I'm already a big fan of alternate history in general, but, of course, people who aren't so much into it might see it as a strange, nerdy thing to be interested in. Nonetheless, I think a lot of people would like it if they gave it a chance, so I sometimes try to introduce AH books or stories to my family and friends, if I think it's something they'd be into. Converting, if you will. 
One time, I was on a long plane ride from Japan to the U.S., and the young woman who was sitting next to me struck up a conversation. She was in the U.S. military, stationed in Okinawa, and was going home to Atlanta on leave. She asked me what I was reading on my Kindle, and I told her it was an alternate history story, and explained the genre to her. I ended up recommending Guns of the South (she was a Southerner and a veteran who liked reading historical fiction, so I figured it would appeal) and Ruled Britannia as good AH stories by Turtledove to get into the genre.
I've been trying to get my parents into the genre too. My dad is into history, and two of his favorite subjects are the American Civil War and World War II (one of his favorite history books is The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, and he still has the Ken Burns Civil War documentary on tape). I gave him my paperback copies of the TL-191 series (I had How Few Remain, the Great War trilogy, and the American Empire trilogy on paperback, up until I just started downloading the books on Kindle). I've been trying to sell him on reading the series: "you like the Civil War and WWII, right? Well, how about both at the same time?" Also appealing to his WWII interest, I gave him my copy of Fatherland, the quintessential Nazi victory book.
My mom, meanwhile, is into politics, is a staunch Democrat, watches CNN and MSNBC political news all the time, and sometimes says that she wishes she had been born early enough to be a hippy in the 60s. Since she's a political junkie, I've told her about the works of Jeff Greenfield, namely Then Everything Changed, with its stories about LBJ becoming president in 1960, RFK in 1968, and Ford reelected in 1976. She was mildly intrigued, but I think Greenfield's later work (the Kindle exclusive *43, about Gore winning in 2000, and then after that, If Kennedy Lived) might be enough to finally win her over.
And most recently, I gave a good friend of mine from my class my copies of the Worldwar tetralogy by Turtledove. He's a sci-fi fan, as well as a Sociology major who's very interested in fictional societies and their inner workings (funny story: one time we were watching Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, and it was the first time he had seen it, since he's more of a Trekkie than a SW fan. As its playing a scene of one of Palpatine's speeches, he turns to me and asks, earnestly, "what does the constitution of the Galactic Republic look like? How do elections work?"). I figured The Race would give him something to chew on, along with how they contrasted with the United States, Nazi Germany, communist Russia, and humanity in general.
How about you? Have you been successful in getting anyone you know on board the Alternate History train?
One time, I was on a long plane ride from Japan to the U.S., and the young woman who was sitting next to me struck up a conversation. She was in the U.S. military, stationed in Okinawa, and was going home to Atlanta on leave. She asked me what I was reading on my Kindle, and I told her it was an alternate history story, and explained the genre to her. I ended up recommending Guns of the South (she was a Southerner and a veteran who liked reading historical fiction, so I figured it would appeal) and Ruled Britannia as good AH stories by Turtledove to get into the genre.
I've been trying to get my parents into the genre too. My dad is into history, and two of his favorite subjects are the American Civil War and World War II (one of his favorite history books is The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, and he still has the Ken Burns Civil War documentary on tape). I gave him my paperback copies of the TL-191 series (I had How Few Remain, the Great War trilogy, and the American Empire trilogy on paperback, up until I just started downloading the books on Kindle). I've been trying to sell him on reading the series: "you like the Civil War and WWII, right? Well, how about both at the same time?" Also appealing to his WWII interest, I gave him my copy of Fatherland, the quintessential Nazi victory book.
My mom, meanwhile, is into politics, is a staunch Democrat, watches CNN and MSNBC political news all the time, and sometimes says that she wishes she had been born early enough to be a hippy in the 60s. Since she's a political junkie, I've told her about the works of Jeff Greenfield, namely Then Everything Changed, with its stories about LBJ becoming president in 1960, RFK in 1968, and Ford reelected in 1976. She was mildly intrigued, but I think Greenfield's later work (the Kindle exclusive *43, about Gore winning in 2000, and then after that, If Kennedy Lived) might be enough to finally win her over.
And most recently, I gave a good friend of mine from my class my copies of the Worldwar tetralogy by Turtledove. He's a sci-fi fan, as well as a Sociology major who's very interested in fictional societies and their inner workings (funny story: one time we were watching Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, and it was the first time he had seen it, since he's more of a Trekkie than a SW fan. As its playing a scene of one of Palpatine's speeches, he turns to me and asks, earnestly, "what does the constitution of the Galactic Republic look like? How do elections work?"). I figured The Race would give him something to chew on, along with how they contrasted with the United States, Nazi Germany, communist Russia, and humanity in general.
How about you? Have you been successful in getting anyone you know on board the Alternate History train?
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