Readers, it’s the day you’ve been waiting for since we first mentioned Laura Hillenbrand’s new book back in May: the day we give a copy away! One of the readers of this post will win a copy of Unbroken, the remarkable true story of WWII veteran and Olympic runner Louis Zamperini.
All you have to do is read our Q&A with Laura Hillenbrand, and come back and leave a comment answering one of the questions we asked Hillenbrand: If you could go back in time to observe any historical event, what would it be? Good luck!
There are many events that would have been amazing to observe. Definately, I agree with Laura, when she mentions walking the deck of the Titanic. I would adore to go back to 1964. That is when Borneo’s Sepilok Rehabilitation Center for Orangutans was founded. To be apart of the lives of the orphaned Orangutans would be amazing!!!!! So many are orphaned from the illegal pet trade and the devastating ammount of trees being cut down.
Surprisingly, rather than going back to a moment of known history, I would like to go back to the day of my parents’ wedding and see them as young hopefuls rather than the stressed individuals they became. My dad died at 86 and my mother is still going strong at 97. To see them in the full bloom of youth would give me something to remember for the rest of my life.
Oh, without a doubt, it has to be Cleopatra as Queen…just what did she have, beauty and brains or just power over people? I want to think of Sarah Palin, but, please Lord, don’t go there………
I am still trying to figure out just what Palin brings to the table?????
If I could go back in time and observe a historical event – it would be the release of people from concentration camps at the end of WWII, to see their struggle in the camps over and a chance for life outside to begin. another would be to hear and see the brave musicians playing on the deck of the Titanic as it is going down. Bravery in the face of danger is so amazing.
I would love to go to the world’s fair in Chicago at the turn of the century. They had on display so many new inventions like electricity, and I would love to ride that huge ferris wheel. Thanks.
I would return to living on a Texas Army Base between 1943-1945 when my father was stationed there as a captain in the medics.
I definately would have liked to walk the decks of the Titanic, but I would have to say the WWII era. I’d love to see my Mom’s life back then, and my Dads.
He proposed to her the day Pearl Harbor was bombed,and left for the Army. I used to listen to all the stories my Mom and her sisters talked about, reliving their youth. It was just fascinating to me.
I would like to go back to a time when my grandparents were alive and ask them all the questions I never had a chance to ask–what was it like coming to the US, how did you cope with the language and custom differences,l etc
I would like to be in Times Square at the end of World War II and be able to share in the relief and joy that the war was finally over!
I would like to go back to the first Thanksgiving! All the excitement of a new world. I think it would be fascinating.
The signing of the Declaration of Independence!
I enjoyed this interview very much and am putting “Unbroken” on my Christmas wish list. I would love to have been at the World Series games of 1908 to see my beloved Chicago Cubs win the grand prize!
I would love to go back to the Civil War time – to the time of Gone With the Wind – my favorite book of all time and see the old southern plantations and sit on the porch with a mint julep.
I want to be in Ireland when my greatgrandmother’s
family decides to leave for America, be with them on
the long sail to New York and the trip to Wisconsin.
We know so little of what actually happened – is it a
true story I’ve been told?
I would love to go back to the end of WWII after my Dad was released from POW camp in Japan. We heard many stories about those difficult times from his siblings, but never heard what is was like for all of them, included my Dad, after it was over and he was home. I asked him about those 7 – 8 years prior to his meeting my Mom, but he just said that he was a mess.
I agree that I would like to go back to the time when WWII ended. It must have been such a time of celebration in the cities and small towns. It is true that there are so few veterans left now. I started researching my family history a few years ago, and realized I had missed the opportunity when I had it to really sit and listen to all my grandfathers stories.
I would like to go back to my early twenties, before two of my best friends were killed in Vietnam.
