In Stephen Fry's most seriously ambitious novel to date, he creates a futuristic fantasy that becomes a thriller with a funny streak. Tackling one of history's darkest episodes, he poses the question: What if Hitler had never been born? An unquestionable improvement, no doubt. Michael Young, an earnest young history graduate student, has just finished his dissertation, an exploration into the roots of evil and the early life of Adolf Hitler. When he meets up with an aging German physicist, they concoct an idealistic experiment that involves time travel to prevent the conception of the Fhrer. It will change the course of history, but will it create a better world? With characteristic brilliance and wit, Fry presents a thought-provoking alternate history that is both trenchant and deeply affecting.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Making History:
It was to be rather a long time before I finally got my hands on Stephen Fry's "Making History", and I must admit, although I'm a big, bordering on huge, fan of Fry, that I found it to be less than what I had expected. While the idea of time travel and/or alternate realities is definitely a highly interesting one, and with the help from Stephen Fry's famous wit and enourmous intellect, should be a definite winner, it somehow falls short of the mark. Many other reviewers before me have mentioned the... more info
Good read, a bit slow in parts:
I loved the humor in this book (except some of the British humor, which admittedly sometimes escapes me) and especially the main character. I found some parts of the book a little tedious, but found that when I skipped ahead, I would miss crucial parts. It all comes together at the end. An enjoyable book, but not one I would necessarily read again.
Fry in ramblingly good shape:
A lovely ramble through time - made even more enjoyable if you can imagine Stephen reading it to you in that incredibly honeyed accent, with lashings of dry sarcasm thrown in for good measure / pleasure.
Wrong actor, but the plot: a cunning plan, complete with 'cinnamon' on top (Homage to Baldrick)
An interesting twist on a tried-and-true sci-fi plot:
What if you could prevent Hitler from taking power? What would you do to prevent it? How far would you go? All interesting questions and Stephen Fry's take on the idea is well worth a read. Although the writing style can be jolting at times and some of the references are kind of out there, it all comes together eventually. Overall a brilliant effort, although at one point one of Fry's characters discusses political correctness and actually uses it in a positive context. Fry must be one of the few people... more info
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