Alternate Gettysburgs

by Martin H. Greenberg (Editor), Brian M. Thomsen (Editor)

An anthology of twelve original short stories and four essays explores the role and implications of the Battle of Gettysburg in American history as it presents an alternate history approach to the subject in works by Harold Coyle, Doug Allyn, Jim DeFelice, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, William Forstchen, James Reasoner, and other acclaimed authors. Original.

Genres: Alternate History, Historical Fiction, Civil War, Fiction, Short Stories

352 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 3, 2002

About the author

Martin Harry Greenberg was an American academic and speculative fiction anthologist. In all, he compiled 1,298 anthologies and commissioned over 8,200 original short stories. He founded Tekno Books, a packager of more than 2000 published books. In addition, he was a co-founder of the Sci-Fi Channel.

For the 1950s anthologist and publisher of Gnome Press, see Martin Greenberg.

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

"For the first time in print, Alternate Gettysburgs features twelve original stories and four essays contemplating the famous battle's place in American history, as well as the complete text of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address."
~~back cover

I love alternate history, but I forgot I'm not a big fan of war stories, so I decided not to continue reading. But "Custer's vainglory and foolhardiness surfaces in battle on Cemetery Ridge in Doug Allyn's Custer's First Stand was excellent!

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a series of short stories about what could have happened at Gettysburg. It includes what happened if the South had won the battle. One story is about what could have happened if Lincoln had been assassinated during his Gettysburg address. The variety of stories is very good and overall they are well told by the various authors. If you are interested in Civil War History it is worth the time to read.

[Ronn · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I did enjoy the stories included here, I discovered just how little I knew about the actual Battle of Gettysburg and the personalities involved. I would heartily recommend it to Civil War buffs, and Gettysburg buff in particular.

[Donald · Rating 3 out of 5]

A interesting fun read

[Dale · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a collection and like all collections...

...it suffers from the fact that it was written by a dozen different authors. Some are very good, most are decent. Two are awful.

The gimmick in this alternative history is, of course, 'What if the Battle of Gettysburg had turned out differently?' It is inspired by this Faulkner quote:

'For every Southern boy fourteen years old, not once but whenever he wants it, there is the instant when it's still not yet two o'clock on that July afternoon in 1863, the brigades are in position behind the rail fence, the guns are laid and ready in the woods and the furled flags are already loosened to break out and Pickett himself with his long oiled ringlets and his hat in one hand probably and his sword in the other looking up the hill waiting for Longstreet to give the word and it's all in the balance, it hasn't happened yet, it hasn't even begun yet, it not only hasn't begun yet but there is still time for it not to begin against that position and those circumstances which made more men than Garnett and Kemper and Armstead and Wilcox look grave yet it's going to begin, we all know that, we have come too far with too much at stake and that moment doesn't need even a fourteen-year-old boy to think This time. Maybe this time with all this much to lose and all this much to gain: Pennsylvania, Maryland, the world, the golden dome of Washington itself to crown with desperate and unbelievable victory the desperate gamble...'

Is it worth reading?...

Read more at: http://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2011/...

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few weak stories kept this from getting a fourth star. Historian and alternate history writer William Forstchen wrote one of the afterwords, and the editor should have read it before selecting the stories, as it points out a flaw that occurred in a few of the stories. In good alternate history, the end result has to be POSSIBLE, based on the historical setting and the changes postulated. You can't just say "John Kennedy wasn't assassinated, so the first Mars landing was in 1970." The leap just doesn't work.
Similarly, Forstchen points out that a change in the battle of Gettysburg would not have automatically led to an immediate Confederate military victory in the Civil War. Too many authors make that awkward leap of historical faith, including some in this anthology.
In the good stories, though, there is enough solid writing and historical alternatives that the anthology is worth reading, if you are interested in either the Civil War or in alternate history writing. One deals with Lincoln's mental state, which is well documented. Others deal with historical what-ifs involving real situations surrounding the battle. Overall, quite enjoyable, but it could have been better.

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of short stories that I assumed from the title would be about alternate Battles of Gettysburg. I was only partly correct, some of the stories were actually about alternate actions during the battle, however a bunch just assumed an alternate outcome and dealt with some future time where the CSA had won the war. A number of stories dealt with the assassination of Lincoln in one way or another.[return][return]While the first story by Harold Coyle and the last essay by ACW historian and SF writer William Forshen were good, I don't recommend the rest, they were mostly throw away stories from authors I've never heard of with varying degrees of historical inaccuracy. The were also two additional non-fiction essays one of which read like an elementary school text book. And one of which started out poorly, so I skipped it.

[Steven Raszewski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting speculations, good essays.

[Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun and strange. A delightful read. =)