What if the Confederacy won the Civil War?

I overheard my coworkers commenting on the rekindled interest in Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War that seems to be occurring in pop culture, with the release of the Steven Spielberg movie Lincoln. The movie is based in part on Doris Kearns Goodwin's book Team of Rivals : The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln.  Of course there is also Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard's Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever strumming up interest in history.

Regarding the Civil War books, one of my coworkers joked "do not spoil the ending for me!" It is interesting that a lot of historical fiction tells stories we might already know the ending to. But it is the storytelling itself that draws an audience, along with discovering new details or perspectives on a historical event. 

But what about if history deviated from its course? Then you get a delicious genre of books known as alternative/alternate history. 

Image courtesy of altrapoint.com

For example, what if Abraham Lincoln balanced political duties with hunting down vampires? Then you get Seth Grahame-Smith's quirky horror/action combo Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

Or what if the Confederates won the U.S. Civil War? Harry Turtledove's Southern Victory series traces the reasons for the victory and consequences through the the 1940's. The books begin with How Few Remain. 

In Philip Roth's The Plot Against America, Charles Lindbergh defeats FDR in the 1940 election, and brings about an era of extreme anti-Semitic sentiment in the United States as he decides not to oppose Hitler in World War II.

An Axis victory in World War II is a large subdivision in the alternative history genre.

British comedian Stephen Fry's Making History is a time-travel book where a student and teacher manage to ensure Hitler is never born, but accidentally pave the way for a superior Nazi leader to come into power and subsequently win WWII. 

In Philip K. Dick's award-winning The Man in the High Castle, the United States loses WWII and becomes a Fascist state where Germany, Italy, and Japan conspire against one another.

Of course, the science fiction television show Sliders explored the idea of time-traveling through parallel universes which featured plenty of alternative history to keep things exciting.  

 

If you are interested in exploring what could have been, click here: "Alternative History" to see a list of library materials that fall under the genre. Also check out the winners of the "Sidewise Award for Alternate History" for great reading ideas.

Help From Hugo

The Hugo Awards have been a great source of inspiration when I am wondering what to read next. When I tabulate my immediate books on tap for the next few weeks, from time to time I consider this list to see if there is anything that interests me at this specific time.

Why the Hugos? Simple: I love fantasy and, to a shade lesser of a degree, science fiction. The Hugo Awards recognize the best of science fiction and fantasy and have been given out each year since 1955. There are a variety of different categories for many types of media, both literary and visual, but the category I prefer to pay attention to is Best Novel. A unique facet of the Hugos is that they are voted on by the fans of the joint genres. The only requirement to vote is to be "a supporting member" of the World Science Fiction Society.

Former Hugo winners already constitute some of my all-time favorite books. Dune by Frank Herbert (winner in 1966) and American Gods by Neil Gaiman (winner in 2002) are two giants with which my initial encounters are forever etched in memory. The Man in The High Castle by Philip K. Dick (1963 winner) introduced me to the bizarrely illuminating world of the man known as PKD. These are authors who create vast worlds and craft huge ideas to illustrate lucid truths in all of us. I'm always anxious to be taken to a new place, to discover a hidden part of the human condition that I never viewed from that particular aspect before.

I am heading on a vacation soon, and I will pick up the the 1976 Hugo winner The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. Government forces from Earth are waging an intergalactic war with hostile aliens, but due to a weird quirk of space travel, only months are passing for the loyal soldiers doing the actual fighting, while centuries are passing back home. A timeless testimonial to the ultimate impotence of war and the disillusionment of those affected by it, this novel looks to have as much to say about today's world situation as it did about Vietnam.

What are some award or other lists that you use to kick-start your reading journey?