Direct And Indirect Reflections

An author can reflect life directly in a contemporary novel or indirectly in an alternative history novel.

Our History
Third Reich
von Braun
Berlin Crisis
President Kennedy
"Ich bin ein Berliner""
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Apollo program
Cape Canaveral in Florida

Poul Anderson's Goetic History
Saracen Caliphate
al-Bunni
Brazilian Crisis
President Lambert
"Yo soy un carioco!"
National Astral Spellcraft Administration
Project Selene
Cardinal Point in New Mexico

Also:

"'President Agnew told the UN, 'I am a Formosan.'"
-James Blish, The Day After Judgment IN Blish, After Such Knowledge (London, 1991), pp. 425-522 AT p. 439

See also:

Operation Luna: First Thoughts
Coyote And The Blue Flint Family