Anyone Interested In Alternate History

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I love alternate history! I've written novels based on alternate history questions like the ones posed here. They were usually related to my special interests at the time. What if commercial radio was invented several decades earlier? What if the Confederacy had been allied with England in the American Civil War? What if our society was audio-based instead of visual?

What if the Louisiana Purchase never happened?

What if Pulp Fiction won Best Picture at the 1994 Oscars instead of Forrest Gump?

What if life started on Pluto instead of Earth

How would Facebook be different if the Winklevoss Brothers proved they were the actual creators of Facebook?

The Vietnam War had already been going on for half of a decade before China fell to Mao in 1949.

The Vietnamese were already fighting to kick the returning French out their country at the end of WWII in 1945.

So the French War in Indochina (1945 to 1954) would have happened regardless.

Though its possible that the US would not have gotten drawn in like it was, and there might not have been the second Vietnamese war against America. France might have won. More likely France still would have lost, but the US would not have been as concerned if the Nationalists still ruled mainland China, (the desperation to contain Communism wouldn't have existed). We would have tolerated a Communist Vietnam if there had been no Communist China.

Thank you for clarification.

I absolutely agree with your last sentence.

What if Freddie Mercury did not get sick?

What if he was still alive, making music, like Robert Plant, Bob Segar, Rod Stewart?

We could have had twenty more years of that voice....

What other great singers should have lived longer?

I genuinely enjoy alternate history stories, however I think they require much less imagination to create than "true" science fiction, despite the fact they often appear in science fiction publications. I think they should be relegated to a separate category.

Having said that, I suppose the best alternate history would be the sort that affords the reader a new perspective on history that actually occurred. For example, I can recall reading one such story in which the German influence in early Pennsylvania had been stronger and more widespread, to the extent that German became the official language in the US. This story might make you aware that a.) German was actually proposed as the official language in the US at least once and b.) there are large parts of Pennsylvania that were predominately German-speaking for a long time, much as a large part of Canada is French-speaking today, although on a lesser scale. But a slight change in the historical circumstances could have brought about a bilingual or predominately German-speaking US.

What if Nixon, not Kennedy, had become president?

Would Nixon have been assasinated?

Recently, PBS broadcast a documentary on the asteroid that wiped-out the dinosaurs, and many life forms 65 million years ago.

Towards the end of this PBS show, it was asked how would life have evolved had the asteroid hit the open Pacific, or Atlantic Ocean instead of the Yucatan in the Gulf of Mexico? It was speculated that human life might not have evolved to eventually conquer the entire planet Earth.

Just the notion that tiniest (of the tiniest) difference in the asteroid path 65 million years earlier would have had made a major difference in the subsequent evolution of lifeforms is a notion that is incredible to reconsider!

I like alternate histories that revolve around things like what if France won the seven year war and stuff like that.

If the Confederacy had seceded:

Would they still be a separate country?

Would they still hold people in slavery?

It probably would of been taken by the British most likely while the US would put more efforts into conquering Canada from the British. If you want a French North America the best bet would be a POD around 1763 or earlier.

If you just want to see a French settler state the best PODs are.

France wins the Seven Years War and keeps New France.
France colonizes the South Pacific (Most likely Western Australia and New Zealand).
France puts more efforts into populating New France (They recruit at least 1,000 settlers per year to go to New France under the Compagnie de la Nouvelle France).
France establishes earlier permanent settlement in New France (Charlesbourg Royal is a successful colony in 1541).

Over a decade ago I looked at some alternate history newsgroups. Haven't checked any alternate history stuff since then.

Why is so much alternative history ideas about WW2?