Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Race, Friendship, War
Tags Children`s Literature, World War II, Military & War, World History, Historical Fiction, Action & Adventure
Memorial Day Reads
Our selection of Memorial Day Reads highlights the voices of writers with experience serving in the military or living through conflict. Exploring the concepts of war and peace, these selections expound on the nature of conflict and its impacts on the people affected by it.
Heroes
High Tide in Tucson
Hiroshima
History of the Peloponnesian War
Hitler's Daughter
Home
Home Front
Hopeless
Hospital Sketches
Hostage
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
How Civil Wars Start
How Dare the Sun Rise
I Am David
If I Die in a Combat Zone
I Have Lived a Thousand Years
Imagining Argentina
I Must Betray You
In Another Country
In Country
Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Race, Friendship, War
Tags Children`s Literature, World War II, Military & War, World History, Historical Fiction, Action & Adventure
Publication year 1995
Genre Essay Collection, Nonfiction
Themes Environment, Family, Community, Animals, Plants, Place, Literature
Tags Creative Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Military & War, Parenting, Iraq War, Biography
High Tide in Tucson is a series of essays by heralded American novelist Barbara Kingsolver, collected and published in 1995. The essays are wide-ranging in subject matter, addressing topics from politics, to nature, to midcentury domestic life, but all reflect Kingsolver’s observations about herself and the people around her. Prior to her writing career, Kingsolver had a wide range of other professional experiences that influence essays in the book.Most of the essays in High Tide... Read High Tide in Tucson Summary
Publication year 1946
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Death, War
Tags Journalism, Asian History, World War II, Creative Nonfiction, World History, Education, Education, Military & War, Japanese Literature, Classic Fiction
Hiroshima, an account of the first atomic bomb used in warfare, is a nonfiction book by John Hersey. Alfred A. Knopf published it in 1946, several months after it first appeared as an article in the New Yorker. The magazine ran the article at the end of August 1946, just after the first anniversary of the dropping of the bomb, devoting the entire issue to the lengthy piece. The issue sold out immediately and was... Read Hiroshima Summary
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Tags European History, Ancient Greece, Military & War, Philosophy, Philosophy, World History, Classical Period, Classic Fiction, Politics & Government
The History of the Peloponnesian War, also known as Histories, recounts the war between the Athenian alliance (called the Delian League by modern historians) and Sparta and its allies (called the Peloponnesian League by modern historians), which took place from 431-404 BC. Composed in the 5th century BC by Thucydides (c. 460-400), it is the first attempt to apply empirical research and analysis to understanding contemporaneous human events. For this reason, the text is inextricably... Read History of the Peloponnesian War Summary
Publication year 1999
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Coming of Age, Nation, War, Good & Evil, Justice, Safety & Danger
Tags Military & War, World History, Christian
Hitler’s Daughter is a historical fiction middle-grade novel written by Jackie French. It is part of the Hitler trilogy and was originally published in 1999. Jackie French is an Australian author, environmental activist, and historian, and her books have won over 60 awards internationally. Hitler’s Daughter was named a Blue Ribbon Book and a Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Book of the Year for Younger Readers. It was also adapted into a play. The... Read Hitler's Daughter Summary
Publication year 2012
Genre Novel, Fiction
Tags Existentialism, Military & War, World History, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction
First published in 2012, Home, written by Pulitzer-Prize-winning novelist Toni Morrison, tells the story of Frank Money, a 24-year-old black Korean War veteran who is summoned to Atlanta, Georgia, to rescue his sister, Cee. He receives a note that reads “‘Come fast. She be dead if you tarry’” (8) from an unknown woman. The main story of the novel begins with Frank’s escape from a hospital’s mental health ward. He was put in the ward... Read Home Summary
Publication year 2012
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Marriage, War, Family, Love, Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Grief, Mental Health
Tags Romance, Historical Fiction, Dramatic Literature, Military & War, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Love, Family, Self Discovery, Trust & Doubt
Tags Romance, Military & War, New Adult
Publication year 1863
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Gender Identity, Femininity, Race, The Past, Community, War
Tags Military & War, American Civil War, US History
Publication year 2025
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Conflict, Hope, War, Justice
Tags Memoir & Autobiography, Military & War, Middle Eastern Literature
Publication year 2009
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Fathers, Loyalty & Betrayal, Music
Tags World War II, Historical Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Military & War, World History, Romance
