The Books I Read In November

 Fiction

'A Scream in Soho' by John G. Brandon

This is a crime novel very precisely set in early 1940 before Italy entered the war against Britain. Like 'Robin Hood Yard' (2015) which I read last year: https://rooksmoor.blogspot.com/2023/08/books-i-readlistened-to-in-august.html the action is primarily confined to a very small area in London, not surprisingly Soho. It is a melodrama with larger than life characters, particularly among the Italian population of the district before they were interned. It features Detective Inspector Patrick Aloysius McCarthy who lives in the heart of Soho and is effectively a silent partner in a local cafe. He also has influence among the petty criminals which enables him to suborn them to work as his agents. The novel begins with a scream as a someone is murdered on the doorstep to a set of offices and it involves McCarthy, tolerated by his superior, as he becomes mixed up in the theft of anti-aircraft plans, Italian gangsters, an Austrian noblewoman in exile and of course ruthless German agents. There is a lot of haring around Soho (and occasionally up to Hampstead Heath) and violence. There is little mystery, it is more about the characters that Brandon draws and whose dialogue in various dialects he tries to replicate. Why McCarthy himself says 'divil' rather than 'devil' like others is never explained.

The reference to streets which still exist though very changed and the portrayal, if a little a caricature, of the district are interesting. McCarthy is as much an action hero as a detective and is almost superhuman in his abilities. Despite feeling claustrophobic and at times, laboured, this is more like the Sexton Blake and Bulldog Drummond genre than anything much by Agatha Christie.

'The Rose' by Charles L. Harness

This books actually has three stories packed into just 158 pages. I had not come across mentions of it before, but it is apparently as science fiction classic, published in 1953. It envisages an unknown human society sometime into our future in which individuals are evolving into the next stage of humanity very quickly, ones with horns that act like a third eye able to see in time and to have forms of wings on their backs. 'The Rose' is a ballet and the two protagonists are a woman who wrote the ballet and the philandering director looking to put it on. 'The Chessplayers' is about a chess-playing rat who joins a British chess club and the challenges and possibilities this presents for the club at a time of the Cold War. 'The New Reality' is set in a police state but one in which it increasingly appears that a reality is only created when humans speculate that it exists anyway. These are interesting thought experiments common for science fiction short stories of the mid-20th Century. They are easy to get through and perhaps not as startling as when published, but are well crafted.

'Hitler's Peace' by Philip Kerr

This book is rather a mess which deteriorates especially in the last fifth of the book. It is told in the first person by Willard Mayer, a US philosopher with a German Jewish background who in 1943 is serving in the OSS (precursor of the CIA) and accompanying Franklin Roosevelt to the Cairo and Tehran conferences with growing evidence that there is a German agent working close to the US President and plans are afoot to assassinate him or Josef Stalin who he is to meet in Tehran. Told in the third person the point of view also alternates with that of Walter Schellenberg, at the time head of SD-Ausland, the foreign intelligence wing of the German police forces who plots an assassination of not just Stalin, but also Roosevelt and Winston Churchill when they meet at Tehran.

Kerr blends in real events such as a 'friendly fire' incident on the ship taking Roosevelt to North Africa and Schellenberg's involvement with various attempts in 1943 to broker a peace between the Allies and Germany. He also brings in revelations around the Katyn Massacre which were uncovered by the Germans' War Crimes Bureau something Kerr had also featured seven years earlier in 'Man Without Breath' (2013). The two conspiracies seem to be working towards each other in a reasonably satisfactory way. However, then the book goes off the rails. Schellenberg's plot seems to disappear from the narrative despite a half-hearted attempt to revive it at the end, all jeopardy is really taken from it. Then the scenes around the Tehran Conference get very messy as the title is lived up to and spoiler - Adolf Hitler turns up in Tehran to negotiate directly with his opponents. However, this is not Hitler as we know him, rather there is an insightful who appears very adept at predicting all the Allies' next moves. All credibility is lost in the story and it peters out.

Overall while there are good historical details, this book ends up feeling as if it had been assembled from bits of ideas that Kerr had left over from his Bernie Gunther books. It is overlong and any tension that is built up reasonably well in the early part is dissipated towards the end making it less than the sum of its parts. It is a pity and you do wonder why Kerr felt it necessary to produce this book when his efforts would have been better sent on producing another Gunther book especially one like 'Metropolis' (2019): https://rooksmoor.blogspot.com/2024/09/the-books-i-read-in-september.html

'Live Bait' by P.J. Tracy [P.J. Lambrecht & Traci Lambrecht]

This is the second book in the 10-book Monkeewrench series written by the mother-and-daughter team who as of 2024 have written another 5 crime novels outside this series. This book focuses on two Minneapolis cops, Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth, though the series as a whole seems to be more about Grace McBride (who is having a tentative relationship with Magozzi) and her three eccentric colleagues in the Monkeewrench company which has developed software and hacking skills to help solve cold cases. This book is very much a standard police procedural. It features the killing of a number of elderly residents, three of whom turn up to have been Jewish concentration camp survivors (the book is set in the early 2000s) and another elderly man who has been tortured and died from a heart attack when tied to a railway track. The widow, Lily, son, Jack, and son-in-law, Marty Pullman (an ex-Vice cop himself) of one of the victims, Morey Gilbert, a local philanthropist and garden centre owner, seem to know more than they are letting on. 

The book proceeds in a standard police procedural way, with the main difference being the location. At times the cop and Minnesota slang are are a bit challenging for readers not from that background. I was really thrown by repeated references to 'brats' not meaning children but sausages to be barbecued and at times you might have to re-read to understand what Magozzi and Rolseth are talking about. It might help if you have read the first book, 'Want to Play?' (2003), in which Pullman's wife is murdered, but it is not a necessity as this one focuses on the two detectives and McBride features minimally. There are a couple of twists which are reasonably well done. At times it is a bit overlong especially in the attempts to try to get Lily and Jack to talk, but it is reasonably handled. I would not rush out to buy other books in the series, because aside from the location there is nothing exceptional and the Monkeewrench methods are now commonplace in detection anyway.

Non-Fiction

'Modern Germany' by V.R. [Volker] Berghahn

I read parts of this book about thirty years ago and had really forgotten how well written it was. I was reading the second edition published in 1987, but really covering the period 1900-1982 when Helmut Kohl came to power. While it moves forward chronologically, that does not form the framework for the book. Rather Berghahn creates a very smoothly flowing narrative which manages to connect up domestic, foreign, economic and social aspects of Germany through the different eras. Akin to other books from this era of historiography, Hans-Ulrich Wehler's 'The German Empire, 1871-1918' (1973): https://rooksmoor.blogspot.com/2023/08/books-i-readlistened-to-in-august.html and 'The Social History of Politics' (1985) ed. by Georg Iggers: https://rooksmoor.blogspot.com/2023/12/books-i-read-in-december.html sees a lot of German politics and foreign policy as driven by unresolved tensions in German society from a lack of the success of liberal reforms of the country or indeed an effective revolution. 

Even now this comes over as a refreshing interpretation especially for the general reader. In part this is down to the lucidity of Berghahn's writing and the deft way he blends from one aspect to another. Given the end of East Germany, it is also useful to at least have a potted history of that country which looks at it on its own terms and within the context of the Soviet bloc rather than simply as a counterpoint to West Germany and NATO/the EEC. Interestingly, though this revised edition came out only 4 years before the reunification of the two Germanies, Berghahn was very dismissive of that ever happening in large part because even with its economic strength he did not feel West Germany could effectively absorb East Germany nor that the USSR would be inclined or weak enough to permit their reunification. However, aside from that oversight, the book is a really engaging history of Germany through eight decades of the 20th Century and has an approach and style which even almost forty years on should be a model for other historians whether writing about Germany or other states in the 20th Century.

The Hated Chapters: A What If? Novel of an Arab State in Southern Iberia in the 1990s

While stories set in the latter part of the 20th Century do appear in some of my anthologies such as 'Mark in the Sea' (2018) and 'Detour' (2014), I had never written an alternate history novel set as recently as 1990. It was both interesting and fun to explore the culture and technologies that were available within my own lifetime. I had to be careful not to misremember what was available or popular later in the 1990s rather than right at the start of the decade. As I have noted on a few occasions, as I age I find this exploration of alternative culture to be the most engaging element of writing alternate history, more so than the alternate battles or political schemes, that might be the main attraction for many readers of alternate history fiction.