I would like to revisit the journey that began on October 23, 1951, when my 23-year-old mother, my 19-month brother, and I, who would celebrate my fourth birthday on December 12, boarded the USNS “GENERAL M.S. STEWART from Bremerhaven, Germany, and arrived at ELLIS ISLAND on November 3, 1951. Our status as “Displaced Persons” of Polish descent ended, and our new life in the United States of America began.
I really enjoyed the interview with Laura Hillenbrand! I was just mesmerized reading Seabiscuit & this story sounds so compelling! (I would like to witness my ancestor’s immigration from Germany to the U. S. in 1741 and my grandparents’ move from Missouri to Idaho in 1904. These are stories I’ve heard, people I’ve never met but am very curious about.) I’m grateful that LH took the time to get these stories right since so many WWII veterans are dying daily. She has a great sense of urgency in getting the story told.
I would love to go back in time to be present when my great-great grand parents were released from slavery. I would like to experience the joy they felt and the hope for thge future they had and have them realize my generations’ success and know that all of their sacrafices were well worth it.
Since my Husband’s grandmother was on one of the boats that picked up survivors from the Titanic I would have liked to have been there with her.
Seabiscuit and likewise the movie “In Pursuit of Honor” made a great impression on me and my son who was in the calvary in a military school. It would be great if all the academies went back to the old days of the Civil War, WWII and even the events after 911 of learning about horses and actually riding. Remember the soldiers who had to ride in Afganistan. The pictures of them was a sight to behold. Read also “Horse Soldiers.”
I’d like to go back to the Old West and be there when Native Americans became chiefs.
I had visited Auschwitz thirty four years ago and was profoundly moved by the experience. I would have liked to have been present at the liberation of the camp and had the opportunity to speak to the survivors.
You always seem to want one answer when there are actually so many. If narrowed down to one I think it would have to be Charleston S. Carolina in ante-bellum times. Large plantations, wonderful parties, gallant gentlemen,beautiful dresses etc.
I would like to be on the movie set when Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers were dancing.
I think I would like to go back to the signing of the
Declaration of Independence.
My email address was wrong on the first entry!
Deck of the Titanic? Uhm, No. Maybe the period of time during the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
I’d love to go back to the civil war era…not any special event, but just during that time. I love books set in this time frame.
I would love to go back to many, many eras in our history. I love the Civil War especially. I would have liked to also be a bystander at the OK Corral,
at the end of WWII, or back to the time of Christ….
I am working on a biography of an editor and publisher of a local newspaper that he ran from 1874 to 1929 — the question is easy to answer! As fascinating as it is to see our village through his eyes, I would love to see our town in real time during those 55 years.
I would like to go back to London of 1910 for the Crippen affair as he was one of my ancestors. Or, failing that, I would like to be 1830s New York state for the religious revival that spawned the Millerites the Mormons and Christian Science.
I would opt to go back to the Tudor era of England..Just the intrique alone would be exciting, as long as I kept my head!!
i would love to witness the meeting of Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and the other designers and signers of the Constitution.
I’d like to watch the signing of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. The results of that day changed the world in so many ways.
I would like to be the nurse, kissed by the sailor, in NYC on V-J day.
I would love to go back to the WWII era, or more specifically be in Times Square on V-J Day and experience the joy and excitement of the war finally ending!
I would love to be a witness to the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
I’d like to be here (Ct) in 1635 when the first English settlers arrive and meet the Paugaussett Indians.
I think I would love to go back the time of Christ and witness his ministry.
My first thought was to go back to the time of Christ’s life…just to see him and witness his works.
If I could go back in time I would like to have been on the plane with Amelia Erhart. I would like to know what happened and why.
The Lost Colony of Roanoke Island in the Outer Banks of North Carolina…what really happened to those English colonists in the 1580′s?!?!
It’s so hard to choose one incident. The personal emotional side of me would want to see my Mother as a young woman after she met my Father. I’d like to experience her enthusiasm at falling in love and starting her life as a married woman. The historical side takes me to the abolition of slavery. As a white woman,I’ve always felt this was inhumane and knowing I could see when it was ended would be gratifying.
