Circle of Willis
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  • You know, I can’t help but wonder if it’d be more appropriate to make an “FDR: Aspiring Dictator” thread instead? :unsure:

    He may not have turned the US into an American Reich or People’s Republic of States, exactly. But even tabling the New Deal and its unprecedented expansion of the federal government, he certainly passed a slew of semi-dictatorial measures throughout his tenure, and — unlike Lincoln or Wilson — did actually die something of a “President for Life” figure after breaking the two-term precedent.
    Hi, Circle. Had a few TL outlines in the works, and was wondering if I could share them with you via PM sometime?

    Thank you in advance,
    Zyobot
    Circle of Willis
    Circle of Willis
    Sure, shoot.
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    Zyobot
    Thanks, man. Will need some time to scrounge together my ideas and "synthesize" them into something coherent, but your openness to discussing them is very much appreciated. (y)
    So, how goes it in the Great White North? Things are just as chaotic up there as down here in the States, I imagine. :unsure:
    Circle of Willis
    Circle of Willis
    More of a slow burn than anything major popping off ala Illinois or Ohio these days, only really notable recent development was Tamara Lich (one of the organizers of the Freedom Convoy) being arrested again. Inflation continues to bite everyone hard, myself & family included - we've had to start really tightening our belts, not go out for dinner, etc. for months and went from buying pizzas from our local Metro supermarket (they make a damn good pizza and the staff's almost always friendly) every two weeks as a treat to only once a month as of this month.

    Welp, at least the prices of hotdogs & lemonade at my local Canada Day celebration haven't changed since the last one pre-Covid.

    Hope things are going better on your end south of the border, man :)
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    Zyobot
    Sorry to hear that. Things are decent for me, but best of luck to you (and your family) in weathering the jack-of-all-trades storm of 2022.

    Otherwise, I've a distinct feeling things will get worse and worse throughout our young adulthoods, if not our lifetimes. Personally, I don't know if Skallagrim's more "macro-historical" roadmap is the best one, but at the same time, I don't think we should expect the Fat and Happy Years to come back for a while (or at least, not without another Crisis Period between then and now). :confused:
    666 messages...

    Something sinister must be afoot, eh? ;)
    Actually, since you wrote a TL on his victory, I don't suppose you have any book recommendations on Thomas Dewey?

    I don't much about him, but he strikes me as an interesting guy, especially given the contrast between OTL and what a "special" president he is in IYTL. (Any recommendations you might have for the Fifties in general would also be appreciated, if you're so inclined.)
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    Circle of Willis
    Aside from the sources you can find at the bottom of Dewey's Wikipedia page (biographies and such), I would definitely have to recommend the November 1948 issue of Kiplinger's Personal Finance, which extensively discusses everything Dewey up to & including how he's likely to behave as President based on both his campaign rhetoric/platform and actual record in government up to that point - as you can see from the link, pages 10-32 are taken up by a section literally titled 'What Dewey Will Do'. This was, naturally, my main source for Dewey's run in DDT.

    There's a little bit in the page 350-360 range (can't remember the exact numbers) in J. Edgar Hoover: The Man and the Secrets by Curt Gentry that you may find interesting re: Dewey, as well. It was my source for why Hoover ends up becoming AG, then Chief Justice in DDT.
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    Thanks, bro. Not a history major, but honestly, there are times when I feel like I missed out on a career I might've really enjoyed. :unsure:

    Anyway, I don't suppose you've seen this C-SPAN Booknotes interview where Simon Montefiore discusses Stalin: Court of the Red Tsar? I haven't had the chance to read it myself yet, but judging by Montefiore's well-researched elucidation and evident passion for his craft, it's definitely something to add to my reading list. (I've also been looking to write an ASB story featuring lots of Greeks and Romans, as well, and there's little doubt in mind that—lack of charisma and military prowess notwithstanding—Stalin would've made a damn formidable power player in that environment.)
    Hi, again.

    As something of a follow-up to my last profile post here, I don't suppose you have any historical reading you'd recommend? At the moment, I'm mostly interested in Antiquity, Soviet history, and US history, though I'm happy to give anything else you'd like to mention a read. (Especially works that discuss inconveniently "memory-holed" facts the powers that be would like us to forget about, if you know what I mean. ;))

    Thank you in advance,
    Zyobot
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    Zyobot
    Zyobot
    Thanks, dude.

    I'll add that to my reading list, in addition to the more "general" works I have yet to purchase or touch. As for Soviet history, I suppose your recommendations from my Ultra-Evil USSR thread are a decent basis to work with on that front?

    Best,
    Zyobot
    Circle of Willis
    Circle of Willis
    Hey, no problem :) And yes, indeed. Stephen Kotkin's volumes on Stalin (so far he's only published two out of a planned three-volume series) were also recommended to me in that same thread and seem interesting at a glance, though so far I haven't been able to actually read them owing to a combination of not having found them at the library yet + working on VS + other RL commitments.
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    Thanks, again.

    I'm a college kid in the States myself, so I've enjoyed access to my university's database, though here's to hoping I can properly take advantage of it before graduating. So far, I've been able to read the first ten to twenty pages of Magnetic Mountain: Stalinism as a Civilization (also by Stephen Kotkin), before taking a brief hiatus that turned indefinite after several months of... well, not touching it again, I suppose. Other than that, not much else lately, despite the size of my reading list as it stands. 🤷‍♂️
    Out of curiosity, have you ever thought about writing any Russian or Soviet history TLs?

    If so, I'm interested to see your take on Kaganovich's USSR. Perhaps Heir to the Red Tsar would be a good title, if you ever go through with it?
    Circle of Willis
    Circle of Willis
    I have, though none centered on Kaganovich taking over the USSR. That said, that is pretty much what happens in my Dewey Defeats Truman TL, albeit of course the USSR isn't the focus of that timeline. If I do get around to a Russian TL of any kind it probably won't be in the near future, though - I intend to remain focused entirely on Vivat Stilicho for quite a while longer.
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    Zyobot
    Perfectly understandable, though if you ever proceed with a sequel to Dewey Defeats Truman that covers the Sixties (and beyond), I’d be delighted to read it.

    I’m also curious as to what other TL ideas you might’ve thought about—if not necessarily proceeded with, mind you—but maybe that’s best to discuss elsewhere?

    In any case, I’m headed off to bed now, but will be back to post again tomorrow. So, time zones notwithstanding, I wish you a good night and a Happy 2022, more generally.
    Hello and welcome aboard, thanks for leaving the likes on my fic, hope you enjoyed it thus far, feel free to make any comments if you'd like. :)
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    Circle of Willis
    Circle of Willis
    You're very welcome, and thank you for warmly welcoming me onto the Sietch! I've yet to get through to the latest chapter and I'm sure I'll have more productive comments to make then (hopefully tomorrow or the day after), but for now, all I can say is that I really like what I've read so far.
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