The Hitler Options: Alternate Decisions of World War II

Pardon the cryptic title but I simply loved this phrase, proposed in one of the "alternate history" scenarios - supposedly the words an OKW General would use to persuade Adolf that German's alliance with Italy was more of a liability than an asset. This collection of speculative history essays verges from the mischevious to the eery. Could the "Southern Front" have rolled up the war one year earlier? What would the LAND Battle of Britain have looked like? There are maps. What if General Franco had joined the Axis? (Gibraltar would be lost, the pundits say, but then Britain would have wiped out the Spanish fleet and occupied the Balaeric Islands.) A fine, engaging work for anyone who enjoys pondering what might have been.

By the title of this review, I do not by any means imply that Hitler altered the future in a positive way. However, consider that in each case in this book, had he chosen a different path, the whole war not only may have been different, but may have ended differently. I have always advocated that one of the best ways to learn history is to first read the textbook then read an alternate history. This book fits that bill. If World War II is your particular field of study, or even wargaming World War II, you will find this book fascinating.

The Hitler Options: Alternate Decisions of World War II, provides an entertaining and thought-provoking glimpse at some of the "might have beens" surrounding the more questionable decisions made by the German High Command during the Second World War. A variety of scenarios are examined, including the much-ballyhooed Operation Sealion, a Mediterranean strategy that could have been decisive, more tightly focussed options during Operation Barbarrosa, and several others.What makes this book particularly appealing is the approach taken by the author. Kenneth Macksey is a master at providing sufficient detail to satisfy the historically inclined, while maintaining a literary style that is easy for the casual reader to digest. Granted, in certain situations his attention to detail may approach the overwhelming, but he pulls up just in time to keep the story flowing, blurring the line between historical conjecture and plain fun reading.Much to the author's credit, he takes his various scenarios through to a plausible conclusion, avoiding the tendency of other writers in this genre to leave the reader dangling with only a spate of unanswered questions. At the same time, Mr Macksey takes pains to point out that each of these endings is only one of a near-infinite number of possible results, albeit the most likely one.Those intrigued by the many vagueries of history in general and the Second World War in particular will never cease to wonder what might have been if only slightly different paths had been taken at critical junctions of the conflict. The Hitler Options provides a number of plausible, entertaining and very satisfying final destinations for those never-trodden paths.

This collection of short alternative Historical scenarios is among the very best work turned out in the Alternate History Genre. Each scenario very accurately and carefully depicts the possible outcome of a choice that might have been made. Several of the decisions were also not Hitler's decisions, but those of the allies. The book chronicles: a German invasion of England, a German invasion of the Mediterranean, a consolidated German drive toward Moscow to conquer Russia, a combined German-Japanese operation to link up in the middle-east, a German aerial-naval cooperation effort to win the Atlantic Sea War, an Allied attack through the Mediterranean instead of an attack through Normandy, a German atomic weapons scenario, a Jet Fighter scenario, a continuation of Rommel's strategy in Normandy - leading to a much bloodier Omaha beach, and finally, an allied effort to win the war through the immense morale damage inflicted by the destruction of cities after the fashion of Hamburg. The book is inciteful and inspiring - a real joy to read.

The book is a wondrous collection of Historical "What ifs" which accurately cover the most interesting and curious arenas of the war. Such questions as: What would have happened if Hitler decided to invade England, and could the German army have feasibly defeated Russia, and what might have happened if Germany had ever possessed Atomic technology, are answered. The book is not only inspiring but monumentaly fascinating. It also includes other strategies that the allied powers might have adopted during the war. A must for any interested and knowledgable WWII enthusiast.