Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Truth & Lies, Politics & Government, War, Family, Love
Tags Fantasy, Romance, Military & War, World History, Historical Fiction
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 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Truth & Lies, Politics & Government, War, Family, Love
Tags Fantasy, Romance, Military & War, World History, Historical Fiction
Publication year 1957
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Guilt, Love, Nostalgia, Social Class, War
Tags Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction, Romance, Russian Literature, Military & War, World History
Introduction Doctor Zhivago is a 1957 novel by Russian author Boris Pasternak. Set during the early 20th century, the story follows the titular Yuri Zhivago as he deals with revolution and social upheaval in his native country. As well as being widely praised following its publication, the novel has been adapted numerous times for the screen, most famously in a 1965 film—for which Pasternak cowrote the screenplay—directed by David Lean and starring Omar Sharif and Julie... Read Doctor Zhivago Summary
Publication year 1920
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes War, Nation
Tags Military & War, Grief & Death, World War I, Education, Education, British Literature, World History, Classic Fiction
Among Wilfred Owen’s most famous poems, “Dulce et Decorum Est” was written in 1917 while he was in Craiglockhart War Hospital in Scotland, recovering from injuries sustained on the battlefield during World War I. The poem details the death of a soldier from chlorine gas told by another soldier who witnesses his gruesome end. Owen himself died in action on November 4, 1918 in France at the age of 25. He published only five poems... Read Dulce et Decorum est Summary
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Family, Guilt, Race, War
Tags Historical Fiction, Asian Literature, Military & War, Modern Classic Fiction, Asian Literature, World History
Publication year 1906
Genre Short Story, Fiction
Themes Nation
Tags Education, Education, Military & War, American Literature, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction
“Editha,” by American realist writer William Dean Howells, is a short story first published in 1905. Realism refers to a mode of late 19th-century literature in which authors shunned romanticism and idealization in favor of realistic portrayals of everyday life. Realist literature contains the complex characterization and examination of social mores, often of the middle class. “Editha” is an example of realist literature in that it criticizes the romanticizing of life experiences, specifically of war... Read Editha Summary
Publication year 1963
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Memory
Tags World History, World War II, Military & War, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Classic Fiction, Politics & Government
Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil is a nonfiction book by political theorist Hannah Arendt, originally published in 1963. In 1961, Arendt went to Jerusalem to cover the trial of Adolf Eichmann for The New Yorker, an assignment she gave herself because “she felt she simply had to attend the trial; she owed it to herself as a social critic, displaced person, witness, and survivor” (xi). Eichmann, a Nazi facilitator of... Read Eichmann in Jerusalem Summary
Publication year 2007
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Memory
Tags Lyric Poem, Grief & Death, Military & War
Publication year 2014
Genre Biography, Nonfiction
Themes Animals, Community
Tags World War II, Animals, World History, Colonialism & Postcolonialism, Military & War, Asian History, Action & Adventure, Biography
Publication year 2007
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Family
Tags Historical Fiction, Children`s Literature, Animals, World War II, Military & War, World History, Action & Adventure
Roland Smith’s Elephant Run (2007) is a middle grade adventure novel that takes place during World War II. Narrator Nick Freestone tries to escape the war and moves from the deadly bombings in London to his father's teak plantation in Burma. Unfortunately for Nick, the war follows him to Burma, and Japanese soldiers soon imprison him and his childhood friend Mya at his family home. Aided by the ancient monk Hilltop, Mya and Nick set... Read Elephant Run Summary
Publication year 1999
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Justice, Power & Greed, Memory, Grief, War, Colonialism
Tags Asian History, World War II, Politics & Government, Military & War, Asian Literature, World History, Japanese Literature
Publication year 2010
Genre Biography, Nonfiction
Themes Indigenous Identity
Tags US History, Military & War, World History, Western, Biography
First published in 2010, Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History is a work of historical nonfiction by S.C. Gwynne and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction. The book narrates a history of the Comanche Nation through the lens of the Parker family, from whom the book’s central figure, Quanah Parker, descends. It explores themes... Read Empire of the Summer Moon Summary
Publication year 1984
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Coming of Age, War, Colonialism
