History YMMV / Timeline191

* SeasonalRot: In contrast to ''How Few Remain'' and ''The Great War'', which have parallels but are clearly divergent timelines, ''American Empire'' and ''Settling Accounts'' are widely considered to be lazy rehashes of real history's Interbellum and World War II.

* {{Fanon}}: Although never confirmed by WordOfGod, many fans believe Turtledove originally planned to have ''the US'' lose World War I and become the {{Expy}} of Nazi Germany with Gordon [=McSweeney=] as it's version of Adolf Hitler since this would not only explain why such a memorable character was [[DroppedABridgeOnHim unceremoniously killed]] at the end of the ''Great War'' trilogy, but also make the decision to put Flora Hamburger (whose name and personality so conspicuous resemble Rosa Luxemburg) and a military genius known for his expertise with tanks named [[UsefulNotes/ErwinRommel Irving Morrell]] on the US side a little less baffling.

* CriticalResearchFailure:
** During the American occupation of Canada, Mary [=McGregor=]'s narration cites several examples of cultural assimilation. Among other things, schoolchildren are taught that King George III was an evil tyrant, they start calling the 26th letter of the alphabet ''"zee"'' instead of ''"zed"''...and they start using the word "bacon" to refer to thin strips of cured pork instead of thick cuts of cured ham. Yeah... As a bit of cursory research will tell you, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_bacon "Canadian bacon"]] is a NonIndicativeName; Americans and Canadians eat the same kind of bacon, and "Canadian bacon" is called "back bacon" in Canada.
** ''Literature/HowFewRemain'' has a rather melodramatic RichardNixonTheUsedCarSalesman moment in which Frederick Douglass is consoled after a tepid response from a crowd in St. Louis by a disheveled drunk who turns out to be ''(gasp!)'' General UsefulNotes/UlyssesSGrant. Despite many hostile rumors, there's virtually no solid evidence that Grant was an alcoholic and that idea is now considered a myth by most serious historians. At most, he may have ''occasionally'' drank too much (for a man who CantHoldHisLiquor) during his tenure in the Army, where heavy drinking was considered a normal way for officers to cope with the alternating boredom and stress of military life.
** Ulysses S. Grant is posthumously dismissed as having merely "won a couple of battles", even amid a virulently militaristic political climate where nearly ''all'' American historical figures who fought the South are lionized (including ''John Brown'', of all people). In fact, by the time of the series' PointOfDivergence, Grant was ''already'' a national hero known as "[[RedBaron Unconditional Surrender]]" Grant for capturing an entire Confederate army, forcing them out of Kentucky and western Tennessee (including Nashville), and resolutely fending off major counterattacks at Shiloh, Iuka, and Corinth. While it's possible that his reputation was just irreparably tarnished because the American public [[NeverLiveItDown blames him for losing the War of Secession]], it's still a bit of a stretch.
** In a scene in ''Walk in Hell'', Reggie Bartlett mentions hearing Union troops singing "Roll out the Barrel". [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_Barrel_Polka The tune in question]] was not released until 1927.

** After the American occupation of Canada takes off in earnest in ''American Empire'', Mary [=McGregor=]'s chapters begin commenting at length on the instances of cultural assimilation. Among other things, schoolchildren are taught that King George III was an evil tyrant, start calling the 26th letter of the alphabet ''"zee"'' instead of ''"zed"'' ...and start using the word "bacon" to refer to thin strips of cured pork instead of thick cuts of cured ham. Yeah... As a bit of cursory research will tell you, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_bacon "Canadian bacon"]] is a NonIndicativeName; Americans and Canadians eat the same kind of bacon, and "Canadian bacon" is called "back bacon" in Canada.

*** Grant is also dismissed as having merely "won a couple of battles" even amid a virulent 'Remembrance' ideology so hungry for heroes that it lionizes John Brown, when in fact by the time of the series' PointOfDivergence Grant was ''already'' a national hero known as "[[RedBaron Unconditional Surrender]]" Grant for capturing an entire Confederate army, forcing them out of Kentucky and western Tennessee (including Nashville), and resolutely fending off major counterattacks at Shiloh, Iuka, and Corinth.

* FanficFuel: The series primary focus being on North America (mainly the U.S. and Canada portions) along with the almost 40 year TimeSkip from the 1880s in ''Literature/HowFewRemain'' to 1914 with ''The American Front'' has had many fans speculate on the status and events of the rest of the world. Website/AlternateHistoryDotCom has had many ongoing threads dedicated to fleshing out aspects of the rest of the world of Tl-191; [[https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/photos-from-featherstons-confederacy-tl-191.185493/ Photos From Featherston's Confederacy]] and [[https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/tl-191-filling-the-gaps.148857/ Tl-191: Filling in the Gaps]] for example.