- What would have happened had Britain not entered the First World War but stood aside as a neutral non-belligerent? What might the result have been had Britain concluded a separate peace with Nazi Germany in 1940 or 1941? How would the British have behaved had they lost the Battle of Britain and been conquered and occupied by the armed forces of Hitler"s Third Reich? Altered Pasts is a fascinating discussion of the historical and cultural significance of imagining the road not taken. From its beginnings as an Enlightenment parlour game to its relationship with modern-day conspiracy theories, Richard Evans charts the social and political implications of counterfactual history and its capacity for being a mirror on the present.