Tags Historical Fiction, Life-Inspired Fiction, Military & War, World War II, World History, Chinese Literature, Japanese Literature, Classic Fiction
Empire of the Sun is a 1984 novel written by British author J.G. Ballard. In it, Jim, the 11-year-old son of a wealthy British family, is living in the International Settlement in Shanghai, China on the eve of Pearl Harbor, 1941. When Japanese forces attack the Settlement, Jim is separated from his parents. He survives for several weeks by scavenging food from abandoned houses, before being arrested by the Japanese. He is then taken to... Read Empire of the Sun Summary
Publication year 2012
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes War, Mothers, Self Discovery, Animals
Tags Coming of Age, Action & Adventure, Survival Fiction, Animals, Children`s Literature, Military & War, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
IntroductionEliot Schrefer’s coming-of-age novel Endangered was published by Scholastic in 2012 and is the first book in The Ape Quartet. Set the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the story is written for a young adult audience and is a 2012 National Book Award finalist in Young People’s Literature. The novel follows Sophie Biyoya-Ciardulli’s journey as she navigates the perils of war-torn Congo in search of her mother, protecting a young, orphaned bonobo throughout her journey... Read Endangered Summary
Publication year 1985
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes War, Teamwork, Wins & Losses, Conflict, Appearance & Reality, Siblings, Guilt
Tags Science Fiction, Fantasy, Classic Fiction, Trauma & Abuse, Bullying, Military & War, Cold War, Action & Adventure
Ender’s Game (1985) is a best-selling dystopian science fiction novel by Orson Scott Card. The story follows a precocious boy’s fight against space aliens and his own government. The essence of the story first appeared in a small sci-fi journal in 1977 as a short story of the same name. Card expanded the premise into a series that includes 15 novels and 13 related short stories. In addition to winning a Nebula Award in 1985... Read Ender's Game Summary
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Love, Hate & Anger, Family, Friendship, War, Race, Loyalty & Betrayal, Fear, Food, Literature
Tags Historical Fiction, Romance, World War II, Military & War, Italian Literature, World History
Publication year 2017
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Globalization
Tags Military & War, Modern Classic Fiction, Magical Realism, Romance, Fantasy
Exit West is a work of political fiction by Pakistani author Mohsin Hamid, who also wrote The Reluctant Fundamentalist and How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia. It was published in 2017 and was shortlisted for the 2017 Man Booker Prize.Exit West begins in an unnamed Middle Eastern city that is on the verge of war. It is already “swollen with refugees” (1). This is where Nadia and Saeed, the two main characters in... Read Exit West Summary
Publication year 1958
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Nation, Perseverance, Race, Immigration, War
Tags Historical Fiction, Jewish Literature, Military & War, World War II, World History, Classic Fiction, Religion & Spirituality
Exodus (1958) is a historical novel by the Jewish American author Leon Uris. The novel follows the multigenerational story of a Jewish family in Palestine, giving the sweep of Jewish history from the First Aliyah in the 1880s to the modern state of Israel’s establishment in 1948. It focuses its greatest attention on the years from 1946 to 1948, following a group of Jewish agents and refugees as they first attempt to transport immigrants to... Read Exodus Summary
Publication year 2015
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Teamwork, Safety & Danger, Perseverance, Conflict
Tags Military & War, Business & Economics, Self-Improvement, Iraq War, Leadership, Psychology, Psychology
In the 2015 military and business book Extreme Ownership: How US Navy SEALs Lead and Win, two of the most highly decorated US Navy SEALs of the Iraq War describe the lessons of leadership learned during combat and how those lessons apply to companies and organizations. Authors Jocko Willink and Leif Babin explain that the single most important element of a team is its leader and that the team succeeds in its mission only if... Read Extreme Ownership Summary
Publication year 1978
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Grief, Loneliness, Disability, Gender Identity, War
Tags Horror & Suspense, Historical Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, World War II, Military & War, World History
The Eye of the Needle is an espionage thriller by best-selling author Ken Follett. Originally published in 1978 under the title, Storm Island, the novel follows the hunt for German spy and assassin Henry Faber. Faber has obtained information that will influence Adolf Hitler’s decision on whether to send reinforcements to Erwin Rommell’s army in Normandy in anticipation of a joint British and American attack. The Eye of the Needle is Ken Follett’s first commercially... Read Eye of the Needle Summary
Publication year 2021
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes War, Justice, Equality, Immigration
Tags World War II, World History, Military & War, US History, European History, Grief & Death, Japanese Literature, Biography