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.

Unbroken

by Laura Hillenbrand

Publication year 2010

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes War, Shame & Pride

Tags Military & War, World War II, World History, Biography

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption is a biography by Laura Hillenbrand that tells the life story of Louie Zamperini, an Italian-American from Torrance, California who lived from 1917 to 2014. Published in 2010, Unbroken was a The New York Times bestseller for over four years.Plot SummaryIn his youth, Louie Zamperini was the town troublemaker, a boy who used his cunning to commit acts of petty theft and public nuisance... Read Unbroken Summary

Under a Cruel Star

by Heda Margolius Kovály

Publication year 1973

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Truth & Lies

Tags Holocaust, European History, World War II, Education, Education, Military & War, World History, Biography

Content Warning: This study guide and the memoir contain references to antisemitism and violence, as well as descriptions of conditions in a concentration camp during the Nazi holocaust. Under a Cruel Star: A Life in Prague 1941-1968, a memoir by Heda Margolius Kovály, was first published under this title in 1986. The memoir was originally published in Czech as Na vlastní kůži (On your own skin) in 1973, by 68 Publishers, an independent press operated... Read Under a Cruel Star Summary

Utopia for Realists

by Rutger Bregman

Publication year 2014

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Economics, Social Class, Community, Globalization, Politics & Government, Immigration, Education, Power & Greed, Equality, Justice

Tags Science & Nature, Sociology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Politics & Government, Business & Economics, World History, Social Justice, Education, Technology, Military & War

... Read Utopia for Realists Summary

V.

by Thomas Pynchon

Publication year 1963

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Order & Chaos, Apathy, Loneliness, Memory, Nostalgia, Disability, The Past, Future, Appearance & Reality, Objects & Materials, Fathers, Colonialism, War, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags American Literature, Historical Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Satirical Literature, Addiction & Substance Abuse, European History, US History, Military & War, Crime & Law, Postmodernism, Post-War Era

... Read V. Summary

Vietnamerica

by GB Tran

Publication year 2011

Genre Graphic Memoir , Nonfiction

Themes Family, Fathers, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Immigration

Tags Vietnam War, Military & War, Immigration & Refugeeism, World History, Biography

... Read Vietnamerica Summary

Voices from Chernobyl

by Svetlana Alexievich

Publication year 1997

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Science & Technology, Order & Chaos, Truth & Lies, Politics & Government, Economics, Death, Grief, Environment

Tags European History, Journalism, Natural Disaster, Science & Nature, Agriculture, Business & Economics, Food, Education, Grief & Death, World History, Military & War, Poverty, Politics & Government, Social Justice, Russian Literature, Biography

Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster by Svetlana Alexievich is a collection of 35 first-person oral accounts of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster in the former Soviet Union. Originally published in Russian in 1997, the book was translated into English by Keith Gessen in 2005; it has been translated into almost every European language. Alexievich, a Belarusian investigative journalist, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for Voices from Chernobyl in... Read Voices from Chernobyl Summary

War

by Sebastian Junger

Publication year 2010

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes War, Teamwork, Death, Fear

Tags Military & War, Middle Eastern History, Journalism, Iraq War, Creative Nonfiction, World History, Psychology, Psychology, Politics & Government

War, a battle journal by best-selling reporter and filmmaker Sebastian Junger, describes a year in the rugged highlands of Afghanistan with a platoon of American soldiers who face the worst fighting and toughest conditions of any unit in the US military. Published in 2010, the book describes months of mind-numbing danger, multiple firefights per day, injuries and deaths, and matter-of-fact heroism. The men display extreme toughness, gallows humor, and intense mutual loyalty despite the nearly... Read War Summary

War

by Bob Woodward

Publication year 2024

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Globalization, Nation, Politics & Government, War

Tags US History, Politics & Government, Military & War

... Read War Summary

War and Peace

by Leo Tolstoy

Publication year 1867

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes War, Order & Chaos, Marriage

Tags Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction, Coming of Age, Realistic Fiction, European History, Military & War, Philosophy, Relationships, Realism, Russian Literature, World History

War and Peace is a historical fiction novel by Russian author Leo Tolstoy that was first published between 1865 and 1869. The story charts the alliances and wars between Russia and France at the beginning of the 19th century, following the lives of characters swept along by historical events and examining key themes like Living a Meaningful Life, The Purpose of Suffering, and History and Free Will. Heralded as one of the most important novels... Read War and Peace Summary

War Brothers

by Sharon McKay

Publication year 2008

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Perseverance, Fear, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Friendship, War, Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Military & War, Historical Fiction, Survival Fiction, Trauma & Abuse, Realistic Fiction, World History

... Read War Brothers Summary

War Horse

by Michael Morpurgo

Publication year 1982

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Friendship, Fear, Loneliness, Death, Coming of Age

Tags Military & War, Historical Fiction, Animals, Social Class, Children`s Literature, World History, Classic Fiction

War Horse is a children’s historical fiction novel by Michael Morpurgo. The book was first published in Great Britain in 1982 by Kaye & Ward and was a runner-up for the Whitbread Book Award in the same year. The book is told from the point of view of a young horse named Joey and chronicles his journey and the relationships he builds with his various owners during World War I. The beloved novel is a... Read War Horse Summary

War Stories

by Gordon Korman

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Truth & Lies, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Guilt, Memory, Family

Tags Historical Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Military & War, World War II, Children`s Literature, World History

... Read War Stories Summary

War Without Mercy

by John W. Dower

Publication year 1986

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Tags US History, Race & Racism, Military & War, World War II, World History, Japanese Literature

In his 1986 nonfiction work War Without Mercy: Race and Power in the Pacific War, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian John W. Dower investigates the racism between the United States and the Empire of Japan, as it existed before, during, and after the Second World War. The very nature and understanding of who the enemy was, for both the Anglo-Americans and the Japanese, presented in many forms. On the American side, there was an important... Read War Without Mercy Summary

Water By The Spoonful

by Quiara Alegría Hudes

Publication year 2012

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Community, Mothers

Tags Education, Education, Military & War, Modern Classic Fiction, Dramatic Literature

Water by the Spoonful is a play by Quiara Alegría Hudes. First produced in 2011, it is the secondplay of a series, known as “The Elliot Trilogy.” Water by the Spoonful tells the story of multiple characters connected by familial bonds and online community, and their experiences with trauma and recovery.The play opens with Elliot and Yaz Ortiz, two cousins, meeting at the college where Yaz works as an adjunct music instructor. Yaz has found... Read Water By The Spoonful Summary