Just finished a re-read of "1632" by Eric Flint; part of my ongoing quest to catch up on my Baen Webscription purchases - I've now started on Feb 2000, so quite a long way to go still
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I'm sure that every SF lover will have read this book, but just in case there's someone who hasn't, it's the opening book in what's developed now into quite a long series. The small American mining town of Grantsville is caught up in a cosmic "accident" and transported, intact, back in time to the middle of Germany in the year 1631, a particularly unpleasant time in European history (the "30 Years' War"). Realising that they're stuck there permanently, the town's residents decide to found a new "United States of America", while at the same time using their modern technology to try to build a sustainable industrial infrastructure.
A very good book indeed. If there is anyone who hasn't read it, you really should do so.