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Almost History: Close Calls, Plan B's, and Twists of Fate in America's Past Hardcover – October 4, 2000

by Roger Bruns (Author)

17 customer reviews

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Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore peace will stay to rest in peace.... Fortunately, these words were never spoken by Richard Nixon. Like many speeches, this one was written in preparation for events that might have happened, but never did. This collection of speeches and other archival material reveals how things would have been handled.

Almost History: Close Calls, Plan B's, and Twists of Fate in America's Past

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Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Playing the historical what-if game is usually an exercise in absurdity and futility, but it can also be fun. We can never know what would have happened if Hitler had invaded Britain, but playing around with the various scenarios is often quite stimulating. As this compilation shows, it is not only scholars and armchair military strategists who indulge in this game. Political and military leaders must consider a variety of outcomes before the fact, and they must prepare for the worst. Bruns, a deputy director of the National Archives, provides readers with some of the documents recording and explaining events that never happened. Some of these documents, such as Eisenhower's acknowledgment of the failure of the Normandy invasion, are already well known. Others, such as Nixon's speech eulogizing the stranded Apollo XI astronauts, are both unsettling and poignant. This consistently fascinating collection of documents, missed opportunities, and possible "might have beens" reminds us how fate rests on slender threads. Jay Freeman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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It is chock-a-block with close calls, ironic twists... it's the kind of material that should please any history buff -- New York Post, December 10, 2000

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Product details

Hardcover: 224 pages
Publisher: Hyperion; 1st edition (October 4, 2000)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0786866632
ISBN-13: 978-0786866632
Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1 x 9.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
Average Customer Review: 17 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,189,466 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #97176 in Books > History > Americas > United States
- #140199 in Books > Teens

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Fascinating

ByapoemVINE VOICEon September 9, 2001

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

This book takes several key events (lunar landing) or people (John Lennon) in history and gives an unknown fact about what almost happened. Mr. Bruns backs up his writing with documentation which makes it all the more interesting. He also does not get bogged down in consequences if the almost event did happen.
For example, he writes about John Lennon and the consideration of deporting him. He provides the documentation to back this up and does not get stuck in the trap of trying to explain what would have happened if John Lennon really had been deported. The assumption is the reader is intellegent enough to thing through many of the consequences of this. He also provides a snapshot of what is happening at this time in history that places this consideration in perspective rather than leaving it as an isolated event.
I enjoyed this book a lot.

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Could have been better...

ByJames D. Crabtreeon March 18, 2005

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

There were a lot of things in this book that were interesting (Churchill's near-death by taxicab), unusual (Losing the Astronauts) and virtually unknown (The American Revolution Truce Plan) but the book failed to reach out and touch more profound and strange episodes in U.S. history. What about the Confederate Constitution? Aaron Burr's plans in the Northwest Territory? Reconstruction proposals that would have remade the South into entirely new states? The Olympic Plan for the invasion of Japan?

Perhaps it is nit-picking as to what was picked for the book and what was not but when you have to include a chapter on urban legends you're probably not hitting all the key points.

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A sobering quick read into what could have been

ByChaseon July 26, 2015

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Great book and a very quick read. Many of these stories are sobering and give you a real sense of how history could of played out. Perfect for the history buff or someone who is interested in the other side of the curtain.

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she enjoys reading and is interested in history and fun facts. She told me she was really enjoying ...

ByS Mon February 27, 2015

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

I got this for my sister as a Christmas gift, she enjoys reading and is interested in history and fun facts. She told me she was really enjoying this book.

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Intriguing Concept, but Falls Flat

ByA customeron January 8, 2001

Format: Hardcover

"Study the past. Past is prologue. Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." This motto is chiseled in the walls of the National Archives in Washington, DC. Perhaps, Roger Bruns, the Deputy Executive Director for the National Publications and Records Commission at the National Archives, heeded to these words when he sat down to write his latest book, Almost History. One of the reasons people examine the past is to better understand the present and beyond. Bruns' Almost History, however, delves into an element of the past that is rarely touched upon by traditional historians: historical what ifs, twists of fate and close calls. Bruns' concept is intriguing, and some of the sections of his book are absorbing, yet the book fell flat during a majority of its sections to the point where I found myself skimming and skipping over parts of the first-hand accounts and Bruns' prose.
One of the reasons I disliked Almost History was due to the fact that Bruns, an author of fourteen books, never goes to pain staking lengths to offer his own analysis on the historical events he writes about. For example, when Bruns writes about General Dwight Eisenhower's note he wrote if the U.S.-led invasion had failed in Normandy, France, Bruns offers little analysis to the possibility that the invasion might have failed in June 1944. Bruns scantily writes, "The note that Eisenhower carried in his pocket that day was not based on unreasonable fear of failure but on a distinct possibility that Operation Overlord could have brought tragic loss" (Bruns 3). Another example of the lack of in-depth analysis I was hoping to receive when I purchased this book comes from Bruns' recount of then-Senator Lyndon Johnson's opposition to greater American involvement in Vietnam in 1954. I would have liked to known what Bruns believes would have dominated American foreign policy for over 10 years or what America would have been like economically, politically and socially had there been little or no U.S. intervention in Southeast Asia during the Johnson administration.
Despite the problems in Almost History, there was some interesting first-hand documents in its pages. For example, the FBI application for employment filled out by Richard Nixon in 1937. Moreover, the cable to the United Nations sent by Maj. Gen. Romeo Dallaire on the impending genocide in Rwanda in the mid-1990s. The cable, which is vivid and shocking, and President Bill Clinton's apology to a group of Tutsi survivors, which is genuine and heart felt, is the best highlight of Almost History.
In sum, Almost History could have dove into more analysis and avoided tedious historical foot notes, such as the cartoon that ended Boss Tweed's political career or the undelivered speech by President John Kennedy to the Trade Mart in Dallas, Texas in November 1963. Too much of this book felt like I was sitting in 9th grade history class, and that can be difficult when you're attempting to get through a 250+ page non-fiction book.

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Lightweight but interesting look at key historical events

ByKevin W. Parkeron February 22, 2001

Format: Hardcover

One of the great games of history is the what-ifs: What if Lee had won at Gettysburg? What if Burgoyne had won at Saratoga? What if the New York City traffic accident that seriously injured Winston Churchill had killed him?
This book is a documentation of myriad such what-ifs. As such, it's a good but mixed bag. The best items are genuinely poignant or thought-provoking. These include the speech that William Safire wrote for Richard Nixon in case the Apollo 11 astronauts were stranded on the moon, notes that Eisenhower wrote to himself in case the Normandy Invasion was a failure, and Ulysses S. Grant declining Lincoln's invitation to join him at Ford's Theater. Less interesting ones tend to be sidelights, items that aren't all that interesting in themselves: Nixon's application to the FBI, an FBI memorandum on deporting John Lennon, and the speech Kennedy would have given in Dallas if he hadn't been shot. A few are already famous items: Einstein's letter to President Roosevelt recommending the undertaking of research into the atomic bomb and Eleanor Roosevelt's letter resigning from the DAR after it refused to allow Marian Anderson to perform at Constitution Hall.
Overall, though, it's an entertaining and thought-provoking collection, with the best section ("failed predictions") saved for last, in which the New York Times chides Robert Goddard for thinking that rockets can work in a vacuum, Scientific American (in 1909) believes the automobile is fully developed, and Popular Mechanics looks forward to the day when computers might weigh only a ton or so.
Lots of fun stuff: interesting reading and probably another good bathroom book since the sections are short.