Book excerpt: A mix of short stories and commentaries—some whimsical, some grim—this work of creative conjecture offers a perceptive and positive new slant on significant New Zealand events and personalities. With a modest degree of adjustment, this compilation examines “what if” scenarios ranging from the historical and literary to the athletic and offers alternative conclusions. Altering the lives of Katherine Mansfield, New Zealand’s most famous writer, and national hero Sir Edmund Hillary as well as revisiting New Zealand’s avoidable choice to fight alongside the Americans in Vietnam and the possible effects of a postwar visit by Winston Churchill, this second volume presents a variety of visions of a country that nearly was.