If the South Had Won the Civil War by MacKinlay Kantor

 

A young staff captain, Hubert Gaines, had the presence of mind to swing from his horse to run forward, drawing his revolver in the same moment. He fired two shots into the animal's ear and the great beast lay still. Then Grant could be remove--his uniform covered with clay, and blood issuing from his nose and mouth. Mr. Charles A. Dana himself escorted the white-faced little Frederick Grant away.

This slim volume from the Pulitzer Prize winning author of Andersonville begins with a simple premise—General Grant dies beneath a recalcitrant horse.

Kantor then proceeds to detail the ramifications in billiard ball fashion what follows from this single mishap.

It is written as if it were true history, complete with mighty convincing footnotes throughout.

My copy clocks in at a brief 112 pages but that does not mean this is not a jam-packed work.

Kantor tells us not just how the South prevailed but then follows along with the seldom considered aftermath and how a successful secessionist nation might regard future such attempts.

Our alternative history takes us through until the 1940s as we see just how far ramifications may reverberate.

I found this a remarkably well-informed thoughtful work.

An easy read, yet there is nothing “easy” about what the piece insinuates.

Fascinating.