The Time Traveler's Handbook: 18 Experiences from the Eruption of Vesuvius to Woodstock

Registered by wingGoryDetailswing of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 5/30/2024
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Journal Entry 1 by wingGoryDetailswing from Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Thursday, May 30, 2024
I got this hardcover from an online seller. It's a history book framed as a time-travel guide, a concept I've encountered many times - but here there's a nice mix of ancient settings and relatively modern ones. The book sets up the time-travel rules up front, with strong mentions of the importance of not trying to mess with the timeline and of being sure to get back to the pickup point at the specified time, or risk getting stranded (which, if you're near Pompeii, might be immediately fatal!).

There are nods to potential cultural differences and the need to study up on the languages of your destination - and to wear makeup and disguises if your race or general appearance would otherwise make you stand out too much.

The target destinations are grouped into "celebrations and exhibits", "moments that made history," "cultural and sporting spectaculars", "epic journeys and voyages", and "extreme events" [these last are not covered under the company's insurance policy {grin}].

The first time-destination is the Field of the Cloth of Gold, June 8-24 in 1520, near Calais, England. [Yes, the text points out that in 1520 Calais was part of England, though now it's part of France.] This was an over-the-top elaborate meeting of King Henry VIII of England and King Francis I of France, a mix of mutual displays of wealth and force of arms - and an attempt at diplomacy. The crowds do allow for time travelers to blend in, and the guide describes the best places to get food, to spend the night, and to see the spectacles - though some of those last involve viewing things from a distance. If strangers get too close to the nobility things... might not go well.

There's an entry for VE Day in London in 1945, marking the end of the war in Europe in World War II; literal dancing in the streets, there, though the longstanding wartime rationing means that there may not be a lot of tasty fare on hand.

And there's an entry for Woodstock, the music festival in New York state in 1969; those of us old enough to remember that popping up in the daily newspapers might find it odd to see it as a time-travel destination, and yet I imagine lots of people would love a chance to dip in for a bit!

Other featured destinations include the Boston Tea Party - with lots of historical detail as to just what it really entailed, well beyond the simple pitching-boxes-of-tea-overboard that most people think of; opening night at Shakespeare's Globe theater in 1599 (I'd rather like to see that one); and an intriguing one: "the Golden Age of Hollywood," represented by a chance to be one of the many extras in Cecil B. DeMille's first version of The Ten Commandments, from 1923. Here, you get to join all the other extras on the windy, sandy, and cold filming location, where everyone huddles under blankets in between shots. Arduous and yet oddly tantalizing!

The option to attend the Beatles' concerts in Hamburg, Germany from 1960 to 1962 might tempt hardcore fans; the chance to see them developing their sound early on could be great fun.

Farther back, you could go to Xanadu with Marco Polo (though do read all the cultural notes very carefully), or join Captain Cook on his first epic voyage from 1768b to 1771 (again, read the notes - in this case you'd be part of a relatively small crew, and the death toll was very high... Making sure you're one of the survivors could be tricky).

The eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD is probably the most dramatic destination, but while the time-travel folks claim that their plans to get their clients to both Pompeii and Herculaneum during the eruption and still get them safely onboard a boat and out of reach of danger are sound ("we haven't lost one yet"), this is clearly a situation where you do NOT want to miss that boat.

The book includes a section on the first battle of Bull Run in the Civil War - a battle at which there were real-time tourists: so early in the war, people thought it would end quickly, and a number of civilians drove out from Washington DC to see the battle, some bringing picnic lunches... so this one merges actual history with time-travel tourism.

Journal Entry 2 by wingGoryDetailswing at LFL - Rosecliff Dr (3) in Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Tuesday, October 8, 2024

Released 4 wks ago (10/8/2024 UTC) at LFL - Rosecliff Dr (3) in Nashua, New Hampshire USA

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I plan to leave this book in the Little Free Library; hope someone enjoys it!

[See other recent releases in NH here.]

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