 | 04:49 pm - Georges
Yesterday it occurred to me that the book I'm reading currently is a perfect July 4th book. It's called The Two Georges and it centers around an alternate history where the US never had revolutionary war. Instead of imposing all sorts of unpopular taxes, George Washington and a delegation of colonist negotiated a union.
Some changes:
Sam Adams beer is now John Adams beer
Crossing the Delaware now depicts the signing of the union treaty.
John F. Kennedy is still alive, and still an unregenerate horn dog, and also the publisher of Common Sense the magazine of the Sons of Liberty, a terrorist group, seeking to ferment insurrection and throw off the yolk of the crown.
Bobby Kennedy is archibishop of Boston.
Martin Luther King Jr. has given up his ministry to go into politics. He's Governor of the union.
Televisions are considered vulgar and are mostly relegated to pubs for sporting events.
Instead of using planes, people travel by the extensive railway network or by dirigible, which are fully equipped with state rooms and full dining service.
The Germanic states never unified.
The combustion engine was never developed. Cars have been, but they're still steam powered.
Anyway, it's making me glad to be an American in an independent country, even with the hasty lifestyle we lead. The social structure in this book is highly stratified, following the evolution of the British class system. I'm loving the book, though, even the tension between my desire to support the protagonist and an underlying desire to see the Sons of Liberty firmly destroy the union. (not that I think they can using their methods.)
Current Mood:  cheerful
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