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.

The Book of Laughter and Forgetting

by Milan Kundera

Publication year 1979

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Good & Evil, Politics & Government, Love, Memory, Sexual Identity, The Past, Nation

Tags Philosophy, Magical Realism

The Book of Laughter and Forgetting (1979) by Milan Kundera is a  Postmodern novel that blends fiction, essay, and memoir to interrogate memory, history, and personal identity in the shadow of political repression. Structured as seven interconnected parts, the book combines satire, eroticism, and philosophical digression to illustrate how forgetting shapes both private lives and collective history. Although Kundera wrote the novel in Czech, it was banned in his homeland and was first published in... Read The Book of Laughter and Forgetting Summary

The Bourne Identity

by Robert Ludlum

Publication year 1980

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Memory, Mental Health, The Past, Self Discovery, Globalization, Nation, Politics & Government, War, Justice, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Truth & Lies

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense

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The Bridge on the Drina

by Ivo Andric

Publication year 1945

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Nation

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

The Bridge on the Drina is a 1945 historical fiction novel by Ivo Andrić, translated from Serbo-Croat by Lovett F. Edwards. It tells the story of a bridge built in Višegrad that linked disparate communities from the east and west.  Plot Summary The novel opens with a description of the scenery surrounding Višegrad, a fertile valley with high forested mountains on either side. The bridge spans the Drina, the largest river, and a second smaller bridge... Read The Bridge on the Drina Summary

The Bronze Horseman

by Alexander Pushkin

Publication year 1841

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Nation, Order & Chaos

Tags Russian Literature, Classic Fiction, Narrative Poem, Historical Fiction, European History, Politics & Government, Science & Nature, Romanticism, Realism

The Bronze Horseman: A Saint Petersburg Story is a narrative poem by 19th-century Russian poet, dramatist, and novelist Alexander Pushkin, who is considered Russia’s greatest poet. It was written in 1833, but was not published until 1841, after Pushkin’s death due to censorship of Pushkin’s works by the Russian government.Regarded as one of Pushkin’s most accomplished works, The Bronze Horseman has had a marked influence on Russian literature. The poem tells of the founding of Saint... Read The Bronze Horseman Summary

The Brooklyn Nine

by Alan Gratz

Publication year 2009

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Guilt, Hope, Loneliness, Memory, Daughters & Sons, Friendship, Grandparents, Fathers, Mothers, Teamwork, Disability, Indigenous Identity, Gender Identity, Race, Immigration, Social Class, Community, Education, War, Nation, Self Discovery, Politics & Government, Place, Equality, Fate, Loyalty & Betrayal, Safety & Danger, Wins & Losses, Truth & Lies, Aging, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, The Past, Midlife, Death

Tags Historical Fiction, Children`s Literature, Sports, Realistic Fiction, World History

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The Burning God

by R. F. Kuang

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Hate & Anger, Nostalgia, Revenge, Place, Self Discovery, Social Class, Colonialism, Nation, Politics & Government, War, Fate, Good & Evil, Justice, Power & Greed, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Fantasy, World History

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The Children's Blizzard

by David Laskin

Publication year 2004

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Family, Community, Economics, Nation, Social Class

Tags US History, World History, Historical Fiction, Action & Adventure

The Children’s Blizzard by David Laskin is an account of a devastating natural disaster that took place in 1888. Affecting multiple Midwestern states, the blizzard claimed the lives of many people, including children. The loss of lives to the blizzard laid bare the vulnerabilities of isolated immigrant communities in the Great Plains and marked a watershed moment in American history regarding disaster prediction and mitigation. The author, David Laskin, is a well-known historian who has... Read The Children's Blizzard Summary

The City and the City

by China Miéville

Publication year 2009

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Appearance & Reality, Order & Chaos, Politics & Government, Justice, Nation, Fear

Tags Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Politics & Government, Horror & Suspense

China Miéville’s The City and the City, originally published in 2009, is a hybrid of two distinct genres—speculative fiction and detective fiction—that explores the human susceptibility to fear and the erection of borders as a response to that fear. Other themes examined in the novel are political corruption, violence inspired by far-right politics, and the allure of myths. The City and the City is the winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the World Fantasy... Read The City and the City Summary

The Cliffs

by J. Courtney Sullivan

Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Forgiveness, Guilt, Joy, Memory, Femininity, Indigenous Identity, Mental Health, Midlife, The Past, Place, Friendship, Mothers, Self Discovery, Colonialism, Community, Education, Nation, Politics & Government, Equality, Fate, Good & Evil, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed, Religion & Spirituality, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Historical Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Literary Fiction, Gothic Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, World History

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The Competitive Advantage Of Nations

by Michael E. Porter

Publication year 1990

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Economics, Colonialism, Community, Teamwork, Social Class, Immigration, Globalization, Science & Technology, Education, Order & Chaos, Nation, Future, War, The Past, Power & Greed, Equality, Politics & Government, Wins & Losses

Tags Business & Economics, Finance, Leadership, Social Science, World History, Politics & Government

The Competitive Advantage of Nations is a 1990 work of economics by American author Michael E. Porter, a Harvard Business School professor and expert in corporate competitive strategy whose influential works are frequently cited in business and economics. In this book, Porter dismantles traditional economic theories about how well a nation fares in global competition (factor costs and macro-economic policy) and proposes a model that focuses on active and malleable factors of business rather than... Read The Competitive Advantage Of Nations Summary

The Congo

by Vachel Lindsay

Publication year 1914

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Nation, Perseverance, Conflict, Religion & Spirituality, Music, Good & Evil

Tags Narrative Poem, Race & Racism, Music, Classic Fiction

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