As I am sure many readers will guess, this book was very influenced by the experience of the author Salman Rushdie, whose novel, 'The Satanic Verses' (1988), led to a call by the Iranian regime for Muslims to assassinate him. I wondered if this could be looked at from a 'flipped' perspective, so my story features a female author, Maryam Hamdi who has produced a novel called 'Palm-Strewn Road' featuring a man called Joe Carpenter living on Cypress Avenue in New York in the 1980s who is killed at a crossroads with a nail gun. This book provokes the anger of US Christian fundamentalists and one church the Independent Fundamental Bible Church dispatches a team of paramilitaries under Vietnam veteran, Brandon Travis to abduct Hamdi and compel to denounce her own novel. 

I began writing this novel before the attack on Rushdie at Chautauqua in August 2022 which left him severely injured and losing the sight in one eye. I thought about shelving this book, but given that Rushdie has written about the incident himself in 'Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder' (2024), I though it would not be disrespectful to progress with having my own book on this alternate path, published.

As the subtitle to this novel indicates, it is set in an Arab state which has endured in what in our world are southern Spain and Portugal. The reason for this divergence is mentioned in passing in the novel. It envisages that the Battle of Poitiers/Tours in 732 CE was a victory for the Umayyad Caliphate which already controlled most of Iberia, thus allowing them to conquer large areas of modern-day France. As a result the 'reconquest' by Christian forces took longer than in our history. As a result Emirate/Caliphate of Córdoba, while pushed back southwards and was not successfully invaded in the 13th and 14th Centuries. Thus, whereas the last Muslim state in Iberia was conquered in 1492, as progress down the peninsula has been slowed by more than a century compared to our world by the time of the Reformation, the Emirate of Córdoba, still exists and persists into the 20th Century. This alternative has also meant that the Spanish states have not come together as they did in our world.

This has had an impact on Spanish colonisation of the Americas, with, for example, Texas remaining a French colony, as it was for a short period in our world. The dialect of Spanish spoken in Latin America also tends to be Leónese rather Castilian. I have envisaged that Al-Andalus has followed a similar path to countries of North Africa, notably Morocco, Tunisia and Libya. Thus, in 1967, Brigadier General Hamzah Salhi has become military dictator after the overthrow of the last emir.

In the novel Al-Andalus forms and important bridge between Europe and North Africa and indeed has territory on both sides of the Straits of Gibraltar, encompassing what in our world are Morocco, Western Sahara, parts of Algeria, the Canary Islands, Madeira and Ibiza.

Given this geographical connection, it is not only Arabic culture which has thrived in south-western Europe, but also Berber culture. In part this is because people often forget that the Almoravids who ruled the emirate 1085-1147 were Berbers rather than Arabs. Thus, I have envisaged that this Al-Andalus has been a channel through which Berber culture has better reached Europe.

Featuring an author as a leading character led to me creating a whole set of books and authors coming out of this rich culture. However, I was able to reference real historical writers. In particular this alternative saw the continuation of the University of Córdoba which being founded in 786 was the oldest university in Europe. In our world it was closed following the Spanish conquest of the city in 1236, but in this alternative it has endured. Pope Sylvester II (946-1033; Pope from 999) graduated from it and it attracted the children of Christian monarchs. There were 80 libraries and colleges in Cordoba, holding 400-500,000 books at a time when an average abbey held 600 books, thus it is to be expected that Al-Andalus would have a strong literary culture. Interestingly the current cathedral of Cordoba was built as a mosque between 785-787. Not all that had been created by the Muslim emirate was deemed as inappropriate for Castile.

There were some other aspects that I sought to explore in this novel. One was the rise of fundamentalism in the late 20th Century both among Christians and Muslims. People these days may not recognise the impact that the Iranian Revolution of 1979 had not simply on that country, but in terms of Muslims globally. Certainly living in an area with a large Muslim population, it was apparent to me that the effects were rippling even into the UK in terms of dress and the appearance of extracts of the Koran displayed publicly. 

Thus, while in counter-balance to Travis, the journalist Kaima Ziani is the other point of view for the novel, she in turn is a counter-balance to her erstwhile friend, Maryam Hamdi. The novel is an adventure story but also looks at how two women who were both students in New York in the 1970s have taken different paths as they have reached middle age. Maryam while proud of her background adheres more to modern, largely secular culture. In contrast, especially in the light of the Iranian Revolution, Kaima is rediscovering her faith and adhering to its fundamental principles to a greater extent. Though we never see through Maryam's eyes, she does act as the third protagonist and one that provokes mixed reactions from Kaima as they are drawn into danger together.

This book was fascinating to research and I really felt that the characters evolved without slipping into stereotypes which would have been so easy, not simply given the current UK perspective on Islam across the world, but also of Christians in the USA. As most of my stories are, this is an adventure with jeopardy but hopefully it remains responsible to the characters, their viewpoints, the culture and the technology of the alternate world it shows.

https://www.amazon.com/Hated-Chapters-Novel-Southern-Iberia-ebook/dp/B0DMT1ZSQK?ref_=ast_author_dp_rw&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.NOFlQZ1Ywk5nlMCwC0JkwLw1qbe8P6lacYPIsNf26Sj5uLkm8NDU8_0jtYCOfJOX5XXLk0tdRif9IWcOslIKcW6B4T0omEeVlzurTiO3B5lvhh4XSLtujeoBi_AzbIvQquCvheWSNUGftG-kqyE31SB-T14QvW0pOSzOpphN5_G3seM8XonDGf377PQH8HqNVQg9VZHfqA1CzBybRsTobt0s7F94WnZFG0vq0LknTGE.rrGAtMngZ2dyQaBSjp-jZHCnljnoKarCmeQKXZnTV80&dib_tag=AUTHOR

The Loyal Pursuit: The American Forces are more Successful in the War of 1812

The War of 1812 actually ran until 1815. It was about the USA, not yet 50 years old, asserting itself in North America. Researching the conflict led me to feel that it was also effectively a 'rematch' between the Americans and the British who still held vast swathes of North America. Following the British defeat in the American War of Independence (1776-83), thousands of Americans who had remained loyal to the British fled northwards, this included slaves who were granted their freedom. This was despite the fact that slavery persisted in the regions which would become Canada, until 1834. It did mean there was a free black population especially to the eastern side of British North America.

The American invasion of the British territory both overland and across the Great Lakes, did have some successes and secured towns such as Detroit. However, the invasion was undermanned and rather poorly commanded meaning that the impetus soon ran out. With the defeat of Napoleon in 1814 and again in 1815, the British government was able to refocus its efforts away from Europe. In this alternative, the invasion was better planned and supplied and as a result much of the areas settled by Europeans have been overrun by American forces. However, distance and terrain eventually prevent a total conquest of all of the territory under British control at the time. 

It is envisaged that the conquered areas are annexed to the USA either in the extension of existing state and territories or by the creation of the new territories, i.e. the organisation of a region before it becomes a US state. It might be argued that given the rows between states of the USA, especially around the Great Lakes, that there would not have been the extension of existing states. However, given the terrain, especially the land between the lakes, it seemed more feasible than having small fragments of new territories. In this alternative by 1815, the USA would have had greater control around the Great Lakes and along both shores of the St. Lawrence Seaway.

It is assumed that those who could not bear to live under US rule would have fled to the interior of Upper and Lower Canada making use of the trading stations that had been developed to handle the fur trade. Those most likely to have fled would have been those families of Loyalists and the black population especially if their families had found freedom in Canada fleeing the USA after the American War of Independence. It seems feasible that they would have been treated as runaway slaves and hauled back to those deemed their owners in the USA.

The pattern of laws around slavery varied quite considerably from state to state, but the recovery of escaped slaves was permitted at the time even from states which themselves did not have slavery. In addition, it is interesting to note that even as slavery was being eroded in some of the northern states, laws permitting indentured labour continued, notably for former slaves or their children up to a certain age.

Especially given that some leading individuals in the USA at the time wanted to introduce slavery to the Great Lakes region, while they were unsuccessful, I have assumed that they found it easier in the conquered territories taken from British control. Anger at the Loyalists does not seem to have declined much in the thirty years since the end of the American War of Independence so I felt it probable that Loyalists taken in the Canadas - and in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia which had actually received more Loyalist refugees than the other regions - would be punished by being put into indentured labour. I imagined they would be especially sent to aid the development of the new US states. Kentucky had become a state in 1792, Tennessee in 1796, Ohio in 1803 and Louisiana in 1812. 