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford is a historical novel published in 2009. The story follows Henry Lee at two pivotal stages in his life—in 1942, when he is a 12-year-old with a crush on a Japanese girl, and in 1986, when he is recently widowed. The book, Ford’s debut novel, spent 130 weeks atop the New York Times Best-Seller List and won the 2010 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature... Read Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet Summary
Publication year 2022
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes War, Conflict, Order & Chaos, Trust & Doubt, Nation, Politics & Government, Community
Tags Politics & Government, World History, Military & War, Social Science, Sociology
Publication year 2017
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Tags Trauma & Abuse, Biography, Military & War, World History
How Dare the Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child is a 2017 memoir by Sandra Uwiringiyimana. It recounts Sandra’s life in the volatile Democratic Republic of the Congo, her immigration to America, and her dedication to activism. This nonfiction autobiography is the winner of multiple awards, including the New York Public Library’s Best Books for Teens; Chicago Public Library’s Best of the Best Books for Teens: Nonfiction; and Bank Street’s 2018 Best Books of... Read How Dare the Sun Rise Summary
Publication year 1963
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Beauty, Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance
Tags Historical Fiction, European History, World War II, Action & Adventure, Religion & Spirituality, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, Military & War, World History, Classic Fiction
I Am David by Anne Holm is a children’s historical fiction novel written in 1963. It was originally written in Danish but has since been translated into many languages, including English, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, German, Dutch, Afrikaans, French, and Konkani. It was first published in the United States under the name North to Freedom but eventually was retranslated into its original title. It was made into a movie in 2003. The novel received several awards... Read I Am David Summary
Publication year 1973
Genre Essay Collection, Nonfiction
Themes War
Tags Military & War, Vietnam War, World History, Biography
If I Die in a Combat Zone: Box Me Up and Ship Me Home is an autobiographical account of writer Tim O'Brien's tour of duty in the Vietnam War. Published in 1973, it was one of the first major autobiographical accounts of the Vietnam War and has been praised extensively for its unflinching look at the horrors of armed conflict. Many critics have called it among the greatest pieces of literature to come out of... Read If I Die in a Combat Zone Summary
Publication year 1997
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Tags World War II, World History, Holocaust, Military & War, Biography
Holocaust survivor Livia Bitton-Jackson (b. Elli L. Friedmann on February 28, 1931) is the author of three memoirs: I Have Lived a Thousand Years, My Bridges of Hope, and Hello, America. She was born in Šamorin, Czechoslovakia. Hungarian troops occupied her hometown, renaming it Somorja, in 1938. In 1944, German troops occupied Hungary and deported Hungarian Jews to concentration camps. Among the deportees were Bitton-Jackson; her parents, Markus and Laura; and her brother, Bubi. After... Read I Have Lived a Thousand Years Summary
Publication year 1987
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Fear, Hope, Memory, Politics & Government, Art, Good & Evil, Justice
Tags Magical Realism, Historical Fiction, Military & War, Education, Education, World History
Imagining Argentina (1987) is a fantasy novel by American author Lawrence Thornton. Set against the backdrop of Argentina’s Dirty War, Imagining Argentina centers Carlos Rueda, a Buenos Aires native whose supernatural abilities grant him insight into the fates of Argentina’s disappeared. The novel’s complicated consideration of power, memory, and authoritarianism has been critically acclaimed, earning a nomination for the PEN/Faulkner Award in Fiction. Thornton would later expand the story into two succeeding novels, Naming the... Read Imagining Argentina Summary
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Community, Truth & Lies, Loyalty & Betrayal
Tags Historical Fiction, Military & War, European History, World History, Romance
Publication year 1925
Genre Short Story, Fiction
Themes Loneliness, War, Masculinity, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Love, Marriage
Tags Historical Fiction, World War I, Education, Education, Military & War, American Literature, World History, Classic Fiction
“In Another Country” is a short story by Ernest Hemingway first published in Scribner’s Magazine in 1927. Hemingway was one of the most celebrated writers of his time and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954. His works include short stories and novels as well as journalism and non-fiction studies, such as Death in the Afternoon (1932), about bullfighting. This guide refers to the version of “In Another Country” reprinted in the 1938... Read In Another Country Summary
Publication year 1985
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Coming of Age, Conflict, Family, War
Tags Historical Fiction, Military & War, Mental Illness, Education, Education, American Literature, Southern Literature
In Country, published in 1985, is Bobbie Ann Mason's debut novel. The story takes place in Hopewell, Kentucky, in 1984, 10 years after the end of US involvement in Vietnam. Mason grew up on a dairy farm outside Mayfield, Kentucky, and is thus well-acquainted with the rural South and its people. The classic coming-of-age story follows protagonist Samantha Hughes (known as Sam) as she seeks to discover the truth about her father and his death... Read In Country Summary