I’d like to go back to some point in my fathers childhood to try to understand what made him the good person that he is
This is a great question! I must say. I’m surprised at people (including the author) wanting to have been on the Titanic. I’m guessing most would want to stroll on the decks while it was still safely docked in Southampton?
I would have loved to be present at some of the great American speeches. Definitely the Gettysburg Address, Washington’s farewell address, MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech, JFK’s inaugural. I also would have loved to have been at Woodstock:-)
I also agree with Liz…Times Square on V-J day would also be on my list.
What a wonderful post today. I would like to experience life in the Old West and pioneer times.
I would love to have been a witness to the Stonewall Riots in New York’s Greenwich Village, to see the unprecedented confrontation between the bar’s denizens and a shocked police force–and get an insider’s view on who threw the first punch and how the encounter accelerated from there.
I would like to go back to each of the 13 colonies as they debated and voted to ratify the Constitution and to learn what they really said and did as to what we are now told.
I would love to go back to the time when the saying ‘Go West Young Man’ rang true and everyone could make their fortune out West.
I loved the interview; as a fellow CFS sufferer I so admire what she has been able to accomplish! I would love to be able to see Pavlova and Nijinsky dance!
I would like to be present at the birth of Jesus and see the shining star.
If I could go back to any event in history, it would be to hear Martin Luther King’s “I Had A Dream” speech in person.
So many great events to want to go back in time to observe…The birth of Jesus, Wright Bros. first flight, Woodstock, Martin Luther King’s speech, even the 1962 World Fair in Seattle!
I’m looking forward to reading this book. I loved Seabiscuit.
If I could observe any historical moment, it would be MLK Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech. I’m always so moved when I watch it, so I imagine being there in person would have been amazing.
I’m so excited about this book – I love reading about WWII — can’t wait.
I am a huge anglophile…so I would love to go back to the time of Henry VIII and all of his wives!
If I could go back in time I would love signing of the Declaration of Independence, early american history has always been a passion of mine.
I would like to see Lincoln give the Gettysburg address.
I cannot wait to read Unbroken. My Grandfather enlisted to fight in WWII and would rarely talk about his experiences in the South Pacific. If I could come back as a historical figure, I would want to come back as my Grandfather. He was an amazing man to all her knew him – he traveled the world – including the North Pole at 85 and Antartica. He was a great man to all her knew him. Thank you!
I would love to have gone to Woodstock!
I would like to have been present at the Last Supper with Christ. Imagine the conversation & the emotions, it boggles the mind.
I would love to go back to the start of aviation with the Wright Brothers.
I would go back and travel with Lewis and Clark!
I would like to visit several time periods. Walk with Jesus, witness the birth of this nation, see the first time many of Edison’s inventions were used, experience the depression and WWII like my parents.
I was alive when John F Kennedy was President, but I was only 12 in 1960. I would like to have been in Washington DC for his inauguration.
I would like to have been able to have met and worked with Mother Teresa
To be in the time frame of when and where my ancestors came to the United States from Holland and some from England and France, would be my wish. I am fascinated with their stories and the time frame of that time.
The day..the music..died
stand beside GOD and watch creation…
comment #71 from frank is neat that would be something awesome to see GOD create the world and the universe.
I WOULD GO BACK TO EGYPT AND THE BUILDING OF THE PYAMIDS. THE TIME OF MOSES.
There are several historical times I would have liked to have witnessed: to see and feel dinosaurs walk the earth before they became extinct; to hear Jesus talk; to meet Cleopatra; to experience the pristine wilderness of this land before Europeans arrived; to share in the exhilaration when women finally won the right to vote. While I got to watch it happen on TV, I wish I had been in Berlin in person when the Berlin Wall came down And a future historical event I hope I live to experience is the election of the first woman as president of the USA!
