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.

A Long Way Gone

by Ishmael Beah

Publication year 2007

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes War

Tags History: African

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier is a memoir published in 2007 by the Sierra Leonean author and activist Ishmael Beah. The book recounts the author’s experiences as a 12-year-old boy in war-torn Sierra Leone. Forced to serve as a child soldier for three years in the 1990s during the Sierra Leone Civil War, Beah wrote the book to highlight the horrific impact of war on children. Nominated for a 2007 Quill... Read A Long Way Gone Summary

American History

by Alan Brinkley

Publication year 1971

Genre Reference/Text Book, Nonfiction

Themes War, Colonialism, Social Class, Economics, Community, Education, Immigration, Globalization, Nation, Politics & Government

Tags Education, Education, World History, US History

... Read American History Summary

American Sniper

by Jim DeFelice

Publication year 2012

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes War, Good & Evil, Family, Siblings

Tags US History, Iraq War, Military & War, World History, Biography

American Sniper is the autobiography of Chris Kyle, the single deadliest sniper in the history of the United States military. The narrative, co-written by Chris Kyle, Jim deFelice, Scott McEwen, and Chris’s wife Taya, opens with events that took place in 2003 in Iraq. At the time, Chris was providing protective fire for a group of Marines; a female insurgent attempted to attack the Marines with a grenade, but Chris shot her, registering his first... Read American Sniper Summary

A Month in the Country

by J.L. Carr

Publication year 1980

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Art, War, Marriage

Tags Historical Fiction, British Literature, World War I, Arts & Culture, World History, Classic Fiction

A Month in the Country is a fiction novel published in 1980 by the British author J.L. Carr, a retired schoolteacher and publisher. The novel tells the deceptively spare tale of Thomas Birkin, a veteran of World War One who, having just returned from overseas, accepts summer employment to restore a mural. Dating back nearly five centuries, the mural adorns the wall of an old country church in northern England. During the weeks he painstakingly... Read A Month in the Country Summary

A Mystery Of Heroism

by Stephen Crane

Publication year 2009

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes War

Tags Military & War, Education, Education, Classic Fiction

In Stephen Crane’s short story, “A Mystery of Heroism,” (originally syndicated in newspapers in 1895 and then published a year later in The Little Regiment, and Other Episodes of the American Civil War), a brutal battle is waged between two armies. There is no mention of why this battle is being fought, although it can be inferred from the title of Crane’s book that the battle is during the American Civil War. References to the... Read A Mystery Of Heroism Summary

An Army at Dawn

by Rick Atkinson

Publication year 2002

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes War

Tags World War II, US History, Military & War, History: African , World History

An Army at Dawn is a nonfiction military history book published in 2002 by American author and journalist Rick Atkinson. Subtitled The War in North Africa, 1942-1943, the book chronicles the successful Allied invasion of North Africa during World War II. The first installment of Atkinson's Liberation Trilogy, An Army at Dawn received the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for History.This study guide refers to the 2002 edition published by Henry Holt and Company.Plot SummaryOn September 1... Read An Army at Dawn Summary

An Ember in the Ashes

by Sabaa Tahir

Publication year 2015

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Fear, Friendship, Power & Greed, Loyalty & Betrayal, Good & Evil, War

Tags Fantasy, Romance, Science Fiction

Book DetailAn Ember in the Ashes, published by Razorbill in 2015, is the first in Sabaa Tahir's An Ember in the Ashes series. The novel debuted at number two on the young adult New York Times best seller list and was also a USA Today and international bestselling book. In addition, TIME magazine named it one of the 100 Best Fantasy Books of all Time. It won the People’s Choice Award for favorite fantasy in... Read An Ember in the Ashes Summary

An Episode of War

by Stephen Crane

Publication year 2009

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes War

Tags Military & War

The story opens with the protagonist, known as "the lieutenant," surrounded by "Corporals and other representatives of the grimy and hot-throated men" (paragraph 1, sentence 2), on the front lines of a battlefield during the American Civil War. He is divvying up coffee rations into piles "astoundingly equal in size" when suddenly he is shot in the arm (paragraph 2, sentence 2). At first, no one seems to understand what has happened. He and the... Read An Episode of War Summary

Angel Down

by Daniel Kraus

Publication year 2025

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Guilt, Death, The Past, Fathers, Nation, War, Good & Evil, Power & Greed, Religion & Spirituality, Wins & Losses

Tags Horror & Suspense

... Read Angel Down Summary

Anil's Ghost

by Michael Ondaatje

Publication year 2000

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes War, Politics & Government, Indigenous Identity, The Past, Colonialism

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Historical Fiction, Horror & Suspense

In Anil’s Ghost, Michael Ondaatje explores the trauma of the Sri Lankan civil war of the 1980s and 1990s. Anil Tissera, a forensic pathologist who works with human rights organizations, returns to her home country of Sri Lanka after an absence of 15 years. As part of an investigation into government-sponsored violence against citizens Anil and her team discover, at a sixth-century burial site, what appears to be a recently murdered body, which they name... Read Anil's Ghost Summary

An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States

by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

Publication year 2014

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Conflict, Perseverance, Nation, Politics & Government, Power & Greed, War, Equality, Education, Race, The Past, Future, Community, Place, Colonialism

Tags US History, Race & Racism, Social Justice, Politics & Government, Education, Military & War, Anthropology, Colonial America, Social Class, Colonialism & Postcolonialism, World History

... