Publication year 2019
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Politics & Government, War, Power & Greed
Tags Inspirational, Military & War, Business & Economics, World History, Biography, Politics & Government
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.
Publication year 2019
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Politics & Government, War, Power & Greed
Tags Inspirational, Military & War, Business & Economics, World History, Biography, Politics & Government
Publication year 2018
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Tags Self-Improvement, Psychology, Military & War, Psychology, Biography
Publication year 1961
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Mental Health, Religion & Spirituality, Safety & Danger, Order & Chaos, Good & Evil, Memory, Fear, Conflict
Tags Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Military & War, Trauma & Abuse, American Literature, World History, Humor
Catch-22 is a 1961 satirical novel by Joseph Heller, whose experiences in the US Air Force during World War II inspired the narrative. The novel is set during World War II and portrays the absurd experiences of a group of Army pilots stationed in Italy. In addition to being hailed as one of the most seminal novels of the 20th century, Catch-22 has become an idiomatic expression for a certain kind of conundrum, a paradoxical... Read Catch-22 Summary
Publication year 2008
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Community, Family, Power & Greed, Hope, Perseverance, Justice, Equality
Tags Historical Fiction, American Revolution, Race & Racism, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, Military & War, World History
Laurie Halse Anderson's middle-grade novel Chains (2008), a National Book Award finalist and Scott O’Dell Historical Fiction Award winner, is the first installment in her Seeds of America series. The historical fiction, set in 18th-century New York City, follows a young Black girl on her journey to escape slavery while the sparks of the colonists’ rebellion gradually ignite the American Revolution. The protagonist, 13-year-old Isabel Finch, narrates her search for identity while caring for her... Read Chains Summary
Publication year 1914
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes War, Religion & Spirituality, Conflict
Tags Lyric Poem, Satirical Literature, Military & War, Victorian Period, Christian
English poet and novelist Thomas Hardy wrote “Channel Firing” in May of 1914, only three months before the beginning of WWI. Eerily prophetic, the poem depicts the global chaos and destruction that soon followed. Overlaid by tones of satire and irony, the poem details the violence of war and humanity’s age-old proclivity toward it through a conversation between God and the dead. Hardy, although best known for his earlier novels, received positive reception concerning war... Read Channel Firing Summary
Publication year 2009
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Fame
Tags US History, American Civil War, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, Military & War, World History, Biography
Chasing Lincoln’s Killer is a YA novel adapted from the adult version, Manhunt, both by James L. Swanson. Manhunt is a meticulously researched nonfiction novel describing the hunt for John Wilkes Booth, and includes previously unpopularized transcripts, archives, and interviews. Published by Scholastic in 2009, Chasing Lincoln’s Killer makes these rare historical finds digestible for younger audiences and provides a rapid-fire, abridged version of the narrative of the pursuit of John Wilkes Booth.Those who only... Read Chasing Lincoln's Killer Summary
Publication year 1984
Genre Short Story, Fiction
Tags Historical Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Military & War, American Literature, World History, Classic Fiction
“Chickamauga” is a short story by Ambrose Bierce, first published in a collection of his stories in 1887. The name refers to a Civil War battlefield in Georgia.The story is set in the South during the Civil War. The story’s unnamed protagonist is a young boy, referred to throughout as “the child.” We are told that while the boy comes from a humble farming family, he is descended from victors and conquerors and has an... Read Chickamauga Summary
Publication year 1400
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes War, Religion & Spirituality, Power & Greed, Social Class
Tags European History, Medieval, Military & War, Social Class, Religion & Spirituality, World History, French Literature, Classic Fiction
Publication year 2019
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Justice, Perseverance, Death
Tags Historical Fiction, Holocaust, World War II, Jewish Literature, Trauma & Abuse, Russian Literature, Military & War, World History
Publication year 1946
Genre Graphic Novel/Book, Nonfiction
Themes Family
Tags Asian Literature, Japanese Literature, Military & War, Education, Education, World History, Biography
