War

From the Trojan War to World War II to the Iraq War, history has been shaped by humanity's tragic capacity to wage war. In this thematic collection, we have gathered fiction and nonfiction texts that investigate both the lessons and the senselessness crystallized in the aftermath of military conflict.

Never Fall Down

by Patricia McCormick

Publication year 2012

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes War, Grief

Tags Military & War, Realistic Fiction, World History, Historical Fiction, Action & Adventure

The 2012 novel Never Fall Down is based on the true story of Arn Chorn-Pond, an eleven-year-old Cambodian boy who is taken from his town and becomes a child soldier for the Khmer Rouge, a radical Communist regime that ruled Cambodia from 1975-1979.Arn’s journey takes him from his hometown of Battambang, Cambodia, through four years of forced labor and fighting for the Khmer Rouge as a child soldier, to a refugee camp in Thailand, and... Read Never Fall Down Summary

None Left to Tell

by Noelle W. Ihli

Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Perseverance, Guilt, Hope, Memory, Indigenous Identity, Race, Death, The Past, Nature Versus Nurture, Daughters & Sons, Colonialism, Immigration, War, Equality, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Power & Greed, Religion & Spirituality, Truth & Lies

Tags Horror & Suspense

... Read None Left to Tell Summary

North

by Seamus Heaney

Publication year 1985

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes The Past, Place, Language, Literature, War

Tags Lyric Poem, Irish Literature, European History, Education, Education, World History, Classic Fiction

... Read North Summary

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

Nuclear War

by Annie Jacobsen

Publication year 2024

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Science & Technology, Politics & Government, War, Order & Chaos, Safety & Danger

Tags Science Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Science & Nature, World History, Politics & Government, Military & War

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Numbering all the Bones

by Ann Rinaldi

Publication year 2002

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Death, Siblings, Coming of Age, Daughters & Sons, Race, Equality, Justice, War, Fathers

Tags Historical Fiction, Children`s Literature, Life-Inspired Fiction, American Civil War, Race & Racism, US History, Military & War, World History

... Read Numbering all the Bones Summary

Oil and Marble

by Stephanie Storey

Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Art, Conflict, Fear, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Hope, Joy, Love, Memory, Sexual Identity, Death, Appearance & Reality, Place, Family, Fathers, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Politics & Government, War, Beauty, Fate, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Science & Technology

Tags Life-Inspired Fiction, Historical Fiction, Arts & Culture, Renaissance

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One Hundred Years of Solitude

by Gabriel García Márquez

Publication year 1967

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Siblings, Family, War, Fate

Tags Magical Realism, Latin American Literature, Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Fantasy

One Hundred Years of Solitude, first published in Spanish in 1967 as Cien años de soledad, is an internationally renowned and classic work of literature by Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez. The most highly regarded English version of the book is Gregory Rabassa’s translation, which was first published in 1970. This guide uses citations from the HarperPerennial Modern Classics Edition, which was released in 2006. García Márquez became the fourth Latin American winner of the... Read One Hundred Years of Solitude Summary

On Killing

by Dave Grossman

Publication year 1995

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes War, Guilt, Masculinity, Mental Health, Hate & Anger, Community

Tags Psychology, Military & War, Sociology, Trauma & Abuse, Science & Nature, World History, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Politics & Government

... Read On Killing Summary

Only the Beautiful

by Susan Meissner

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Mental Health, Mothers, Daughters & Sons, Perseverance, Regret, Coming of Age, Politics & Government, War, Justice, Family

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

... Read Only the Beautiful Summary