Publication year 1998
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Conflict, Perseverance, The Past, War
Tags European History, Military & War, World War II, Russian Literature, World History
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.
Stalingrad
Starry Messenger
Starship Troopers
Stepping on the Cracks
Still Life
Storm of Steel
Suite Francaise
Summer of '69
Summer of My German Soldier
Sunrise Over Fallujah
Surviving the Angel of Death
Sylvia And Aki
Tastes Like War
Tasting the Sky
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
Testament of Youth
Thank You For Your Service
The Adventures of Ulysses
The Afghanistan Papers
The Alice Network
Publication year 1998
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Conflict, Perseverance, The Past, War
Tags European History, Military & War, World War II, Russian Literature, World History
Publication year 2022
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Space, Education, Truth & Lies, Science & Technology, Order & Chaos, Community, Gender Identity
Tags Science & Nature, Philosophy, World History, Politics & Government, Animals, Education, Diversity, Disability, Food, Health, Internet & Social Media, Military & War, Race & Racism, Religion & Spirituality, Social Justice, Technology, Philosophy
Publication year 1959
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Siblings, Space
Tags Science Fiction, Military & War, Fantasy, Classic Fiction
One of the most controversial works of speculative fiction, Robert A. Heinlein’s Starship Troopers tells of a war between Earth and two alien species, as seen through the eyes of a young soldier. First published in 1959, the book became an early sci-fi bestseller and won a Hugo award. The e-book version of the 2018 Ace Premium edition is the basis for this guide.Plot SummaryHundreds of years in the future, Juan “Johnnie” Rico goes against... Read Starship Troopers Summary
Publication year 1991
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Good & Evil, War, Friendship
Tags Historical Fiction, Bullying, World History, Relationships, World War II, Children`s Literature, Military & War, Realistic Fiction
Shy, 12-year-old Margaret and her high-spirited friend Elizabeth question their beliefs about WWII when they discover that the brother of their school nemesis is a deserter in Mary Downing Hahn’s middle grade historical fiction novel, Stepping on the Cracks (1991). The novel explores themes of moral ambiguity, war, friendship, and domestic abuse, drawing on Hahn’s childhood memories of growing up in College Park, Maryland. In a short biography at the end of the novel Hahn... Read Stepping on the Cracks Summary
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Art, Love, Friendship, War
Tags Historical Fiction, LGBTQ+, Military & War, Italian Literature, World History, Arts & Culture
Publication year 1920
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Tags World War I, Military & War, World History, Classic Fiction, Biography
Storm of Steel, written by Ernst Jünger, is a memoir of World War I first published in German as In Stahlgewittern in 1920. The final revised edition came in 1961 and was translated into English in 1978. The book documents Jünger’s account as a German officer on the Western Front and begins the moment Jünger detrains in France, on December 27, 1914, at the age of 19. As the Introduction says: “It has no pacifist... Read Storm of Steel Summary
Publication year 2004
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Safety & Danger, Fear, Family
Tags Historical Fiction, World War II, Holocaust, French Literature, Jewish Literature, Trauma & Abuse, Military & War, World History, Biography
Suite Française, by French-based Ukrainian writer Irène Némirovsky (born 1903), was published in the original French upon its discovery in 2004. However, Némirovsky started writing Suite in 1941, during the Nazi occupation of France, when those with a Jewish ethnic background like her faced persecution under the contemporary antisemitic regime. She and her husband, Michel Epstein, and their two young daughters, Denise and Élisabeth, had fled Paris for Issy-l’Évêque, a rural village in Burgundy. There... Read Suite Francaise Summary
Publication year 2019
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Perseverance, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Hope, Loneliness, Love, Family, Mothers, Daughters & Sons, Siblings, Marriage, Friendship
Tags Historical Fiction, Military & War, Relationships, Race & Racism, Modern Classic Fiction, World History, Romance
Publication year 1973
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Race, War, Coming of Age, Good & Evil
Tags Historical Fiction, Romance, Coming of Age, World War II, Holocaust, Children`s Literature, Military & War, World History, Classic Fiction
Summer of My German Soldier (1973) is a young adult novel by American author Bette Greene. The book is heavily based on Greene’s own childhood in Arkansas and Tennessee during World War II and her experiences growing up Jewish in the conservative Christian South. A made-for-TV film adaptation starring Kristy McNichol was released in 1978. The sequel to the novel, Morning Is a Long Time Coming, was published in 1978. Summer of My German Soldier... Read Summer of My German Soldier Summary
Publication year 2008
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes War