I particularly became interested in Louisville as a destination for those Canadians captured in this war. In part because Kentucky was more distant from the conquered lands and because Louisville was known very much as a slave trading city and an important link in the trade between the so-called Upper South, i.e. those states south of the Mason-Dixon line but north of the northern borders of the states running east-west from Texas to South Carolina and the Lower/Deep South.

Dealing with the aftermath of the invasion and the selling into slavery and indentured labour of Canadians became the focus of this novel. I decided on using two families - Daniel and Mehitable Jarvis and their children, George and Charlotte and Cyrus and Madeleine Hartwood and their sons Lysander and Pharas. Daniel is a master cabinet maker in York (nowadays Toronto) who employs Cyrus as his journeyman. Both men are part of the York militia so are drawn into the fight against the invading Americans. I found a great resource on the York militia which really helped my story: The War of 1812 Project: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Project:War_of_1812 While Madeleine and the Hartwood children escape northwards into the less populated areas of Upper Canada, Cyrus and the Jarvises are captured, separated and shipped to Kentucky.

It is important to know that the Jarvises are white, Cyrus is black and Madeleine is mixed-race with one black grandparent and three white. At the time much was made of categorising races and there was a plethora of terms for different categories of mixed race people for example mulatto, quadroon and octaroon. On the 'drop of blood' principle even someone with one great-great-grandparent who was black, i.e. a  hexadecaroon, would be considered black and thus could be enslaved even if all their other relatives had been white. It seemed important to explore these aspects and note that while indentured labour was bad, slavery was worse.

Immediately this led me to worry about whether people would say I was not permitted to write black or mixed race characters especially in a story set when slavery was in force. Not to do so would have led to a very distorted story and it would almost have been as if I was ignoring that experience. In addition I reflected that while commentators might say I could not get 'inside the head' of a black person or indeed as a man write two women as main characters. I would argue that the same kind of charges could be laid against anyone in 2024 writing about anyone in 1813, not matter what their own or the characters' race. I do accept that me writing the story especially of Cyrus Hartwood is going to accept some readers and commentators, but the alternative was either to produce a very skewed novel that would have looked to be brushing certain aspects under the carpet or to have abandoned the novel entirely.

Much of the action takes place in the rural areas between the towns and especially in the Canadian sections interaction with the indigenous peoples who had settlements and had established routes that the European settlers made use of. The characters cover a great distance going through terrain from northern Kentucky to the northern shores of Lake Huron and I was keen to make sure that the plants and wildlife they encountered were authentic for each area. It did become apparent, especially for the sections in Kentucky and Ohio, how climate change has already altered this and trees, for example, that in 1813 would only have been found in more southern latitudes in the USA have now crept much further north.

This then is the background of the novel. It rotates between the perspectives of the four adults to show different elements of the conflict and its consequences. As such it is very much an adventure story as each of the characters seek to escape American control and keep their children safe. I have tried to reflect how brutal and cheap life was, and how assiduous Americans were in trying to recapture what they felt was theirs. While my alternate history novels are often adventure stories, it is unusual for me to write family dramas, but I enjoyed writing this one. I hope you will enjoy reading it and looking at your own views of how different North America might have been if this often forgotten war had gone down just a slightly different path.

https://www.amazon.com/Loyal-Pursuit-What-novel-1812-ebook/dp/B0DLJT9Z1Y/ref=sr_1_1?crid=TPTQCHWXHXU8&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.HOIwlRsPbLnrffcDzIim_A.oHox1Qr5v5WJzSJlovo7KesA1obZoBx9gP0lR_mCL70&dib_tag=se&keywords=alexander+Rooksmoor+the+loyal+pursuit&qid=1732304680&s=digital-text&sprefix=alexander+rooksmoor+the+loyal+pursuit%2Cdigital-text%2C169&sr=1-1

Taken In Lycia: The Treaty of Sèvres Enforced Giving Fascist Italy a Zone in Anatolia

 

Of the peace treaties signed following the First World War, one which envisaged some of the greatest changes to the defeated Power was the Treaty of Sèvres imposed on the Ottoman Empire in 1920. While it did not entirely tear apart the empire in the way that happened to Austria-Hungary, it did treat the country more like a colonial territory than a lesser Power. The British, French and Italians had been hacking away at the Ottoman Empire throughout the 19th and early 20th Centuries, depriving it of all its North African territories as well as Cyprus and the Dodecanese Islands closer to Anatolia. Its European borders had been pushed back starting with the independence of Greece and the emergence of Romania, Bulgaria, Albania and an enlarged Serbia out of Ottoman territory. British, French and German companies had become heavily involved in exploiting the Ottoman economy.

The Treaty of Sèvres took this erosion a step further as can be seen in the map below. Britain, France, Italy and Greece received mandates - effectively colonies in all but name - and zones of influence in Anatolia. The Straits between the Mediterranean and Black Seas were internationalised. Remaining non-Turkish territories, i.e. Palestine, Transjordan and Syria largely came under the control of the British and French. Arabia, Kurdistan and Armenia were to be granted independence.

While all the defeated countries railed against the treaties imposed on them, the Turks fought back against the Treaty of Sèvres. Following the war with Greece, there was an exchange of populations. The sultanate was overthrown and the Turkish Republic established. Even the British and French, while able to hold their mandates in the Arab states could not introduce the zones in Turkish areas. Kurdistan has still not been established and Armenia only reappeared and then much farther North, following the collapse of the USSR in the 1990s. Unlike all the other defeated Central Powers, a second treaty, the Treaty of Lausanne was signed in 1923 enabling control of the Turkish Republic over Anatolia.

The leader of the founding of the Turkish Republic and the prevention of the establishment of the zones of control, was Mustafa Kemal Pasha (1881-1938) later known as Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. He served as a Colonel in the Ottoman resistance to the attempt to capture the Gallipoli Peninsula, 1915-16. He went on to lead the forces that opposed the Sultanate and the Greeks. In this novel it is envisaged that he was instead killed while at Gallipoli and consequently those trying to oppose the treaty impositions, the Sultan and the Greeks have remained disunited and as a result have been defeated. Consequently, the Treaty of Sèvres has been enforced in full. There is still a Sultan on the throne but very much as a puppet of the British.

Benito Mussolini came into office as premier in Italy in 1922 and by 1925 had established the Fascist dictatorship which was to persist across the Italy and its colonies into the Second World War. In this alternative the Italian Empire has come to include a large slice of southern Anatolia. It is named 'Lycia' the name given to part of the region during the Roman Empire, a period Mussolini liked to reference in his propaganda.

This novel is set in 1937 when the Governor of the Italian mandate of Lycia is abducted. Lieutenant Colonel Michele Tartaglia, head of the Italian detective squad is assigned to this most challenging case. Tartaglia is from the poor Molise region of Italy and coming the 'backwater' of Lycia has allowed his career to advance and for him to send money back home to his family. He is soon caught up in the internecine conflicts of the Fascist state. Since the 1970s, historians have recognised that rather than being monolithic states, the European dictatorships of the mid-20th Century were in fact more like regimes of rival 'baronies' with different individuals and bodies within the regimes competing for power. Even more than Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy had a range of centres of power, including the Fascist Party, various police and economic bodies, the Army, the King and the Church. This novel looks at the frictions inherent in such a regime as well as the tensions arising in a colony in an era of rising nationalism and sense of national identities across the world.

This book, then, is a novel both featuring a detective story but also one of political conflict within a regime and between a colonial power and its subject peoples. While Italy was never able to establish itself in its Anatolian zone, I have thoroughly researched the way it ran its empire and what groups and individuals were important in that to hopefully give a portrayal of what the running of Lycia would have been like, if it had occurred. I was very fortunate to be able to access the doctoral thesis of Dr. Dih Wang, 'The Judicial System of Fascist Italy' which was submitted at the London School of Economics in June 1939. It is clear that Wang was not only fluent in Italian as well as English, but had managed to gain deep access to the Italian judicial system of the 1930s and so provides possibly unique insight into how it functioned thus giving me a wonderfully solid basis for how it might have been translated into the Anatolian context.