None of the previous comments mentioned changing history & your question didn’t say we couldn’t. I would like to be in the play with John Wilkes Booth at Ford Theatre & prevent him from killing Abraham Lincoln.
I guess it did say observe, which I failed to notice in my first response. I would like to observe Harriet Tubman & all her successful trips to free slaves.
I would like to be an observer of the pyramids being built in Egypt.
I would love to go back in time and meet Ben Franklin.
I would to love to have been here when Christ was on the earth to see him growing up.
I would like to talk to Thomas Jefferson. He had amazing ideas for his day and age.
I would love to see Joan of Arc
I would have to flip a coin between the Ascension and the American Revolution.
if i could pick just one event in history to see i would pick Picketts charge at Gettysburgh
My Dad also flew B-24 Liberators during the war. I would like to be there to see him and my Mom when they were reunited after he came home from the war.
I would have liked to be present at the debut performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, (Ode to Joy). As a bonus he himself conducted this piece of work while being severly deaf. Amazing.
Good luck, everyone.
I would like to have been present when Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B Anthony met.
If I could go back in time. . . .I would love to watch the creation. Adam and Eve naming the animals. See what the earth looked like when it was brand new. I’m standing there watching with you Frank and Murray!
How about the Chicago World’s Fair? I would love to ride on that ferris wheel for the first time.
I am presently reading Cleopatra: A Life and Egyptian times have always intriqued me I would go back in time during her time. To be able to see Alexandria as it was then would be just amazing.
If I could go back in time I would like to be standing on the dock in New York City when my great-grandparents arrived in 1883. They arrived from Germany with two small children and one suitcase for all four of them. But I have no idea where they were from in Germany and this has haunted me. Sadly, both children subsequently died of influenza.
If I could go back in time and meet with someone, I think it would be Abraham Lincoln. I have read extensively about this time…including Team of Rivals, and I believe that we could learn so much from this giant of a man. I have also visited Springfield, Illinois, which houses a fabulous museum. Fun to imagine what questions I might ask him!!!
I’d like to come back in Spain in 1907 because I wrote a book about the anarchisme and I’d like to known people that I saw in the historical books.
If I could go back in time, I would have liked to be
present to see and hear Ann Bolyn speak during her ‘trial’ at court- Even though her destiny was
set and she must have known she was going to die, I wish I could have heard her speak to the court to
defend the false accusations.
My brother was captured by the Japanese in New Guinia
in WW II and was then rescued by local headhunters
who had been befriended by U.S. soldiers. Half-starving, he and his buddies were taken to the army
camp where they were met by the camp cook, our
Uncle Jerry! Boy, I’d like to be able to go back
and witness that.
Would like to go back to the Kennedy years.
I would have liked to see Abraham Lincoln become president. I would like to go to the first state fair in my hometown. I also would have liked to see my grandpa serving in the Army in World War II.
I would like to be among the thousands when Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington D.C.
I’d have liked to meet with Jesus,talk with with George Washington,live out west(even Now).
So hard to choose, but I’d pick hearing Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.
I would like to talk with Judas before he took his life.
I would love to go back to the Lord’s Supper.
If I could visit a historical event by going back in time, I would want to be present at the Signing of the Declaration of Independence. What an exciting time in the history of our country…and how powerful to see just how passionate and patriotic our founding fathers were!
Knowing what we do now? The JFK assassination. Think of all the questions that could be resolved if you knew where to look!
Knowing what we do now? The JFK assassination. Think of all the questions that could be resolved if you knew where to look!
Wow, there are so many to pick from but I guess tops on my list would be to be present for Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.
to camelot if it was real and when they signed the declaration of independence
I’ve always wondered what really happened to Amelia Earhart. Maybe observing (from afar, of course) what happened to her plane would be my choice.
There are so many events to choose from. I think I would have to pick the Battle of Little Big Horn. I’m American Indian (Pawnee) through my great grandparents on my fathers side and anything to do with the American Indians has always intigued me.
