Alternate history is about what would have if the events of the past had turned out completely differently. For instance, what if the Germans had won World War II; what if Bill Clinton had been impeached during his hearing; what if the Confederates had won the American Civil War; or what if the British had won the Falkland War.

If we take alternate history, it assumes that things go the way as the actual history until a certain point, which is known as point of divergence. When this point is reached, the outcome of that particular event changes. In alternate history scenario, even small changes can have a profound effect because of the butterfly effect.

There are many alternate history stories floating around but most of them concentrate on politics of the past. Here alternate history tries to reconstruct what would have happened if the world leaders of past had made different decisions or what would have happened if different events had happened because of chance.

Alternate history should not be taken lightly. Many experts say that considering different scenarios, historians can actually help explain history as it really is.

Many authors have taken help from alternate history and used it to write novels and short stories. Here, the authors have used alternate history as a means of entertaining their readers. However, when one reads stories entailing What if... and the plot deals with real historical story but with a different outcome, the stories gives us a new perspective to think about.

Some times, reading alternate history makes us grateful for what we have. Imagine if the Confederates had won the American Civil War, slavery would have still been rampant and we would not have been living in a free world. Or, if Hitler had managed to win World War II, the most unspeakable atrocities would have been taking place in Europe and rest of the world even today.