It can be a challenge when writing a protagonist who is a functionary, especially a police officer in a dictatorship. However Philip Kerr with his Bernie Gunther novels, Martin Cruz Smith with Arkady Renko and Josef Škvorecký with Lieutenant Boruvka managed to do this successfully. Tartaglia is not a devoted Fascist but I wanted a protagonist who would not be unfeasible or anachronistic for the context in which he is working. He is devoutly religious and has the prejudices such as misogyny and homophobia that would be common across Europe and the wider world, in the democracies as well as the dictatorships. He is more understand of the Turkish, Greek and Armenian populations of Lycia than many of his colleagues but at best has a paternalistic attitude of a coloniser towards the subject peoples. He does have faith in due process and in a sense of justice, both of which were eroded in the Fascist state, again raising a point of tension and hopefully interest as he seeks to resolve this high profile case.

As always I hope readers will not only enjoy this novel as a detective and political conspiracy novel, but that it will provoke thought on how our history could have gone down this path rather than the one it took and what the implications would have been for the people caught up in this alternative.

https://www.amazon.com/Taken-Lycia-Alexander-Rooksmoor-ebook/dp/B0DMQBLZSD?ref_=ast_author_dp_rw&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.NOFlQZ1Ywk5nlMCwC0JkwLw1qbe8P6lacYPIsNf26Sj5uLkm8NDU8_0jtYCOfJOX5XXLk0tdRif9IWcOslIKcW6B4T0omEeVlzurTiO3B5lvhh4XSLtujeoBi_AzbIvQquCvheWSNUGftG-kqyE31SB-T14QvW0pOSzOpphN5_G3seM8XonDGf377PQH8HqNVQg9VZHfqA1CzBybRsTobt0s7F94WnZFG0vq0LknTGE.rrGAtMngZ2dyQaBSjp-jZHCnljnoKarCmeQKXZnTV80&dib_tag=AUTHOR

'What If?'s I Have Written About

Now that I have been publishing 'what if?' analysis books and collections of short stories for eight years, I thought it might be useful to identify the topics I have explored and in which book. I intend to update this as I publish more, so it is a snapshot of what is currently available. My 'what if?' books divide into three categories, those which had chapters of analysis; those with fictional short stories and full-length novels set in one alternative context.

'What If?' Novels
'Against the Devil’s Men: A ‘What If?’ Novel of the Continuation of the Mongol Invasion of Europe'
'Between Protector and Pretender'

'The Blood and The Ghost'

'Byzantium Express'

'The Dijon Conspiracy'

'Each Brother's Shadow'

'Eve of the Globe’s War: A ‘What If?’ Novel of the Coming of the Second World War without an Industrial Revolution'

'The Hated Chapters'
'His Majesty's Dictator'
'In the Absence of Powder'

'The Kerensky Defence'

'The Loyal Pursuit'

'Mark in the Sea: A ‘What If?’ Novel of the Persistence of Islands of Doggerland'

'Provision: A What If? Novel of the Second World War'

'Scavenged Days: A ‘What If?’ Novel of the Impact of the Assassination of President De Gaulle'

'Streseland'

'Stop Line: A ‘What If?’ Novel of Resisting the 1940 Nazi Invasion of Britain'

'Taken in Lycia'

'The Three Eagles: A ‘What If?’ Novel of the U.S.A., Mexico and the First World War' 

Collections of 'What If?' Fiction
'Another World’s War: What If? Stories of the Second World War’
'From Another Infamy: What If? Stories of the Second World War'
‘Detour: What If? Stories of Americans’
'Taking the Detour: What If? Stories of Americans'
‘Déviation: What If? Stories of the French’
‘Diversion: What If? Stories of the British’
‘Route Diverted: What If? Stories of the British’
‘Umleitung: What If? Stories of Germany’
'Wars to End: What If? Stories of the First World War'

Books of Alternate History Analysis
‘Other Roads: Alternate Outcomes of the Second World War’
‘Other Roads II: Further Alternate Outcomes of the Second World War’
‘Other Roads III: Additional Alternate Outcomes of the Second World War’
‘In Other Trenches: Alternate Outcomes of the First World War’
‘In Other Trenches II: Further Alternate Outcomes of the First World War’
'Other Lives: Alternate Outcomes for Famous People in History'
‘In Another America: Views and Reviews of Alternate Histories for the USA in the 17th-20th Centuries’
‘Down Other Tracks: Alternate Outcomes of the 19th Century’
'Other Exits: Alternate Outcomes for Tudor and Stuart Monarchs’
'On Other Fields: Alternate Outcomes of the Middle Ages'
‘Other Earths: Alternate Outcomes of Geological Developments and Prehistoric Times’

In the following list, the date shown in brackets is the date of the divergence from our history. Some chapters reflect on a number of different divergences so you will see some repeated next to different dates.

An 'A' indicates that the chapter is analysis; 'S' that it is a story and 'N' shows a full-length novel. Very often I have produced a story to match a piece of analysis. The date in brackets after the 'S' or 'N' shows when the story is set. Some stories are set years or even centuries after the divergence in order to show how the world would have developed differently from that time.

The titles of the different books featuring a specific chapter should be obvious. The number after 'Ch.' is the chapter in the book which has that analysis or story.

Summary of Counterfactuals

4.54 Billion Years Ago: Earth's Axis at 0° to the Sun's Axis
– A: ‘Other Earths’ Ch. 01

4.54 Billion Years Ago: Earth's Axis at 90° to the Sun's Axis
– A: ‘Other Earths’ Ch. 01

4.54 Billion Years Ago: No Metal on Earth
– A: ‘Other Earths’ Ch. 02

3.6 Billion Years Ago: Inverted Earth – land as seas; sea as land
– A: ‘Other Earths’ Ch. 04

200 Million Years Ago: Pangea Did Not Break Up
– A: ‘Other Earths’ Ch. 03

100 Million Years Ago: Inland Sea in Australia
– A: ‘Other Earths’ Ch. 07

75 Million Years Ago: Western Seaway Remained in North America
- S (1817): 'Taking the Detour' Ch. 01

55 Million Years Ago: Greenland Farther South
– A ‘Other Earths’ Ch. 06

55 Million Years Ago: Horses did not Evolve
– A: ‘Other Earths’ Ch. 10

35 Million Years Ago: Antarctica Farther North
– A: ‘Other Earths’ Ch. 05

15 Million Years Ago: No Isthmus Developed Between North and South America
- S (1998): 'Taking the Detour' Ch. 16

200,000 Years Ago: Women are as Strong as Men
– A: ‘Other Earths’ Ch. 11

30,000 Years Ago: Dover Isthmus Continued
– A: ‘Other Earths’ Ch. 09

6200 BCE: Islands of Doggerland Not Inundated
 – N: ‘Mark in the Sea’

5600 BCE: Crimea Became an Island
– A: ‘Other Earths’ Ch. 08

4000 BCE: Sahara Desert Remained Green
– A ‘Other Earths’ Ch. 12

323 BCE: Alexander the Great Lived Longer
– A: ‘Other Lives’ Ch. 01

52 BCE Julius Caesar Defeated and Killed in Gaul
- S (52 BCE): ‘Déviation’ Ch. 16

44 BCE: Julius Caesar not Assassinated
– A: ‘Other Lives’ Ch. 02 

9: German Tribes Defeated in Teutoberg Forest
- S (21): ‘Umleitung’ Ch. 03

62: Romans Expelled from Britain
- S (62): ‘Route Diverted’ Ch. 03

337: Paganism Persisted
– A: ‘On Other Fields’ Ch. 01

520: Romano-British Rule Persisted in Britain
- S (801): ‘Diversion’ Ch. 03

732: Umayyad Forces Won at Poitiers
– A: ‘On Other Fields’ Ch. 02
- S (1699): ‘Déviation’ Ch. 03

- N (1990): 'The Hated Chapters'

878: Alfred the Great Defeated
– A: ‘On Other Fields’ Ch. 03
- S (879): ‘Route Diverted’ Ch. 13

- N: 'The Blood and The Ghost'

900s: Gunpowder Not Invented
- N: (1815): 'In the Absence of Powder'

1002: Burgundy Persisted
– A: ‘On Other Fields’ Ch. 04

- N (1868): 'The Dijon Conspiracy'

1020: Viking Colonies Established Around Chesapeake Bay
- S (1586): 'Taking the Detour' Ch. 15

1035: William the Bastard Did Not Become Duke of Normandy
– A: ‘Other Lives’ Ch. 03

- S (1041): ‘Déviation’ Ch. 13

1066: King Harold II Defeated at Stamford Bridge
– A: ‘On Other Fields’ Ch. 05

           King Harold II Victorious at Battle of Hastings
- A: ‘On Other Fields’ Ch. 06

- S (1088): ‘Diversion’ Ch. 14

1071: The Byzantines Won the Battle of Manzikert
– A: ‘On Other Fields’ Ch.17
- N (1914): 'Byzantium Express'

