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The Napoleon Options: Alternate Decisions of the Napoleonic Wars. Edited by Jonathan North. London: Greenhill Books, 2000. 208 pages. $34.95. Reviewed by Colonel Robert A. Doughty, Professor and Department Head, Department of History, US Military Academy.
"Alternate" or counter-factual history usually elicits open contempt from professional historians. They recognize-much as Hollywood has shown us-that historical events are shaped by human beings who act and react based on what they see or believe is happening and that changes in a historical event would inevitably have engendered additional changes as the "actors" reacted to new circumstances. Predicting the nature and effects of these subsequent changes, of course, is impossible, and attempts to do so usually produce more confusion than clarity. Those of us who teach undergraduates are especially cautious with "what if' history, for it invariably oversimplifies a historical event and sometimes results in students not understanding what actually happened. Counter-factual history nonetheless can be provocative and can highlight the complexity of events and the importance of individuals or leaders at crucial points. It also can be fun and can remind us of the nature of history and...