Beneath a Scarlet Sky (2017) is a coming-of-age historical fiction novel by Mark Sullivan. It follows Pino Lella, a 17-year-old Milanese boy, as he navigates the dangers of Nazi-occupied Italy during World War II. The novel is largely based on the real-life account of Pino Lella, who was an old man by the time he decided to share his story. While writing, Sullivan drew upon Pino’s memories, research from war archives, and interviews with Holocaust... Read Beneath a Scarlet Sky Summary

Between Shades of Gray is a fictionalized account of what happened to many Lithuanians—and others from Estonia and Latvia—after the Soviet Union annexed and occupied the Baltic States in 1940. Thousands of citizens of these countries were deported and imprisoned, and many of them ended up in Siberian forced labor camps like the ones Lina Vilkas and her mother and brother are sent to in the book. The novel is told from the first-person perspective of a... Read Between Shades of Gray Summary

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Peter Balakian’s Black Dog of Fate: A Memoir (1997) tells the story of the author’s path to embracing his Armenian identity and understanding the legacies of a dark history. Born into the comfortable and consumerist suburbs of mid-century American suburbia, Balakian experienced the vestibules of his family’s Armenian culture mostly through the influence of his maternal grandmother. As he grew up, he caught other glimpses of the family’s heritage; in particular, home rituals in their... Read Black Dog of Fate Summary

Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War is a 1999 book by journalist Mark Bowden. It is a non-fiction account of the Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia, which resulted from US forces’ attempt to capture the two lieutenants of Mohamed Farrah Aidid, a warlord who oppressed the Somali people and stole their humanitarian aid. Bowden originally published a 29-part investigation of the failed mission in The Philadelphia Inquirer, later expanding it into Black Hawk... Read Black Hawk Down Summary

Black Rain is a 1965 historical novel by Japanese author Masuji Ibuse. The novel blends authentic accounts and information with a fictional plot to describe the aftermath of the destruction of the Japanese city of Hiroshima by an American atomic bomb in 1945. Black Rain was adapted into a film in 1989. This guide uses an eBook version of the 1979 edition of Black Rain, translated into English by John Bester.Plot SummaryShigematsu Shizuma is a... Read Black Rain Summary

Published in 2001, Blood and Thunder: An Epic of the American West is a narrative history of the turbulent period from the 1800s to the 1860s, the “settling” of the American West. It frames the transformation of America into a transcontinental power through the life story of Christopher “Kit” Carson, a larger-than-life frontiersman, guide, and army officer who assisted the conquest every step of the way. Blood and Thunder is not author Hampton Sides’s first... Read Blood and Thunder Summary

In Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin, Timothy Snyder, a historian specializing in Central and Eastern European history and the Holocaust, offers a groundbreaking examination of the pogroms and mass killings perpetrated by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union before and during World War II. Published in 2010 by Basic Books, this seminal work explores the geopolitical, ideological, and military confrontations between Hitler’s Germany and Stalin’s Soviet Union that led to the deaths of approximately... Read Bloodlands Summary

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Born in Blood and Fire: A Concise History of Latin America, 4th Edition, by John Charles Chasteen was published in 2016. The first edition was printed in 2001. Chasteen works as an author, translator, and professor of Latin American history and culture. He teaches at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Some of his other notable works are Americanos: The Struggle for Latin American Independence, National Rhythms, African Roots: The Deep History of... Read Born in Blood and Fire Summary

Born on the Fourth of July is a 1976 memoir written by wounded Vietnam veteran and antiwar activist Ron Kovic. The memoir was adapted into a 1989 film directed by Oliver Stone; Kovic and Stone co-wrote the screenplay, which earned an Oscar nomination. In the memoir, Kovic describes his experiences in and surrounding his tours of duty in Vietnam, including why he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, how he was injured, and how... Read Born on the Fourth of July Summary

“Boule de Suif,” which translates to “ball of fat” in English, is a short story by 19th-century French Naturalist writer Guy de Maupassant. Published in 1880, it was his first published story and is considered one of his greatest works. The story explores the power dynamics of class and gender while also painting a picture of the dismal final days of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871 in Prussian-occupied France. All told, Maupassant wrote some 300... Read Boule De Suif Summary

Breakfast on Pluto is a novel by the distinguished Irish writer Patrick McCabe, who is known for his experimental style and controversial themes. First published in 1998, the book contains elements of fantasy and historical fiction. It presents the narrative of “the life and times” of Patrick Braden, a transgender person growing up in Ireland and London during the 1960s and 1970s. Through Braden’s journey of self-discovery, McCabe portrays a country amid turbulent political, national... Read Breakfast on Pluto Summary

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Bull Run is a middle-grade historical fiction novel published in 1993. Written by Paul Fleischman, winner of the Newbery Medal and nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Award Book, the novel uses 16 alternating Union and Confederate narrators to describe the Battle of Bull Run in the Civil War. Bull Run won the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction, was named a Best Book by the School Library Journal, and received several other awards. The... Read Bull Run Summary

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Burnt Shadows, first published in 2009, is the fifth novel by Pakistani-British author Kamila Shamsie. A political-historical novel, it was nominated for the Orange Prize for Fiction, one of the UK’s most prestigious literary awards, and won an Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, which celebrates books that contribute to a greater understanding of racism and diversity. Shamsie has been shortlisted several times for a John Llewellyn Rhys Prize; she also received the Prime Minister’s Award for Literature... Read Burnt Shadows Summary