1098: The 1^st Crusade Failed to Capture Antioch
- S (1098): ‘Déviation’ Ch. 04

1099: The 1^st Crusade Failed to Capture Jerusalem
– A: ‘On Other Fields’ Ch. 07

1135-47: A Different Anarchy
– A: ‘On Other Fields’ Ch. 08

1181: Abu Ya'qub Yusuf I Lived Longer
– A: ‘On Other Fields’ Ch. 19

1190: Friedrich Barbarossa Survived; 3^rd Crusade Very Successful

- S (1193): ‘Umleitung’ Ch. 14 

1203: Duchy of Brittany Remained Independent
– A: ‘On Other Fields’ Ch. 13

- S (2011): ‘Déviation’ Ch. 02

1204: The 4^th Crusade Did Not Damage the Byzantine Empire
– A: ‘On Other Fields’ Ch. 17
- N (1914): 'Byzantium Express'

1217: Prince Louis of France Became King of England
– A: ‘On Other Fields’ Ch. 09

- S (1686): ‘Diversion’ Ch. 05

1230s: A Larger Moorish State Remained in Iberia
- A: ‘On Other Fields’ Ch. 19

- N (1990): 'The Hated Chapters'

1241: The Mongols Did Not Turn Back from Europe
– A: ‘On Other Fields’ Ch. 12

- N (1267): ‘Against the Devil’s Men’

- S (1272): ‘Déviation’ Ch. 06

1268: The Crusader States Persisted
- A: ‘On Other Fields’ Ch. 11

1270: The Chinese Discovered the Americas
– A: ‘On Other Fields’ Ch. 10
- S (1524): 'Taking the Detour' Ch. 09

1328: The English Won the Battle of Bannockburn
- S (1346): ‘Route Diverted’ Ch. 17

1346: No Black Death
– A: ‘On Other Fields’ Ch. 14

          Black Death Killed a Majority of Europeans
– A: ‘On Other Fields’ Ch. 15

          The French Won the Battle of Crécy
- S (1346): ‘Route Diverted’ Ch. 17

1376: The Black Prince Lived Longer
– A: ‘On Other Fields’ Ch. 16 

1415: The English Lost the Battle of Agincourt
- S (1415): ‘Diversion’ Ch. 10

1422: England Won the Hundred Years’ War
– A: ‘On Other Fields’ Ch. 16

- S (1432): ‘Déviation’ Ch. 11

- S (1649): ‘Déviation’ Ch. 20

1453: The Byzantine Empire Persisted
– A: ‘On Other Fields’ Ch. 17
- N (1914): 'Byzantium Express'

1475: German Explorer Discovered America
- S (1475): ‘Umleitung’ Ch. 06

1481: Sultan Mehmed II Lived Longer
– A: ‘On Other Fields’ Ch. 18

         Christopher Columbus Sailed to the Americas for Genoa rather than Spain
- S (1512): 'Taking the Detour' Ch. 03

1485: King Richard III Won at Bosworth Field
– A: ‘Other Exits’ Ch. 01

- S (1783): ‘Diversion’ Ch. 13

1492: A Moorish State Remained in Iberia
- A: ‘On Other Fields’ Ch. 19

- N (1990): 'The Hated Chapters'

1492: Italian City States Colonised North America

 – S (1512): ‘Taking the Detour’ Ch. 03

           
1493: Refugees from the Emirate of Granada Settled in North America
- S (1493/1978): 'Taking the Detour' Ch. 18      

1502: Prince Arthur Came to the English Throne
– A: ‘Other Exits’ Ch. 02

1511: Catherine of Aragon Had a Surviving Son
– A: ‘Other Exits’ Ch. 04

- S (1534): ‘Route Diverted’ Ch. 10

- N (1622): 'Each Brother's Shadow'

1517: Martin Luther Died Younger
- S (1517): ‘Umleitung’ Ch. 08

1534: England Remained Catholic

- N (1622): 'Each Brother's Shadow'

1536: King Henry VIII Died in a Jousting Accident
– A: ‘Other Exits’ Ch. 05

- S (1536): ‘Diversion’ Ch. 06

          Anne Boleyn Did not Miscarry
– A: ‘Other Exits’ Ch. 05

1537: Jane Seymour Did not Die in Childbirth
– A: ‘Other Exits’ Ch. 06

1538: King Henry VIII Married Marie of Guise
– A: ‘Other Exits’ Ch. 07

1540: King Henry VIII Found Anne of Cleves Attractive
– A: ‘Other Exits’ Ch. 08

1553: King Edward VI Lived Longer
– A: ‘Other Exits’ Ch. 09

1554: Queen Elizabeth I Brought to the Throne Earlier
– A: ‘Other Exits’ Ch. 10

1558: Calais Remained English
- S (1790): ‘Diversion’ Ch. 02

          Princess Elizabeth Did Not Become Queen
– A: ‘Other Exits’ Ch. 11

1564: Queen Elizabeth I Married and Had Children
– A: ‘Other Exits’ Ch. 12

1571; 1578; 1583; 1586: Queen Elizabeth I Assassinated
– A: ‘Other Exits’ Ch. 13

- S (1573): ‘Diversion’ Ch. 16

1588: The Spanish Armada was Victorious
– A: ‘Other Exits’ Ch. 14 

1605: The Gunpowder Plot was Successful
– A: ‘Other Exits’ Ch. 15

1632: King Gustavus Adolphus Lived and Won the 30 Years’ War
- S (1635): ‘Umleitung’ Ch. 17

1643: Oliver Cromwell Killed in Battle
– A: ‘Other Lives’ Ch. 04

          King Charles I Won the Civil War
– A: ‘Other Exits’ Ch. 16

- S (1654): ‘Diversion’ Ch. 17

1650: A Constitution Introduced to Britain
– A: ‘Other Exits’ Ch. 17

- N (1706): 'Between Protector and Pretender'

- S (1717): ‘Route Diverted’ Ch. 08

1664: Nieuw Nederland Persisted
– A: ‘In Another America’ Ch. 01

- S (1986): ‘Detour’ Ch. 05

1685: The Duke of Monmouth Victorious
– A: ‘Other Exits’ Ch. 18

- S (1687): ‘Diversion’ Ch. 11

1688: King James II Remained on the Throne
– A: ‘Other Exits’ Ch. 19 

1745: The Jacobite Rebellion Succeeded
- S (1749): ‘Route Diverted’ Ch. 02

1750s: No Industrial Revolution
– A: ‘Down Other Tracks’ Ch. 01
- N (1938): ‘Eve of the Globe’s War’

1759: North America became Largely French
– A: ‘In Another America’ Ch. 02

- S (1763): ‘Déviation’ Ch. 19
- S (1768): ‘Detour’ Ch. 13

1760: Prussia Destroyed
– A: ‘Down Other Tracks’ Ch. 02

- S (1760): ‘Umleitung’ Ch. 01

1770s: Steam Car Racing Became A Sport
- S (1785): ‘Déviation’ Ch. 10

1777: George Washington Died at Valley Forge
– A: ‘Other Lives’ Ch. 05

- S (1778): ‘Detour’ Ch. 09

1778: The British Won the American War of Independence

– A: ‘In Another America’ Ch. 03
- S (1983): 'Taking the Detour' Ch. 02

1787: Federal Convention Led to Independent American States
– A: ‘In Another America’ Ch. 04

- S (1976): ‘Detour’ Ch. 16

1790: French Revolution Defeated
- S (1890): ‘Déviation’ Ch. 09

1792: Japan Opened Up to the World Earlier
– A: ‘Down Other Tracks’ Ch. 10

1794: Napoleon’s Career Less Successful
– A: ‘Down Other Tracks’ Ch. 03

- S (1794): ‘Déviation’ Ch. 07

1799: Napoleon Made No Impact on French Politics
– A: ‘Down Other Tracks’ Ch. 05

          Napoleon Did Not Abolish Balloon Troops
- S (1810): ‘Déviation’ Ch. 15 

1803: Duke of Wellington Killed in India
– A: ‘Other Lives’ Ch. 06

- S (1811): ‘Route Diverted’ Ch. 06

          Louisiana Not Sold to the USA
- S (1992): ‘Detour’ Ch. 10

1805: France Conquered Britain
- S (1809): ‘Diversion’ Ch. 07

1812: Napoleon More Successful
– A: ‘Down Other Tracks’ Ch. 04

- S (2000): ‘Déviation’ Ch. 12

          USA More Successful in War of 1812
– A: ‘In Another America’ Ch. 05

- N (1813): 'The Loyal Pursuit'
- S (1815): 'Taking the Detour' Ch. 11

          USA Less Successful in War of 1812
– A: ‘In Another America’ Ch. 05
- S (1814): ‘Detour’ Ch. 17

