jonesthecurl wrote:on alternate history:
Years ago, I read Kingsley Amis's The Alteration. I enjoyed it hugely, though now I remember only two things: I felt nauseous when I realized the double-meaning of the title, and Harold Wilson appeared to be Pope.
Also. In the pile of books I got from the library sales, was Allen Steele's The Tranquility Alternative, where the Space Age begins in 1944 with the launch of Das Amerika Bomber, a sub-orbital manned spacecraft aimed at New York. Not very far into it yet, but as usual with Steele, it's damn well written.
Oh, and I add my vote to the "read Man in the High Castle" brigade. one of the best books of a great writer (who sometimes got just too weird)
Ever read the Temeraire series? Takes place during the war between Napoleon and Britain, except it includes dragons.