Nation & Nationalism

These texts explore the concept of the nation, an idea of community that inspires patriotism and nostalgia. What makes a nation? And why are people willing to die—or to kill—to protect it? These are just a couple of the questions examined in the texts in this collection.

Nostromo

by Joseph Conrad

Publication year 1904

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Power & Greed, Colonialism, Community, Economics, Nation, Politics & Government, War, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags British Literature, Historical Fiction, Action & Adventure

Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard is a 1904 modernist novel by Polish British author Joseph Conrad. Originally published as a two-volume serial in T.P.’s Weekly, Nostromo is the story of an Italian dockworker who becomes swept up in the political turmoil of a fictional Latin American country in the late 19th Century. An example of modernist literature, Nostromo has been heralded as one of Conrad’s greatest works and has been adapted for film, television... Read Nostromo Summary

Now I Surrender

by Álvaro Enrigue, Transl. Natasha Wimmer

Publication year 2026

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Grief, Memory, Regret, Indigenous Identity, Race, Death, The Past, Environment, Place, Family, Self Discovery, Colonialism, Nation, War, Equality, Justice, Wins & Losses

Tags Historical Fiction, Latin American Literature, Literary Fiction, Western

Now I Surrender (2024) is a historical novel by the acclaimed Mexican author Álvaro Enrigue. A work of autofiction and a revisionist Western, the novel weaves together three distinct timelines to explore the brutal history of the American Southwest. The narrative is framed by the reflections of a contemporary Mexican writer on a family road trip through the former territory of Apachería, a research journey for a book about the Apache Wars. This modern pilgrimage... Read Now I Surrender Summary

Oath and Honor

by Liz Cheney

Publication year 2023

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Safety & Danger, Truth & Lies, Nation, Politics & Government, Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Politics & Government, US History, Trauma & Abuse, World History, Biography

... Read Oath and Honor Summary

On Call

by Anthony Fauci

Publication year 2024

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Death, Family, Community, Nation, Politics & Government, Science & Technology

Tags Biography, Politics & Government, Science & Nature, World History, Health

... Read On Call Summary

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Publication year 1962

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Perseverance, Politics & Government, Nation

Tags Russian Literature, Historical Fiction, Life-Inspired Fiction, Classic Fiction, Education, Education, World History

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, first published in 1962 in the USSR, is a novel by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. It follows the protagonist, Ivan Denisovich Shukhov, during a typical day in the forced labor camp where he is imprisoned. The novel explores the human cost of Stalinism in Soviet Russia. Shukhov and the other prisoners waver between unity and division as they attempt to survive in the labor camp, which is situated far... Read One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich Summary

One Native Life

by Richard Wagamese

Publication year 2008

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Gratitude, Guilt, Hope, Loneliness, Memory, Shame & Pride, Indigenous Identity, Language, Animals, Plants, Place, Self Discovery, Colonialism, Community, Education, Nation, Art, Beauty, Equality, Fate, Justice, Literature, Music, Religion & Spirituality, Truth & Lies

Tags World History, Biography

... Read One Native Life Summary

On Liberty

by John Stuart Mill

Publication year 1859

Genre Essay / Speech, Nonfiction

Themes Literature, Politics & Government, Nation

Tags Philosophy, Politics & Government, Arts & Culture, European History, British Literature, Victorian Period, Business & Economics, World History, Philosophy, Classic Fiction

On Liberty is a philosophical essay on ethics, society, and politics published in 1859 by the English philosopher John Stuart Mill. His work on the subject matter extended back several years, through an illustrious career as a politician and philosopher. Mill’s ideas center on the concept of utilitarianism, which emphasizes efficiency and collective well-being. The book remains in print in the 21st century.SummaryOn Liberty is divided into five chapters: an introduction; “On the liberty of... Read On Liberty Summary

On Photography

by Susan Sontag

Publication year 1977

Genre Essay Collection, Nonfiction

Themes Art, Colonialism, Power & Greed, Beauty, Economics, Nation, Politics & Government

Tags Arts & Culture, Philosophy, World History, Business & Economics, Social Class, Finance, Sociology, Literary Criticism, Philosophy, Classic Fiction

On Photography is a 1977 collection of seven essays by American scholar, activist, and philosopher Susan Sontag. The essays were published in the New York Review of Books from 1973 to 1977 before publication in a single volume. Sontag explores the history of photography and its relationship to reality, the fine arts, and sociopolitical power structures. Individual essays explore these various relationships between photography and the world through a different lens before the culminating exploration... Read On Photography Summary

On The Advantage And Disadvantage Of History For Life

by Friedrich Nietzsche

Publication year 1874

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Nation

Tags Philosophy, Existentialism, Education, Education, World History, Philosophy, Classic Fiction

Written in 1874 as part of his second Untimely Meditation, Friedrich Nietzsche’s Vom Nutzen und Nachteil der Historie für das Leben or On the Advantage and Disadvantage of History for Life, considers the proper functioning of history in service to human (and specifically German) life and culture.At the outset of his essay, Nietzsche distinguishes between advantageous and disadvantageous historical awareness. The “historical fever” in Germany at the time of writing is a disease in the... Read On The Advantage And Disadvantage Of History For Life Summary