For Want of a Nail: If Burgoyne Had Won at Saratoga

I had never read an alternative history before, but I have certainly read my share of text books. I can'thelp but think that someone went to a parallel universe and brought this "text book" back with them. This is really more than one book in one. The beginning, everyone can recognize, as it starts withhistory of the revolutionary war all school children know. It then gets even more interesting as the timeline departs from the familiar. I did like, and agree with, the appearances of just a very few familiarnames as the years ticked by- Lincoln and Edison are there. Some people are simply destined to beborn, and make a mark. I would expect that this is a bit of the "pebble in the stream" theory of sometime travel books that I have enjoyed only in reverse, of is it in the alternative? Not to ruin anything, butthe current president reminded me some of Bill Clinton in the absurdity of his situation while in office. Then again, if Sobel had written of a president who got impeached for sex with an intern, critics wouldhave called it implausible. After reading this book, I researched it on the Web and discovered that thisbook was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and has won Sci-Fi awards. I also saw a web page that hadin depth discussions of the military tactics described in the book. This seems incredible as Sobel haswritten mostly business histories and biographies. After reading For Want of a Nail, I bought CalvinCoolidge, by Sobel and liked that too. I give this book high marks. For what it is worth, I am a realestate attorney. My brother is a college history professor at UVA and he gave this book very highmarks as well.

I was a bit hesitant getting For Want of a Nail..., mainly because I've heard from various places that it is a "fictional textbook", and so might be drier than Death Valley at noon. But when I actually started reading it I was quite surprised to be totally absorbed in the narrative, even the really dry parts were at least slightly interesting. A survey from the doomed Revolution (where our Founding Fathers are held with complete contempt) to an uneasy (and completely different) Cold War in the early seventies. A really fascinating part of the narrative is how one event 200 years ago can vastly change the history of the entire world...by the time you get to "today" all the names are unrecognizable, as are many parts of the world map. Sobel even puts down an extensive list of "source material" from historical texts that never existed, but don't ignore them though because they sometimes provide interesting foreshadowing for the rest of the chapter/book. I have a feeling that octopus-like companies like the Kramer Associates are going to become a major factor in our own future. In For Want of a Nail... they provide a third party to the CNA and USM, a nation in all aspects but doesn't own any land. And oddly enough I actually agreed with many of Dr. Dana's points at the end of the book, which made me like it even more. One minor point of contention: the British seem to invest the CNA with a LOT of autonomy, nearly too much to be believable at some points. But basically it is worth every penny. Stop reading this and buy it now!

"For Want of a Nail" is an alternate history for those who know history. As a Bachelor of Arts in History and a former Social Studies teacher, I was absolutely fascinated by Mr. Sobel's literary, creative, and historical genius. The alternate history that he presents is completely realistic, both in suppositions and format. He even meticulously "footnotes" his book with a small library's worth of "historical sources" (which, of course, are strictly literary inventions for the sake of adding a scholarly "feel" to the book). The most amazing thing about the book was how realistic it seemed; there were times that I would put the book down (which was difficult to do) and then would have to remind myself that the utterly plausible scholarly tome that I had been reading was only a work of fiction. I have read many alternate history stories; unfortunately, most rely on either highly improbable events or outright flights of fancy (such as time travelers or space aliens). "For Want of a Nail", by contrast, is a masterpiece of plausibility, and a work of fiction that a scholar and student of history can enjoy.

A great conceit! I reviewed this book for my college paper when it first appeared in 1976, and still go back to it again and again. It's not an alternate history novel -- it's an alternate history survey text from a world where the American Revolution was defeated and the patriots made the long march to resettle in Texas ("Jefferson" in their history) just as the Loyalists fled to Canada and the Carribbean in our timeline. Sobel is an economic historian, so the aspects of developing economies and political structures are of more interest to him than pursuing the "Great Man" theory of history. The bibliography in the back, from that world, is also a grand conceit. It just needed more maps, a drawback not likely to be met in the new edition. Stu Shiffman http://www.halcyon.com/roscoe/ [email protected]

This is easily the most amazing book I have ever read. Mr. Sobel takes a single battle from the Revolutionary War, the Battle of Saratoga, changes the winner and goes on to build an entire world from the result. The loss of this battle for the Americans results in the loss of the entire war, leaving the British the victors of the American Revolution. After the British execute the leaders of the revolution, they begin to build an entirely new nation from the American colonies and Canada. Those who favored the revolution emigrate to the southwest to establish their own nation. The rest of the book is the history of those two countries and the tensions between them from the 1770's to the 1970's. The people and events are much more real than you would imagine fictitious characters and events could possibly be. Mr. Sobel footnotes the book with references from publications in his new world and includes charts and graphs. Some of the characters are based on historical figures from our own history, but most seem to be complete fabrications from the author's imagination. All of his characters have complete personalities. He also includes technical developments, such as weapons and ground cars, and social developments. When you read this book you will find yourself asking if this world actually exists. It just doesn't seem possible that an author can so thoroughly create a world, with all of its aspects and people, from his imagination. For Want of a Nail: If Burgoyne Had Won at Saratoga is one of my favorite books. I have read the book three times in the past twenty years and I am looking forward to owning a copy of the latest edition! The last time I read this book was three years ago so my memories of the story just can't do it justice. Don't take my word for it, get your hands on a copy of this book and read it for yourself!