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 Unicorn Hunters

by Katherine Arden

Publication year 2026

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Love, Femininity, Gender Identity, Death, Animals, Appearance & Reality, Place, Community, Nation, Politics & Government, Justice, Power & Greed

Tags Historical Fiction, Romance, Fantasy

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The Unwinding

by George Packer

Publication year 2013

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Nation

Tags Business & Economics, US History, Politics & Government, American Literature, Journalism, Sociology, World History, Biography

The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America is a 2013 work of contemporary political science and history by the American journalist George Packer. It won the National Book Award in 2013 and was a finalist for the 2013 National Book Critics Circle Award. The book explores the trajectory of the United States from 1978 to 2012 and argues that those years saw a diminishing of the institutions, promises, and social connections that had... Read The Unwinding Summary

The War Prayer

by Mark Twain

Publication year 1905

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes War, Religion & Spirituality, Nation

Tags Classic Fiction, Religion & Spirituality, American Literature, Education, Education, Military & War, Philosophy, Philosophy, Politics & Government

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The Warsaw Orphan

by Kelly Rimmer

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Grief, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Hope, Love, Memory, Revenge, Gender Identity, Race, Coming of Age, Self Discovery, Nation, War, Equality, Good & Evil, Justice, Power & Greed

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

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The Yiddish Policemen's Union

by Michael Chabon

Publication year 2007

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Grief, Guilt, Community, Immigration, Nation, Fate, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Science Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Fantasy

The Yiddish Policemen’s Union (2007) is a literary detective novel by American author Michael Chabon. It is set in an alternate history where the United States government created the District of Sitka in Alaska as a temporary refugee settlement for European Jews after the State of Israel was destroyed in 1948. In the novel’s present timeline, Detective Meyer Landsman investigates the murder of his neighbor, Emanuel Lasker, against the backdrop of Sitka’s imminent Reversion to... Read The Yiddish Policemen's Union Summary

This Strange Eventful History

by Claire Messud

Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Loneliness, Memory, Nostalgia, Indigenous Identity, Race, Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Midlife, Death, Future, The Past, Place, Daughters & Sons, Family, Fathers, Friendship, Marriage, Mothers, Siblings, Self Discovery, Colonialism, Community, Globalization, Nation, Politics & Government, War, Equality, Justice, Order & Chaos, Religion & Spirituality, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies

Tags Military & War, World History, French Literature, Historical Fiction

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Thousand Pieces of Gold

by Ruthanne Lum McCunn

Publication year 1981

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Hope, Gender Identity, Race, Fathers, Immigration, Nation, Equality

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

Thousand Pieces of Gold is a biographical novel written by Ruthanne Lum McCunn. McCunn is known for writing about the lives of often-forgotten Chinese Americans, and Thousand Pieces of Gold follows the life of Polly Bemis, a Chinese American woman considered to be one of the most important female pioneers in Idaho in the 19th century. The novel explores themes such as The Burden and Pain of Family Betrayal, Gender Expectations and the Quest for... Read Thousand Pieces of Gold Summary

To Be a Slave

by Julius Lester

Publication year 1968

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Race, Equality, Nation

Tags US History, Race & Racism, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, World History, Classic Fiction, Biography

To Be a Slave is a nonfiction children’s book written by Julius Lester and published in 1968. In 1969, the book was named a John Newbery Honor Book in recognition of its important contribution to children’s literature.The book focuses on the history of enslavement in the United States. Julius Lester compiled slave narratives and wrote his own historical commentary to accompany them. Lester was writing in the context of the civil rights movement of the... Read To Be a Slave Summary

Torpedoed

by Deborah Heiligman

Publication year 2019

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Hope, Childhood & Youth, Death, The Past, Nation, War, Safety & Danger

Tags World History, Military & War, Children`s Literature

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True Grit

by Charles Portis

Publication year 1968

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Revenge, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Grief, Regret, Masculinity, Coming of Age, Daughters & Sons, Teamwork, Nation, War, Justice, Truth & Lies

Tags Historical Fiction, Western, Action & Adventure, Classic Fiction

True Grit is a 1968 western novel by Charles Portis that tells the story of Mattie Ross, a determined and headstrong 14-year-old girl from Arkansas who seeks vengeance for her father’s murder. With the unlikely help of Rooster Cogburn, a tough US Marshal, and LaBoeuf, a Texas Ranger, Mattie sets out to capture the killer, Tom Chaney. True Grit was an instant bestseller, adapted as a film in 1969 and in 2010. This guide uses the... Read True Grit Summary