Miné Okubo’s Citizen 13660 is a graphic memoir about the Japanese American author’s experience in Japanese internment camps during World War II. First published in 1946, Citizen 13660 is told from Okubo’s first-person narrator experience, although the author draws herself in third-person in nearly every scene.Plot OverviewAfter Okubo’s mother’s passing, she lived with her brother in Berkeley, California until the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941. In response, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive... Read Citizen 13660 Summary
Publication year 2008
Genre Novel, Fiction
Tags Historical Fiction, World War II, Russian Literature, Military & War, World History, Action & Adventure
City of Thieves, published in 2008, is a historical novel by Jewish American author David Benioff. The story is framed as the memories of the narrator’s grandfather, Lev Beniov. The story follows Lev, a Russian Jew, and Kolya, a Cossack soldier, during the Siege of Leningrad in World War II. The book was well received upon publication and later inspired the postapocalyptic video game The Last of Us. City of Thieves is the second novel... Read City of Thieves Summary
Publication year 1971
Genre Short Story, Fiction
Themes War, Colonialism, Perseverance
Tags Historical Fiction, Military & War, African Literature, Education, Education, Classic Fiction
“Civil Peace” is a 1971 short story by Chinua Achebe, one of Africa’s most prominent authors and often considered the father of the modern African novel. The story explores the period that followed the Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Biafran War (1967-1970). The Igbo people of southeast Nigeria wanted freedom from the Hausa people and proclaimed independence forming the Republic of Biafra. Achebe investigates the period through the lens of his character Jonathan... Read Civil Peace Summary
Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes War, Marriage, Gender Identity, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Femininity
Tags Historical Fiction, World War II, Romance, Military & War, World History, French Literature
Publication year 2012
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Friendship, Truth & Lies
Tags Historical Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, World War II, Military & War, World History, Action & Adventure
Code Name Verity (2012), by Elizabeth Wein, operates on several levels: as a historical novel detailing the World War II exploits of two British women—a spy and a pilot—behind enemy lines in occupied France; as a thriller, with a twisting plot; and as a coming-of-age story for two women, who are still teenagers when they meet and become friends during the course of their war work.Plot SummaryThe first part of the novel takes place in... Read Code Name Verity Summary
Publication year 2015
Genre Novel, Fiction
Tags Horror & Suspense, Children`s Literature, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Military & War, Realistic Fiction, World History, Historical Fiction, Action & Adventure
Code of Honor is a 2015 young adult thriller by Alan Gratz, the author of the acclaimed Prisoner B-3087 (2013) and Ground Zero (2021), among other novels. The book follows main character Kamran Smith after his brother, Army Ranger Darius Smith, is discovered cooperating with al-Qaeda. The novel deals with issues of Persian-American identity in the wake of 9/11, and the struggle of remaining loyal to the people one loves and trusts, even when the... Read Code of Honor Summary
Publication year 2005
Genre Novel, Fiction
Tags Historical Fiction, Children`s Literature, World War II, Military & War, World History
Originally published in 2005, Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two, is a middle-grade work of historical fiction by Joseph Bruchac. The story is based on historical events and narrated by Ned Begay, a Navajo man who refers to readers of the book as “My Grandchildren.” Looking back on his youth, Ned reveals how native Navajo speakers were recruited by the US military to use their unique language skills in... Read Code Talker Summary
Publication year 1997
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Memory, Perseverance, Love, The Past, War
Tags Historical Fiction, Romance, American Civil War, Military & War, Literary Fiction, Trauma & Abuse, Survival Fiction, World History, Classic Fiction
Cold Mountain (1997) is a novel by Charles Frazier. It tells the story of W.P. Inman, a deserter from the Confederate Army who attempts to return home to his romantic partner, Ada. The novel won the National Book Award and was adapted into an Academy Award–winning film of the same name. This guide refers to the 2011 Sceptre edition. Content Warning: The source text contains discussions of racism, violence, abuse of women and children, and... Read Cold Mountain Summary
Publication year 1836
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Courage
Tags Military & War, American Revolution
Publication year 2010
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Gender Identity, Race, The Past, Social Class, Community, Nation, Politics & Government, War, Justice
Tags US History, American Civil War, Military & War, World History, Politics & Government