Tags Military & War, Children`s Literature, Realistic Fiction, World History, Historical Fiction
Sunrise Over Fallujah is a Young Adult novel by award-winning author Walter Dean Myers. The novel details the experiences of an eighteen-year-old man from Harlem, Robin “Birdy” Perry, who enlists in the U.S. Army and is stationed in Iraq during the early stages of the Iraq War in 2003. The narrative delves into Birdy’s reasoning behind joining, his experiences while serving, and his post-deployment views on his initial reasons for joining and his previous speculations... Read Sunrise Over Fallujah Summary
Publication year 2009
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Siblings, Forgiveness, Perseverance, War, Religion & Spirituality
Tags Memoir & Autobiography, European History, Military & War, World War II, Holocaust
Publication year 2011
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Education, Race, Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Family, Fathers, Mothers, Siblings, Social Class, Community, Equality, Justice
Tags Historical Fiction, Social Justice, World War II, Children`s Literature, Military & War, World History, Arts & Culture
Publication year 2021
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Mental Health, Family, Mothers, Colonialism
Tags Food, Colonialism & Postcolonialism, Trauma & Abuse, Military & War, World History, Mental Illness, Biography
Publication year 2007
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Coming of Age, War, Gender Identity, Childhood & Youth, Language, Literature, Family
Tags Middle Eastern History, Military & War, Education, Education, World History, Arts & Culture, Biography
In her memoir, Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood (2007), Palestinian-American author and poet Ibtisam Barakat describes her early childhood in Palestine during the Six-Day War of 1967 and the life-changing effects that follow this pivotal event. Combining richly descriptive prose and free-verse poetry, Ibtisam shares often painful memories of childhood losses, from her home and sense of security to her childhood innocence. Writing from a child’s perspective, Ibtisam transcends politics to poignantly highlight how... Read Tasting the Sky Summary
Publication year 2005
Genre Biography, Nonfiction
Tags Politics & Government, US History, Military & War, World History, Biography
Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, published in 2005, is an historical study of the events surrounding Abraham Lincoln’s nomination as the Republican candidate for US president in 1860 and his tenure in office from 1861 to his assassination in 1865. The sixth book by Pulitzer Prize winner Kearns Goodwin, Team of Rivals won the 2006 Lincoln Prize and the inaugural Book Prize for American History from the New... Read Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln Summary
Publication year 1933
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Tags Military & War, World History, World War I, Classic Fiction, Biography
In 1933, Vera Brittain’s honest and compelling account of her young adult experiences during World War I appeared in the form of an autobiography titled Testament of Youth. This important work of British literature became an immediate sensation upon publication in both England and the United States. Full of poetry and excerpts from personal letters, this deeply personal account of Brittain’s life from 1914 to 1925 documents the impact of World War I on Brittain... Read Testament of Youth Summary
Publication year 2013
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Tags World History, Military & War, Iraq War, Journalism, Psychology, Psychology, Mental Illness, Politics & Government, Biography
Thank You For Your Service is a nonfiction book by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Finkel. Published in 2013, it follows the story of an infantry battalion upon their return home from the war in Iraq.Finkel’s previous book, The Good Soldiers, took him to Baghdad, Iraq in 2007-2008 as he was embedded with the 2-16 Infantry Battalion. In Thank You For Your Service, Finkel follows some of these same soldiers home, as they try to move... Read Thank You For Your Service Summary
Publication year 1969
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Fate, Masculinity, War
Tags Mythology, Historical Fiction, Action & Adventure, European History, Military & War, World History, Education, Education, Fantasy, Classic Fiction
Publication year 2021
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Politics & Government, War, Truth & Lies, Wins & Losses
Tags Iraq War, Military & War, US History, Middle Eastern History, Politics & Government, Journalism, World History
Publication year 2017
Genre Novel, Fiction
Tags Historical Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, World War II, Military & War, French Literature, World History
The Alice Network is the seventh novel by author Kate Quinn. First published in 2017, the book is classified as historical fiction. It became a New York Times and USA Today bestseller and was also listed as a Summer Pick by Good Housekeeping, Parade, Library Journal, and Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club. Quinn has written four novels in the Empress of Rome Saga and two books set during the Italian Renaissance. The Alice Network and her... Read The Alice Network Summary