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(More customer reviews)An anthology of allohistories, that is, "what-if" stories based on the attack on Pearl Harbor. Like all anthologies, some stories are superb, some are weak, but overall the level is quite high. The only flaw, and it isn't a serious one, lies at the hands of the editors in their selection and organization of the stories. I'll leave the weakest part of the collection, Part 1, for last.
Part 2, 'Alternate Actions', are the stories by Pineiro, Reasoner, Dietz, and Hallanhan. These are the most traditionally "what-if" stories, hinging on a minor event causing a major change in result. Three are very good, and one, Reasoner's 'The East Wind Caper' is outstanding. A hard-boiled private eye (see Bogart in the role) stumbles onto the Japanese plot and saves the day. Well told, tightly paced and humorous.
Part 3, 'Alternate Aftermaths', contains stories by DuBois, Tillman, Allyn, and Keith. Of these, Keith's 'A Terrible Resolve' is the best, a tale of Japanese victories which lead the Empire up to the beaches of California before the success of the Manhatten Project and the actions of American kamikazi bombers, turn the Imperial Navy back.
A Postscript by Kupfer, which posits a Nazi victory over both America and Japan, is the most chilling story in the book.
The Appendices give an excellent historical background of the real world event, of the military and diplomatic realities which the allohistorians in the anthology had to manipulate for our entertainment.
Now, the worst for last, and as I previously said, it isn't too bad. Part 1, 'Alternate Architects', has the four stories by Hawke, Geraghty, DeFelice, Gorman. Very little allohistorical content in any of these, and what little there is, is only background color. Mostly these four just rehash old conspiracy theories about Roosevelt and/or Churchill knowing that the attack was going to happen and allowed it to go on in the hopes American would enter the war against Germany. I've got no problem with this belief, though I think, like most conspiracies, the proponents are assuming malice where simple incompetence is enough of an explanation. My problem with these stories is that so much of the tale is given over to rehashing the arguements, lecturing the reader on why the plot really did happen, that the stories are just plain boring. The editors could have had a much stronger anthology by leaving this part out and putting more of the rest in.
One observation, something that gave me a small grin. When reading the stories, watch for similarities between them. Variations on the phrase "cigarette, cigar, and pipe smoke" pops up in an awful lot of stories. I suspect the editors handed our a very detailed background guide to the authors, and some of them lifted material out of it verbatim.
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"December 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy."So did President Franklin Delano Roosevelt address the American people about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that initiated America's entry into World War II.But what if things had happened differently?A Date Which Will Live in Infamy is an anthology of fictional alternatives to the events that led up to, occurred during, and followed directly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.The authors and their original stories that appear here for the first time are:"The Sumter Scenario: A Time Wars Story" by Simon Hawke • "The Secret History of Mr. Churchill's Revenge" by Tony Geraghty • "Cain" by Jim DeFelice • "Pariah" by Ed Gorman • "Green Zeroes" by R. J. Pineiro • "The East Wind Caper" by James Reasoner • "Path of the Storm" by William C. Dietz • "The Fourth Scenario" by William Hallahan • "Victory at Pearl Harbor" by Brendan DuBois • "I Relieve You, Sir" by Barrett Tillman • "Beer, Betrayal, and Ho Chi Minh" by Doug Allyn • "A Terrible Resolve" by William H. Keith, Jr. • "December 7th, 2001" - A Classroom on the AmericanContinent" by Allen C. Kupfer
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