Combining short stories in the alternate military-history genre with speculative history, this entertaining book invites listeners to consider what didn't happen to gain a richer understanding of what did. Acclaimed fiction writers John Mina, Kim Stanley Robinson, William Sanders, and Harry Turtledove pose intriguing 'What if?' questions about Napoleon, the U.S. Civil War, the American South, and World War II, such as 'What if Napoleon had become emperor of the United States?' and 'Could one faulty screw have altered America's atomic-bomb policy?' With commentary from leading historians J. David Markham, James Marten, Mark McNally and John Sugden, these alternate narratives provide fascinating possibilities that will be of interest to fans of speculative history.