          Indian Reserve Preserved
- S (1828): 'Taking the Detour' Ch. 05

1813: Saxony Rather than Prussia Joined 6^th Coalition
- S (1815): ‘Umleitung’ Ch. 13

1830s: Colonialism Did Not Catch On

– A: ‘Down Other Tracks’ Ch. 17

            Otto von Bismarck Remained a Lawyer
- S (1872): ‘Umleitung’ Ch. 09

1839: Belgium not Created
– A: ‘Down Other Tracks’ Ch. 06

1840: Napoleon III Executed
– A: ‘Down Other Tracks’ Ch. 07

          Queen Victoria Assassinated
– A: ‘Down Other Tracks’ Ch. 08
- S (1840): ‘Diversion’ Ch. 04

           Republic of Rio Grande Survived
- S (1863): 'Taking the Detour' Ch. 07

1842: Britain Held Afghanistan
– A: ‘Down Other Tracks’ Ch. 09

- S (1963): ‘Diversion’ Ch. 12

1844: Henry Clay Became US President
– A: ‘In Another America’ Ch. 07

          Congresswoman Elected in New Jersey
- S (1845): ‘Detour’ Ch. 12

1845: Texas Remained an Independent Republic
– A: ‘In Another America’ Ch. 06

- S (1945): ‘Detour’ Ch. 15

1848: Hungary Broke Entirely from Austria
- A: ‘Down Other Tracks’ Ch. 14

          King Friedrich III came to the Prussian Throne
– A: ‘Down Other Tracks’ Ch. 18

          Mexico Remained Larger
– A: ‘In Another America’ Ch. 08
- S (1996): ‘Detour’ Ch. 01

1852: Earlier American Civil War and Earlier Deseret
- S (1856): ‘Detour’ Ch. 06

1857: Deseret was Sustained
– A: ‘In Another America’ Ch. 09

          The Indian Mutiny Succeeded
- S (1871): ‘Route Diverted’ Ch. 04

1858: Napoleon III Assassinated
– A: ‘Down Other Tracks’ Ch. 07

1861: King Friedrich III came to the Prussian Throne
– A: ‘Down Other Tracks’ Ch. 18

          The Confederacy Won the American Civil War
– A: ‘In Another America’ Ch. 10
- S (1868): ‘Route Diverted’ Ch. 11

1862: Otto von Bismarck was Less Successful
– A: ‘Other Lives’ Ch. 08

1863: Abraham Lincoln Assassinated Sooner; Herbert Hamlin Died of Pneumonia
- S (1863): 'Taking the Detour'

1865: Abraham Lincoln Not Assassinated
– A: ‘Other Lives’ Ch. 07

- S (1867): ‘Detour’ Ch. 03

1866: Kaiser Wilhelm I was Restrained Less
– A: ‘Down Other Tracks’ Ch. 13

1867: Hungary Broke Entirely from Austria
– A: ‘Down Other Tracks’ Ch. 14

          Russian Colonies Remained in North America
– A: ‘In Another America’ Ch. 11
- S (1940): ‘Detour’ Ch. 20

1870: France Won the Franco-Prussian War
– A: ‘Down Other Tracks’ Ch. 15

- S (1871): ‘Déviation’ Ch. 17

1871: The Taiping State Persisted
– A: ‘Down Other Tracks’ Ch. 11

          Italy not Unified
– A: ‘Down Other Tracks’ Ch. 12

1878: War between Britain and Russia
– A: ‘Down Other Tracks’ Ch. 16

- S (1878): ‘Route Diverted’ Ch. 14

          Kaiser Friedrich III Came to the Throne
- A: ‘Down Other Tracks’ Ch. 18

1883: The Channel Tunnel was Constructed Earlier
- S (1883): ‘Route Diverted’ Ch. 19

1888: Kaiser Friedrich III Lived Longer
– A: ‘Down Other Tracks’ Ch. 18

          The Boulanger Coup D’État Succeeded
– A: ‘Down Other Tracks’ Ch. 19

1889: DC Electricity Used for US Supply to Homes
- S (1937): 'Taking the Detour' Ch. 20

1892: Winston Churchill Died Younger
– A: ‘Other Roads 1’ Ch. 02

1895: Extensive Monorail Network Built in Germany
- S (1909): ‘Umleitung’ Ch. 10

1898: France Victorious in the Fashoda Crisis
- S (1898): ‘Déviation’ Ch. 21 

1900: King Edward VII Assassinated
– A: ‘Down Other Tracks’ Ch. 20

          The Boers Won the 2^nd Anglo-Boer War
- S (1902): ‘Route Diverted’ Ch. 18

1902: Japan Became an Ally of Germany
– A: ‘Other Trenches 1’ Ch. 04
- S (1914): ‘Wars to End’ Ch. 03

1907: Stalin Died before the October Revolution
– A: ‘Other Lives’ Ch. 09

          The State of Sequoyah was Formed
– A: ‘In Another America’ Ch. 12

- S (1927): ‘Detour’ Ch. 03

1910s: Oil Exploration in North Sea Began Sooner
- S (1941): ‘Diversion’ Ch. 08

1912: Theodore Roosevelt Re-Elected US President
– A: ‘In Another America’ Ch. 13

- S (1915): ‘Detour’ Ch. 07

          Irish Free State Covered All of Ireland

- S (1913): ‘Route Diverted’ Ch. 15

         British Admiralty Began Developing Tanks 
– S (1916): ‘Wars to End’ Ch. 15

1914:

          Mussolini Remained a Left-Wing Journalist
– A: ‘Other Lives’ Ch. 11

          The First World War Never Occurred
– A: ‘Other Trenches 1’ Ch. 01
- S (1916): ‘Wars to End’ Ch. 16

          Archduke Franz Ferdinand Not Assassinated
 – S ‘Wars to End’ Ch. 01

          Third Balkans War
– A: ‘Other Trenches 2’ Ch. 01

           Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria War with Serbia
- S (1915): ‘Wars to End’ Ch. 11

          Industrial Action Halted the First World War
- A: ‘Other Trenches 2’ Ch. 02

          Britain Did not Enter the First World War
– A: ‘Other Trenches 1’ Ch. 02

- S (1914): ‘Route Diverted’ Ch. 01

          Germany Invaded the Netherlands
– A: ‘Other Trenches 1’ Ch. 03
- S: ‘Wars to End’ Ch. 02

          The German Plans Succeeded
– A: ‘Other Trenches 2’ Ch. 03

           French Plan XVII Fully Implemented
- S: ‘Wars to End’ Ch. 04

          Italy Fought as Part of the Triple Alliance
– A: ‘Other Trenches 2’ Ch. 04
- S (1915): ‘Wars to End’ Ch. 06

          The Ottoman Empire Remained Neutral
– A: ‘Other Trenches 2’ Ch. 05

          Germany Conquered Britain
- S (1941): ‘Diversion’ Ch. 15

1915:

          Germany Ran Out of Raw Materials
– A: ‘Other Trenches 1’ Ch. 05

          Unrestricted Submarine Warfare Introduced Sooner
– A: ‘Other Trenches 2’ Ch. 06
– N (1948): ‘His Majesty's Dictator’

          The Gallipoli Offensive Succeeded
– A: ‘Other Trenches 1’ Ch. 06

           Allied Landings in Thrace Not Gallipoli

- S: ‘Wars to End’ Ch. 07

          Seaborne Invasion of Germany’s Baltic Coast

 - S: ‘Wars to End’ Ch. 08

          Ottoman Forces Invade Egypt

 - S: ‘Wars to End’ Ch. 10

          Austria-Hungary Defeated by Russia
– A: ‘Other Trenches 2’ Ch. 07

           Gorlice–Tarnów Offensive Successful
– S (1940): ‘Wars to End’ Ch. 22

          Second Christmas Truce on Western Front

 - S: ‘Wars to End’ Ch. 05

1916:

          Russia Collapsed Earlier
– A: ‘Other Trenches 1’ Ch. 07

            Romania Entered War in April 1916; Aided Russian Offensive
- S: ‘Wars to End’ Ch. 14