What a thrill to be there when Gutenberg invented the printing press. Just to know that words could be printed so that all humans could find out the wonders of reading books!
I wish I was older during the Kennedy presidency. I find that time to be fasinating.
Like Laura Hillenbrand, I too, would like to walk the deck of the Titanic, or see the Seabiscuit-War Admiral match race. I have always loved the thrill of horse racing, even though I have never actually been to one.
I am very much a WWII buff and I would have liked to have lived in that era, been a nurse and involved in the war effort. So many veterans of that era are fading away but it’s so important for the children of today to learn about it. They think it’s so far in the past but we are still effected today by the decisions made then.
It might seem a bit shallow but I think I’d like to see if Babe Ruth really did point to the outfield and then hit a home run in the World Series against the Cubs in the 1920′s, 27, I believe. Ruth has fascinated me ever since I was a little girl. A good second would be to see Abraham Lincoln at the railroad station in Springfield, IL when he left for Washington and the presidency.
It is extremely difficult picking only one place in history but my choice would have to be The Ascention of Christ. What a life-changing experience that would be.
There are so many, but I would have to pick Father Kolbe who was a war prisoner at a German camp during WWII. I would want to see the courage it took for him to replace one of the chosen men to go into the hole where the Germans let the men starve to death as a punishment. He took the place of a man who had a family. He comforted and aided the group that was in the hole and helped them face death through prayers and song.
The Lindberg Kidnapping. I have always been interested in this crime and still wonder if
Bruno Hauptman was really guilty.
Thank you for this great interview. This book sounds really great.
As to what historical event I would like to observe, it’s so difficult to choose just one as history is so fascinating! But it would have to be connected to books in some way — such as visiting the library at Alexandria before the fire (fires?) and saving the books, or meeting Jane Austin or Louisa May Alcott, or watching an illuminated manuscript being created.
I have to agree with Hillenbrand – I’d love to see Lincoln deliver the Gettysburg address. Thanks for the giveaway!
If you could go back in time to observe any historical event, what would it be?
I would love to go back to observe Christ at the Last Supper. What an amazing thing to witness.
I would want to be on Ellis Island during the peak of the immigration to America. My paternal grandparents and maternal great grandparents and their spouse, kids and siblings came to the United States from Finland – beginning in the late 1860s and ending in the early 1900s.
see the Beatles play at the Cavern Club
Would loved to have been a pilot,WW1 or two
I would like to go back to see how the suffargettes worked towards receiving the right to vote for women.
Laura Beyer
I happen to have the same debilitating illness that Laura Hillenbrand has, CFS, as do my two sons.
If I could go back in time, I’d go back 10 years, to before any of us were sick and do all of the active things I so miss doing! Hiking, backpacking, canoeing, dancing…
I suppose it’s a bit more selfish than many of the answers here, but it would be nice to live freely again, even for just a little while.
What Laura Hillenbrand has accomplished is absolutely amazing. She is a huge inspiration to me.
Sue Jackson
http://www.bookbybook.blogspot.com
http://www.livewithcfs.blogspot.com
Oh, shoot…I didn’t read the rules carefully, I guess! You asked what historical event I would go back in time for, and I answered about a personal time in my own life.
Hmmm…maybe the end of WWII, in Times Square – it looks like a time of wonderful celebration from the pictures I’ve seen!
Please excuse my personal babblings above!
Sue
I like to have been a witness as Martin Luther ushered in the reformation when he posted the Ninety-Five Theses at the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany on October 31, 1517.
After reading thr Q&A I’d have to say I too would love to go back to Gettysburg and hear Lincoln read his address. Originally I thought about being in France and witnessing the end or WW2, as my late doctor did.
I would want to go back to see how my parents, who came from Ireland, dealt with their hard lives under the British iron hand of persecution.