History is a record of what happened and, perhaps, why. But, implicitly, it can also be about what could have happened but didn't. If Lincoln hadn't gone to the theater that night in April, for example, he might have died of old age.

Once events happen, they can't "unhappen," yet it is human nature for us to ask, "What if?" Oliver Stone has asked the question through much of his film work over the years, and asks it again in the first four films in his 10-part documentary series, "The Untold History of the United States," premiering on Showtime on Monday.

In fact, "What If" might have been a more accurate title for the series, at least on the basis of the first four films, because much of their content is isn't untold, per se, but, rather, re-told with Stone's interpretation and emphasis.

The first four chapters focus on American history from World War II, through the development and deployment of the atomic bomb, to the post-war Truman and Eisenhower years and the Cold War....