          Sustained US-Mexican War
– A: ‘Other Trenches 1’ Ch. 08
- N: ‘The Three Eagles’

          Full Scale British-German Naval Battle
– A: ‘Other Trenches 2’ Ch. 13

            German North Sea Battle Plan More Effective

- S: ‘Wars to End’ Ch. 12

           Austria-Hungary Captured Venice 

- S: ‘Wars to End’ Ch. 13

          Germans Developed Effective Tanks
– A: ‘Other Trenches 1’ Ch. 13
- S (1918): ‘Umleitung’ Ch. 12

          Germans Captured Verdun Fortresses
– A: ‘Other Trenches 2’ Ch. 08
- S (1915): ‘Wars to End’ Ch. 09
- S (1916): ‘Déviation’ Ch. 18

          Charles E. Hughes Won the US Presidential Election
– A: ‘In Another America’ Ch. 14

          British Developed an Airship Force
- S (1916): ‘Umleitung’ Ch. 02

1917:

          Negotiated Peace
– A: ‘Other Trenches 1’ Ch. 09

          Austria-Hungary Defeated by Russia
– A: ‘Other Trenches 2’ Ch. 07

          USA Did not Enter the First World War
– A: ‘Other Trenches 2’ Ch. 09
- S (1923): 'Taking the Detour' Ch. 12
- N (1917): 'The Three Eagles'

          French Army Mutinies More Extensive
– A: ‘Other Trenches 1’ Ch. 10

          British Army Mutinied Extensively

- S: ‘Wars to End’ Ch. 17

- S (1919): ‘Diversion’ Ch. 19

           Lenin and Trotsky Arrested by the French and British

- N (1917): 'The Kerensky Defence'

          The Bolshevik Revolution Failed
– A: ‘Other Trenches 2’ Ch. 10

           The Kornilov Coup Succeeded
- S: ‘Wars to End’ Ch. 18

          Treaty of Brest-Litovsk Less Extreme
– A: ‘Other Trenches 1’ Ch. 11

1918:

          Kaiserschlacht Sustained
– A: ‘Other Trenches 1’ Ch. 12
- S: ‘Wars to End’ Ch. 19

          French Developed Stormtroopers
– A: ‘Other Trenches 2’ Ch. 12

          Britain Did Not Impose Conscription on Ireland
– A: ‘Other Trenches 2’ Ch. 11 

           Biological Weapons Used Extensively
- S: ‘Wars to End’ Ch. 20

1919:
       The First World War Continued
– A: ‘Other Trenches 2’ Ch. 14
- S: ‘Wars to End’ Ch. 21

1920: Treaty of Sèvres Enforced
– A: ‘Other Trenches 1’ Ch. 14

- N (1937): 'Taken in Lycia'

          Prohibition not Introduced
– A: ‘In Another America’ Ch. 15

1924: Lenin Lived 10 Years Longer
– A: ‘Other Lives’ Ch. 10

         Hitler Deported from Germany
- A: ‘Other Roads 3’ Ch. 01
- S (1925): ‘Umleitung’ Ch. 16

- N (1937): 'Streseland'

1929: Gustav Stresemann Lived Longer
– A: ‘Other Lives’ Ch. 13

- S (1936): ‘Umleitung’ Ch. 07

- N (1937): 'Streseland'

          No Wall Street Crash
- S (1938): 'Taking the Detour' Ch. 17

1931: Winston Churchill Died Younger
– A: ‘Other Roads 1’ Ch. 02

          Stronger Chinese Resistance to Japanese Invasion
– A: ‘Other Roads 1’ Ch. 03
- S (1931): ‘From Another Infamy’ Ch. 05

1932: Hitler not Granted German Citizenship
- A: ‘Other Roads 3’ Ch. 02

1933: Germany-Poland War
- A: ‘Other Roads 3’ Ch. 02

- S (1933): ‘Umleitung’ Ch. 04

1934: Franklin Roosevelt Overthrown by a Coup D’État
– A: ‘Other Lives’ Ch. 12

- S (1944): ‘Detour’ Ch. 11

          Mao Zedong was Killed
– A: ‘Other Lives’ Ch. 17

          Coup D’État in France
– A: ‘Other Roads 1’ Ch. 04
- S (1939): ‘Déviation’ Ch. 14

          Nazi Coup D’État in Austria Successful
– A: ‘Other Roads 2’ Ch. 01
- S (1934): ‘Another World’s War’ Ch. 10

           King Alexander of Yugoslavia Not Assassinated
- S (1943): ‘Another World’s War’ Ch. 15

1935: Mussolini Overthrown
- A: ‘Other Roads 3’ Ch. 11

1936: Edward VIII Remained King of the United Kingdom
– A: ‘Other Lives’ Ch. 14

- S (1955): ‘Route Diverted’ Ch. 07

          The Maginot Line was Built Along the Belgian Border
– A: ‘Other Roads 1’ Ch. 06

          Italy and Germany Did Not Become Allies
– A: ‘Other Roads 2’ Ch. 02
- S (1941): ‘Another World’s War’ Ch. 07

          Remilitarisation of the Rhineland Resisted
- A: ‘Other Roads 3’ Ch. 03

1937: The Republicans Won the Spanish Civil War
- A: ‘Other Roads 3’ Ch. 04

          The USA Joined Second World War from the Start
- A: ‘Other Roads 3’ Ch. 06
- S (1938): ‘From Another Infamy’ Ch. 12

1938: Appeasement Succeeded in Avoiding War
– A: ‘Other Roads 1’ Ch. 05

- S (1940): ‘From Another Infamy’ Ch. 07
- S (1948): ‘Another World’s War’ Ch. 14

          Neville Chamberlain was a German Collaborator
– S (1938): ‘Other Roads 2’ Ch. 03

          Germany-Czechoslovakia War of 1938
– A: ‘Other Roads 1’ Ch. 07
- S (1938): ‘Another World’s War’ Ch. 04

          Hitler Assassinated
- A: ‘Other Roads 2’ Ch. 18

          Mussolini Assassinated
- A: ‘Other Roads 3’ Ch. 11

          Stalin Debilitated by a Stroke
- S (1938/1941): ‘From Another Infamy’ Ch. 19

1939:
         Allies Unable to Break the Enigma Cipher
- A: ‘Other Roads 1’ Ch. 14

         France Invaded Germany to Support Poland

 - S (1939): ‘From Another Infamy’ Ch. 16

1940:
           Jewish Refuge Established in Alaska
– A: ‘In Another America’ Ch. 17

          Britain Invaded Norway
- S (1940): ‘Another World’s War’ Ch. 05

          German Invasion of Norway Defeated
– A: ‘Other Roads 1’ Ch. 08

          USSR Invaded Norway
- A: ‘Other Roads 3’ Ch. 07
- S (1940): ‘From Another Infamy’ Ch. 13

          Japan Invaded the USSR
- A: ‘Other Roads 3’ Ch. 08
- S (1942): ‘From Another Infamy’ Ch. 09

          Lord Halifax Became British Prime Minister
– S (1940): ‘Other Roads 3’ Ch. 05

          German Invasion of Belgium Halted
- A: ‘Other Roads 2’ Ch. 04

          German Invasion of France Defeated
- A: ‘Other Roads 3’ Ch. 09
- S (1940): ‘Another World’s War’ Ch. 01

          Anglo-French Union Formed
- A: ‘Other Roads 2’ Ch. 05
- S (1965): ‘Diversion’ Ch. 18

          The BEF was Eliminated at Dunkirk
– A: ‘Other Roads 1’ Ch. 10

          Charles De Gaulle Killed in an Aeroplane Crash
- S (1949): 'Taking the Detour' Ch. 08

          Italy Did not Enter the Second World War
– A: ‘Other Roads 1’ Ch. 09

          French Government Went to the Brittany Redoubt
- S (1940): ‘Another World’s War’ Ch. 13

          The French Government Relocated to Algeria
– A: ‘Other Roads 1’ Ch. 11
- S (1941): ‘Déviation’ Ch. 01
- S (1942): ‘From Another Infamy’ Ch. 06

          Germany Invaded Switzerland
– A: ‘Other Roads 1’ Ch. 12
- S (1940): ‘From Another Infamy’ Ch. 10

          Germany Invaded Spain and Portugal
– A: ‘Other Roads 1’ Ch. 15

          Spain and Portugal Fought Actively for the Axis
- A: ‘Other Roads 2’ Ch. 09
- S (1940): ‘Another World’s War’ Ch. 16

