The Way It Wasn't: Great Science Fiction Stories of Alternate History

by Robert Silverberg and Brando Skyhorse

Book Overview

The Way It Wasn't takes an amusing, intellectually stimulating excursion into speculative history. Here are thirteen memorable stories by renowned science fiction writers, telling what things might be... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0806517697
• ISBN13: 9780806517698
• Release Date: July 1998
• Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corporation
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.1" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Bad title, great writing.

The title of this book is somewhat misleading - the stories within (with one exception) are not really (in my opinion) "science fiction". All are alternative history stories, although somewhat atypical of the genre. It seems that some authors have alternative timeline theories and write stories to support them. The authors in this book use alternate timelines as frameworks for good stories. Being a fan of both SciFi and alternative history, I gave this book a read and was quite impressed with the quality of the writing. I'm not familiar with all of the authors, but will be looking out for their other works. "The Winterberry" stood out. At first you don't see the connection with alternate history, but eventually you catch on, with sad realization. Worthwhile reading for all.

Very Entertaining

A highly entertaining series of short stories. The stories in this book are very original and are not reprinted in many other collections of Alternate History, with the exception of two. If you love alternate history, I encourage you to read, if not buy this book.

Take a wild ride through history as it could have been.

Everyone has wondered "What if..." at some point, whether the question involved his or her own life or some pivotal event in history. History as we know it is jolted and questioned at every turn in this emotional collection of engaging and imaginative fiction. Many "what if..." questions are addressed in this volume that allow authors and readers alike to rewrite history, correcting perceived wrongs or tragedies ("Suppose They Gave a Peace..."), creating heroes where none existed before ("The Lucky Strike"), and exploring horrors best left to imaginations and late night readings ("We Could Do Worse"). Any fan of science fiction will enjoy these well-selected, well-ordered stories.