I was wondering if you could tell me the major events in U.S. history (if any) that influenced or that you included in Ender's Shadow, Shadow of the Hegemon, and Shadow Puppets. I have read through all the books and I have found a few, but I thought that there might have been some more important events.

-- Submitted Anonymously

OSC REPLIES: - January 29, 2003

When it comes to the Ender and Shadow books, it's all of world history that I depend on. There are so many wars, empires, cultures, and other events that are part of the mix in my thinking that it's simply impossible to point to any particular ones as important or influential. I don't model my view of the future on some particular event or period in the past. Rather I have spent my life studying history and biography, so that when I look at possible futures, I have a reasonable idea of the KINDS of things that happen and the way nations change internally and interact internationally. Having said that, I should also say that my most intense study has been of World War II, the Civil War, Medieval Europe, and the rise and fall of ancient empires.

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