  I'm currently reading a book called Weapons of Choice by John Birmingham. A fleet of coalition ships are preparing for war in the Pacific in 2021. They are accompanied by a scientific vessel performing experiments surrounding the transporting of different items. An experiment goes horribly wrong and the fleet finds itself in the middle of a war in the Pacific in 1942.
Excellent premise, isn't it? The really interesting parts have to do with how the service personnel deal with each other. The 1942 crews are shocked to see women and minorities serving in the future Navy and USMC and most are appalled. The 2021 crews face a lot of bigotry and racism, which, at first, really surprised me. The 1940s (and 1950s) are always looked back upon as the innocent times...when homes like Beaver Cleaver's were the norm. However, the longer I thought about it, I realized that widespread bigotry probably would have happened. My parents, who were children in the 1940s, faced a lot of discrimination. They were punished for speaking Spanish in school and they really did see signs on business establishments that read, "Mexicans and dogs stay out.
" It also made me think that we've come a long way, baby. I'm not saying that we're perfect yet...we're a long way from that, but we have improved. It's no longer unusual to see interracial couples or minorities in positions of power. What a shock it would be for people from 1942 to come this far into the future, let alone meeting people from 2021! 
