{"product_id":"predicting-the-past-vol-i-gavriel-d-rosenfeld-9783112243213","title":"Predicting the Past [Vol. I]: Counterfactual History from Antiquity to the French Revolution","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhy do we wonder \"what if?\" about the past? In his pathbreaking, two-volume study, Gavriel Rosenfeld provides the first comprehensive examination of counterfactual history from its inception to the present day. Surveying more than three millennia of western history, Rosenfeld challenges the longstanding claim that historical speculation is contrary to legitimate historical inquiry. He documents the astounding ubiquity of counterfactual thought in the western tradition, showing how historians, theologians, politicians, philosophers, journalists, and novelists wondered \"what if?\" about the events of their day. In Volume I, Rosenfeld surveys the period between antiquity and the late 18th century, examining hundreds of classic texts - from Herodotus's \u003cem\u003eHistories\u003c\/em\u003e to Edmund Burke's \u003cem\u003eReflections on the Revolution in France\u003c\/em\u003e - to shed light on the missed opportunities and close calls of western history. By showing how counterfactual history first developed and then gradually spread throughout western culture, Rosenfeld demonstrates that imagining what might have happened is essential for understanding what did.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis is the first out of two volumes. The second volume (978-3-11-914351-6) can be accessed here: https: \/\/www.degruyterbrill.com\/document\/isbn\/9783112219720\/html. Also available as a two-volume set (978-3-11-224603-0): https: \/\/www.degruyterbrill.com\/document\/isbn\/9783112246030\/html\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Gavriel D. Rosenfeld\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 3112243218\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9783112243213\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e de Gruyter Oldenbourg\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/05\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 368\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback","brand":"Gavriel D. Rosenfeld","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":49097252897023,"sku":"9783112243213","price":43.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/predicting-the-past-vol-i-gavriel-d-rosenfeld-9783112243213","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}