springs a trap, 6/4/1942/Theodore F. Cook, JrThe case of the missing carriers/Elihu RoseD Day fails: atomic alternatives in Europe/Stephen E. AmbroseThe Soviet invasion of Japan/Robert CowleyFuneral in Berlin: the Cold War turns hot/David Clay LargeChina without tears: if Chiang Kai-shek hadn't gambled in 1946/ Arthur WaldronA quagmire avoided?/Ted MorganThe end/Robert L. O'Connell