Military Reads

Our Military Reads Collection features works that examine military service, conflict, and peace. Representing global perspectives and a broad range of literary genres, these selections explore the impacts of wars both real and imagined on civilians and service members alike.

The Lemon Tree

by Sandy Tolan

Publication year 2006

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Friendship

Tags Religion & Spirituality, Middle Eastern History, Immigration & Refugeeism, Military & War, World History, Biography, Politics & Government

The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East is a biography and work of historical nonfiction written by Sandy Tolan and published in 2006. Against the backdrop of the first Arab-Israeli War’s 50th anniversary, American journalist Sandy Tolan traveled to the Middle East to research his assignment. Through the biography, Tolan aims to highlight how two families on opposite sides of the conflict—the Khairis and the Eshkenazis—are connected on... Read The Lemon Tree Summary

The Librarian of Auschwitz

by Antonio Iturbe

Publication year 2012

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Music

Tags Historical Fiction, World War II, Military & War, World History

Henry Holt and Company published Antonio Iturbe’s novel, The Librarian of Auschwitz, in America on September 18, 2012. Before the English Language version, Iturbe’s novel appeared in Spain as La bibliotecaria de Auschwitz. Antonio Iturbe is a Spanish journalist, writer, and professor who has taught postgraduate courses in journalism at universities in Madrid and Barcelona and is the President of the Association of Cultural Journalists of Catalonia. Iturbe wrote The Librarian of Auschwitz when he... Read The Librarian of Auschwitz Summary

The Little Liar

by Mitch Albom

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Truth & Lies, Perseverance, Forgiveness, Hate & Anger, Regret, Revenge, Death, Family, War, Justice

Tags Historical Fiction, World War II, Holocaust, Jewish Literature, Military & War, World History

... Read The Little Liar Summary

The Lords of Discipline

by Pat Conroy

Publication year 1980

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes War, Siblings

Tags Military & War, Southern Literature, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction

The Lords of Discipline, Pat Conroy’s 1980 novel set at a military college, chronicles four years in the life of a cadet in training. Conroy, who attended a military college himself, does not shy away from describing the darker side of military training, including relentless, brutal hazing and racism. The novel is divided into four parts, with a brief opening note preceding the story. Before the plot gets underway, protagonist and narrator Will McLean explains... Read The Lords of Discipline Summary

The Lost Girls of Paris

by Pam Jenoff

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Perseverance, Appearance & Reality, Friendship, Teamwork, Nation, Politics & Government, War, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, World War II, Military & War, French Literature, World History, Historical Fiction

... Read The Lost Girls of Paris Summary

The Magician

by Colm Tóibín

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Literature, Conflict, Sexual Identity, Family, Marriage, Siblings, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Education, Nation, Politics & Government, War, Art, Justice, Music, Order & Chaos, Truth & Lies

Tags Historical Fiction, Life-Inspired Fiction, LGBTQ+, Military & War

... Read The Magician Summary

The Making of the Atomic Bomb

by Richard Rhodes

Publication year 1986

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Tags US History, Military & War, World War II, Science & Nature, World History, Politics & Government

Recognized for its depth of research into history’s most powerful device of war, historian Richard Rhodes’ The Making of the Atomic Bomb (1987) documents the development of the atomic bomb in the 1930s and 1940s, from its conception to its deployment as part of an atrocity committed by the United States against Japan. Rhodes provides extensive background on the personal histories and scientific achievements of the group of international scientists who collectively brought the atomic... Read The Making of the Atomic Bomb Summary

The Man He Killed

by Thomas Hardy

Publication year 1902

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Social Class, War, Colonialism

Tags Poetry: Dramatic Poem, Victorian Period, Military & War, Social Class, History: African , European History, Psychology, Grief & Death, Trauma & Abuse, Classic Fiction, British Literature

... Read The Man He Killed Summary

The Map of Salt and Stars

by Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Grief, Femininity, Coming of Age

Tags Action & Adventure, Coming of Age, Immigration & Refugeeism, Gender & Feminism, Military & War, American Literature, Middle Eastern Literature

Zeyn Joukhadar is a transgender Syrian American writer (also published under the name Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar). His first novel, The Map of Salt and Stars (2018), won the 2018 Middle East Book Award in Youth Literature and became a 2018 Goodreads Choice Awards Finalist in Historical Fiction. Comprising two interwoven narratives, the novel follows Nour, the present-day protagonist whose flight from a war-torn Syria parallels the journey of her imaginary heroine—Rawiya, a medieval mapmaker’s apprentice... Read The Map of Salt and Stars Summary

The Massacre at El Mozote

by Mark Danner

Publication year 1994

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes War, Truth & Lies

Tags Military & War, Cold War, Education, Education, Latin American Literature, Journalism, World History, Social Justice, Politics & Government

The Massacre at El Mozote, by Mark Danner, which in its first iteration appeared as a series of articles for The New Yorker, is an in-depth investigation into the events of December 1981 in the small town of El Mozote in northern El Salvador, during the country’s long civil war. Danner proceeds to not only bring these events to light, but also to place them in the global context of the Cold War of the... Read The Massacre at El Mozote Summary

The Minutemen and Their World

by Robert A. Gross

Publication year 1976

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Good & Evil, Daughters & Sons

Tags US History, American Revolution, Education, Education, Military & War, World History

The Minutemen and their World is a history of 18th-century Concord, a Massachusetts town located approximately twenty miles west of Boston. The town is famous for the Transcendentalist writers who produced their works there, but it is perhaps even more famous as the site of the first battle of the American Revolution, when the famed “shot heard round the world” was fired at the town’s North Bridge (xvi). The book’s author, Robert A. Gross, describes... Read The Minutemen and Their World Summary

The Moon Is Down

by John Steinbeck

Publication year 1942

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags Historical Fiction, Military & War, World War II, American Literature, World History, Classic Fiction

Published in March 1942 and inspired by Steinbeck’s work during the World Wars, The Moon is Down explores the psychological, moral, and ethical implications of a town occupied during wartime. The novel focuses on the struggle of an authoritarian occupier, Colonel Lanser, to subdue the democratic revolt of the people in an unnamed northern European town.John Steinbeck is a prominent figure of American contemporary fiction and is the author of 33 completed works, including the... Read The Moon Is Down Summary

The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg

by Rodman Philbrick

Publication year 2009

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Safety & Danger, Truth & Lies

Tags Historical Fiction, Children`s Literature, Military & War, World History, Action & Adventure, Humor

Rodman Philbrick’s The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg (2009) is a historical fiction novel for middle-grade readers. It won the Newbery Honor award for its story about a young boy’s travels across Civil War America in search of his lost brother. The 2011 e-book edition is the basis for this study guide. Plot SummaryHomer Figg, 12 years old in 1863, lives on a farm in Maine with his older brother, Harold. They’re in... Read The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg Summary