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
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.
Vietnamerica
Vigil Strange I Kept on the Field One Night
Voices from Chernobyl
War
War
War and Genocide
War and Peace
War Brothers
War Horse
War Stories
War Without Mercy
War with the Newts
Water By The Spoonful
We Are Called to Rise
We Are Not Free
Weedflower
We Lived Happily During the War
We Must Not Think of Ourselves
We Shall Fight on the Beaches
We Were the Lucky Ones
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
Publication year 1865
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Death, Love, Friendship
Tags Narrative Poem, Military & War, Modernism, American Literature
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
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
Publication year 2024
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Globalization, Nation, Politics & Government, War
Tags US History, Politics & Government, Military & War
... Read War Summary
Publication year 2002
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes War, Politics & Government, Power & Greed
Tags World History, Holocaust, World War II, Education, Education, Military & War, European History
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
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
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
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
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
Publication year 1936
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes War, Politics & Government, Conflict
Tags Science Fiction, Classic Fiction, Fantasy, Humor, Military & War, World History
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
Publication year 2014
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Mothers
Tags Military & War, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
Published in 2014, Laura McBride’s first novel, We Are Called to Rise, narrates the story of four Las Vegas residents with different backgrounds whose lives become interconnected after a series of unexpected events leads to a family tragedy. Though they experience seemingly unrelated situations, they eventually play a role in each other’s lives to help heal the trauma created by loss, grief, and family abuse. This guide references the Scribd version of the Simon &... Read We Are Called to Rise Summary
Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Politics & Government, Friendship, Family
Tags Historical Fiction, World War II, Asian Literature, Race & Racism, Military & War, Modern Classic Fiction, Asian Literature, World History
Publication year 2006
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Friendship, Community, Safety & Danger, Coming of Age, Justice, Race, Shame & Pride, Loneliness, Family, Order & Chaos, Trust & Doubt, Equality, Fear, War
Tags Historical Fiction, Children`s Literature, Military & War, World History, Japanese Literature, Arts & Culture, World War II, Coming of Age
Weedflower, Cynthia Kadohata’s 2006 historical fiction young adult novel, tells the story of 12-year-old Japanese American Sumiko amid Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor and the US government’s ensuing involvement in World War II. Kadohata depicts the conditions of Japanese internment camps from Sumiko’s perspective, providing unique insight and education on the racism that Japanese Americans faced and the US government’s poor decisions.This guide references the 2009 paperback reprint edition from Atheneum Books for Young Readers.Plot... Read Weedflower Summary
Publication year 2013
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes War, Conflict
Tags Lyric Poem, Military & War, American Literature
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Love, Perseverance, Grief, Race, War
Tags Historical Fiction, World War II, Holocaust, Jewish Literature, Military & War, World History
Publication year 1940
Genre Essay / Speech, Nonfiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Hope, Perseverance
Tags Military & War, Inspirational, World War II
Publication year 2017
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Family, Music
Tags Historical Fiction, World War II, Military & War, World History
We Were the Lucky Ones, written by Georgia Hunter and published in 2017, is a historical novel based on the actual experiences of the author’s family during World War II. Hunter’s grandfather, Addy Kurc, came from a family of Jews in Radom, Poland. The book follows the story of Addy, his parents Nechuma and Sol, and his siblings Genek, Mila, Jakob, and Halina, along with their spouses, as they struggle to survive the Holocaust and... Read We Were the Lucky Ones Summary