âThought-provoking and entertaining . . . What if Lincoln had dodged the assassinâs bullet? What if Lee had waged guerrilla warfare in April 1865?â âGordon C. Rhea, author of the Overland Campaign series  âWhat if. . . ?â Every Civil War armchair general asks the question. Possibilities unfold. Disappointments vanish. Imaginations soar. More questions arise. âWhat if . . .â can be more than an exercise in wistful fantasy. A serious inquiry sparks rigorous exploration, demands critical thinking, and unlocks important insights.  The Great âWhat Ifsâ of the American Civil War: Historians Tackle the Conflictâs Most Intriguing Possibilities is a collection of fourteen essays by the historians at Emerging Civil War, and includes a Foreword by acclaimed alternate history writer Peter G. Tsouras. Each entry focuses on one of the most important events of the war and unpacks the options of the moment. To understand what happened, we must look with a clear and objective eye at what could have happened, with the full multitude of choices before us. âWhat ifâ is a tool for illumination.  These essays also explode the assumptions people make when they ask âwhat ifâ and then jump to wishful conclusions. This collection offers not alternate histories or counterfactual scenarios, but an invitation to ask, to learn, and to wonder . . .  âA lively and engaging examination of those perennial âsecond guessesâ no student of the war fails to appreciate. No âpie in the skyâ hereâeach exploration is firmly rooted in fact, with a keen appreciation of context, providing provocative insight without sacrificing history.â âDavid A. Powell, author of the awardâwinning series The Chickamauga Campaign
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