A journey back in time that explores what happened-and what could have happened-from creator of the wildly-popular podcast Hardcore History and 2019 winner of the iHeartRadio Best History Podcast Award.

Dan Carlin has created a new way to think about the past. His mega-hit podcast, Hardcore History, is revered for its unique blend of high drama, enthralling narration, and Twilight Zone-style twists. Carlin humanizes the past, wondering about things that didn't happen but might have, and compels his listeners to "walk a mile in that other guy's historical moccasins." A political commentator, Carlin approaches history like a magician, employing completely unorthodox and always entertaining ways of re-looking at what we think we know about wars, empires, and leaders across centuries and millennia. But what happens to the everyman caught in the gears of history Carlin asks the questions, poses the arguments, and explores the facts to find out.

Inspired by his podcast, Hardcore History challenges the way we look at the past and ourselves. In this absorbing compendium, Carlin embarks on a whole new set of stories and major cliffhangers that will keep readers enthralled. Idiosyncratic and erudite, offbeat yet profound, Hardcore History examines issues that are rarely presented, and makes the past immediately relevant to our very turbulent present.