Alternative history may refer to a number of subjects relating to history, the chronology and study of the past. It may mean:
- Alternate history, a subgenre of speculative fiction dealing with divergences from the world's actual history
- Counterfactual history, a form of historiography which speculates on "what if" counterfactuals to actual history
- Historical revisionism, the reinterpretation of orthodox views on history or historiography
- Secret history, historical events claimed by revisionists to have been deliberately suppressed or forgotten
Famous quotes containing the words alternative and/or history:
“A mental disease has swept the planet: banalization.... Presented with the alternative of love or a garbage disposal unit, young people of all countries have chosen the garbage disposal unit.”
—Ivan Chtcheglov (b. 1934)
“Philosophy of science without history of science is empty; history of science without philosophy of science is blind.”
—Imre Lakatos (1922–1974)