What If?: Alternative Historical Time Lines [Paperback]

Robert Blumetti (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 5, 2003

Blumetti has used his extensive knowledge of history to explore alternative histories. He has not stretched the imagination, but rather tried to explode alternative outcomes that actually could have happened. In 1769 Napoleon's parents almost fled Corsica to the American colonies, by way of England, but decided to remain on their island. But what would have happened if they had settled in New York, just a few months before Napoleon was born? Blumetti also explores what might have happened if the Germans had attacked Moscow, instead of Stalingrad, in 1942, or what if the Japanese had entered the Second World War in 1940, instead of 1941. What if the Allies, in World War One, were victorious in 1916, or if Bismarck had united Germany and Austria in 1866? These and other counter factorial histories are explored in What If?: Alternative Historical Time Lines.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Robert Blumetti has published four books. He has been active in politics for twenty years, and has published many articles on history and politics. He has a masters degree in history and is a well known lecturer and writer dealing with folklore and mythology.

Product Details

• Paperback: 164 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (November 5, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595301398
• ISBN-13: 978-0595301393
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 1.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,976,888 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Unbelieveable and unreadable!, March 31, 2005

By 

Hamburger Dude (Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What If?: Alternative Historical Time Lines (Paperback)

Let me start out by saying that, as a big fan of alternate history, I really wanted to like this book. Giving it one star, however, is being overly generous. Despite the blurb on the back cover professing that Mr, Blumetti has an "extensive knowledge of history" and that his stories "do not stretch the imagination", I find quite the opposite to be true. The very idea that, after a failed D-Day invasion, Great Britain would simply throw in the towel and sign a separate armistice with Hitler is incredible enough. To then describe the Wermacht as turning east again at that late stage of the war and marching on to Moscow and beyond, defeating the Soviet Union is unimaginable. If this weren't bad enough, the writing is absolutely atrocious! The sentences, when there are actually complete sentences, are short and choppy. Spelling and grammatical errors are the rule rather than the exception. Either this book was originally written in a language other than English and then translated by someone with a very poor command of the language, or it was written by a not particularly bright fourth grader. I did manage to slog my way through the entire book, but it was a real chore to do so. There are some interesting ideas in the book, but the poor writing style negates any plusses. All in all, you'd be better off watching a Three Stooges episode. At least you'd have fun doing it.

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Sadly, this is unreadable junk, December 17, 2004

By 

G. Erensteyn (Chatsworth, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: What If?: Alternative Historical Time Lines (Paperback)

Blumetti presents interesting four what if... scenarios. The problem is that he does it so badly that you want to throw the book the away. I'm not a grammar Nazi, but the awkward sentence structure, spelling mistakes, and brain dead language makes this unreadable. I defy anyone to enjoy the Napoleon born in United States scenario. It starts off bad, gets worse and sinks under its own mediocrity. It's hard to explain this, but I'll try: imagine the worst creative exercise story you ever heard badly recited by the dumb kid in your junior high English class... Got it? Good, 'cause that's what you get here.
It's amazing that this thing got published.
Alternative History can be fun, but this was just awful.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Good history, poor execution, July 2, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: What If?: Alternative Historical Time Lines (Paperback)

Blumetti seems to have a solid grasp of 19th century European history, and his scenario of a Napolean raised in America is imaginative. However, it appears that his manuscript WAS NOT PROOFREAD by ANYONE before being sent to the printers, with the result that the huge number of grammar mistakes, misspellings, and sentence fragments makes his book almost unreadable.