          German Invasion of Britain Failed
- A: ‘Other Roads 2’ Ch. 06
- S (1940): ‘Another World’s War’ Ch. 11
- N (1940): ‘Stop Line’
- S (1941): ‘Diversion’ Ch. 01

          German Invasion of Ireland
- A: ‘Other Roads 3’ Ch. 13

          Germany Invaded Iceland
- A: ‘Other Roads 2’ Ch. 10

          Italy Victorious in Greece
- A: ‘Other Roads 2’ Ch. 07
- S (1940): ‘From Another Infamy’ Ch. 04

          Italy Invaded Palestine
- S (1940): ‘Another World’s War’ Ch. 03

          Mussolini Dismissed Earlier
- A: ‘Other Roads 3’ Ch. 11

          Poison Gas Weapons Used
- A: ‘Other Roads 2’ Ch. 17

1941:

         Franklin Roosevelt Only Allowed to Serve 2 Terms
– A: ‘In Another America’ Ch. 16
- S (1951): ‘Detour’ Ch. 02

         Yugoslavia Remained Independent
- S (1943): ‘Another World’s War’ Ch. 15

         The British Held Crete
- A: ‘Other Roads 3’ Ch. 14
- S (1966): ‘From Another Infamy’ Ch. 20

          Germany Invaded Cyprus
– A: ‘Other Roads 1’ Ch. 16

          Germany Invaded Bulgaria
- A: ‘Other Roads 2’ Ch. 11

          Soviet Response to German Invasion More Effective
- A: ‘Other Roads 2’ Ch. 08
- S (1941): ‘From Another Infamy’ Ch. 19

          Latvia Became an Ally of Germany
- S (1943): ‘Another World’s War’ Ch. 12

          Vichy France Fought Actively for the Axis
- A: ‘Other Roads 3’ Ch. 12

          USA Concentrated on Fighting in the Pacific
- S (1944): ‘Another World’s War’ Ch. 09

1942:
          Germans Won the Second World War
– A: ‘Other Roads 1’ Ch. 01

- S (1968): ‘Another World’s War’ Ch. 20

          Japan Won the Pacific War
- A: ‘Other Roads 2’ Ch. 18

          Allies Unable to Break Shark Version of Enigma Cipher
- N (1943): 'Provision'

          Singapore was Better Defended
- S (1942): ‘From Another Infamy’ Ch. 17

          Japan Invaded Ceylon
– A: ‘Other Roads 1’ Ch. 13
- S (1942): ‘From Another Infamy’ Ch. 02

          Allies Invaded Norway
- A: ‘Other Roads 2’ Ch.12

          German Forces Reached Palestine and Iraq
- A: ‘Other Roads 2’ Ch. 13
- S (1942): ‘From Another Infamy’ Ch. 03

          Germans Victorious at Leningrad and Stalingrad
- A: ‘Other Roads 3’ Ch. 16
- S (1942): ‘Another World’s War’ Ch. 18

          German Forces Captured Grozny
- S (1942): ‘Another World’s War’ Ch. 06

1943:

Japan Invaded India
– A: ‘Other Roads 1’ Ch. 13

          Allies Lost Battle of the Atlantic
- A: ‘Other Roads 3’ Ch. 15
- S (1943): ‘Route Diverted’ Ch. 09
- N (1943): ‘Provision’

          Allies Invaded Brittany
– A: ‘Other Roads 1’ Ch. 17
- S (1943): ‘Another World’s War’ Ch. 19

          Allies Tried to Liberate the Channel Islands
- A: ‘Other Roads 3’ Ch. 17

          Operation Mincemeat Failed
– A: ‘Other Roads 1’ Ch. 18

          Allies Invaded Greece Rather than Italy
- S (1943): ‘From Another Infamy’ Ch. 15

          Italian Armistice Handled Better
- A: ‘Other Roads 2’ Ch. 14

          A Civil War in Hungary
- S (1943): ‘From Another Infamy’ Ch. 14

1944:

         Germany Developed an Atomic Bomb
– A: ‘Other Roads 1’ Ch. 19
- S (1944): ‘Another World’s War’ Ch. 17

          Soviets Developed an Atomic Bomb First
- A: ‘Other Roads 2’ Ch. 20

          D-Day Landings in Pas-de-Calais
- A: ‘Other Roads 2’ Ch. 16

          France Became a Communist Country
- S (1945): ‘From Another Infamy’ Ch. 11
- S (1974): ‘Déviation’ Ch. 08

          Hitler Assassinated
- A: ‘Other Roads 2’ Ch. 19
- S (1944): ‘Another World’s War’ Ch. 02

          Germans Used Numerous Jet Bombers
- A: ‘Other Roads 3’ Ch. 19
- S (1956): ‘From Another Infamy’ Ch. 18

          Bridge at Arnhem Held by Allies
- A: ‘Other Roads 3’ Ch. 18
- S (1944): ‘From Another Infamy’ Ch. 08

          Communists Won Greek Civil War
- A: ‘Other Roads 3’ Ch. 20

          The Soviets Aided the Warsaw Uprising
- S (1957): ‘Another World’s War’ Ch. 08

          No US Atomic Bomb Built and Invasion of Japan
- S (1946): ‘From Another Infamy’ Ch. 01

1945:

         Morgenthau Plan Implemented
– A: ‘Other Roads 1’ Ch. 20

         Bakker-Schut Plan Implemented
- S (1956): ‘Umleitung’ Ch. 11

1946: Joseph McCarthy not Elected a Senator
– A: ‘In Another America’ Ch. 18

1948: More Alert US Foreign Policy
– A: ‘In Another America’ Ch. 19

          Britain Became Part of the USA
- S (1952): ‘Route Diverted’ Ch. 16

          Thomas Dewey Elected US President as Expected
- S (1950): 'Taking the Detour' Ch.10

1950: USA Defeated in Korean War
- S (1950): 'Detour' Ch. 18

          USA Used Atomic Bombs in Korean War
- S (1985): 'Taking the Detour' Ch. 14

1952: Robert Taft Elected US President; Nixon, Vice-President
- S (1963): ‘Detour’ Ch. 08

1956: British Victorious in Suez Crisis; Invaded Libya
- S (1956): ‘Route Diverted’ Ch. 12

1960: Richard Nixon Won the 1960 US Presidential Election
– A: ‘Other Lives’ Ch. 15

1961: Charles De Gaulle Assassinated
– A: ‘Other Lives’ Ch. 16

- S (1961): ‘Déviation’ Ch. 05
- N (1961): ‘Scavenged Days’

          The Beatles were Convicted in West Germany
- S (1961): ‘Umleitung’ Ch. 05

1962: USA Invaded Cuba
– A: ‘In Another America’ Ch. 20
- S (1967): 'Taking the Detour' Ch. 04

          Tactical Atomic Weapons Used by Cuba

- S (2003): ‘Detour’ Ch. 19

1963: John F. Kennedy not Assassinated
– A: ‘In Another America’ Ch. 21

          East Germany Invaded West Berlin
- S (1963): ‘Umleitung’ Ch. 18

1966: Mao Zedong was Ousted from Power
– A: ‘Other Lives’ Ch. 17

1968: Robert Kennedy not Assassinated
– A: ‘In Another America’ Ch. 23

1969: USSR-China Third World War
– A: ‘In Another America’ Ch. 22

1974: Lord Mountbatten Became Head of a British Junta
– A: ‘Other Lives’ Ch. 19

- S (1975): ‘Route Diverted’ Ch. 05

          Richard Nixon Remained in Office
– A: ‘In Another America’ Ch. 24

1977: Hans Schleyer’s Kidnappers Found
- S (1978): ‘Umleitung’ Ch. 15

1980: Ronald Reagan Fiasco in Broadcast Debate
- S (1980): 'Taking the Detour' Ch. 19

1981: Ronald Reagan Assassinated
– A: ‘Other Lives’ Ch. 20

- S (1987): ‘Detour’ Ch. 14

1984: Indira Gandhi Was Not Assassinated
– A: ‘Other Lives’ Ch. 18

         Margaret Thatcher Assassinated
– A: ‘Other Lives’ Ch. 21
- S (1984): ‘Diversion’ Ch. 09

2000: Al Gore Confirmed as US President
- S (2009): 'Taking the Detour' Ch. 06

2003: President Al Gore Assassinated
- S (2009): 'Taking the Detour' Ch. 06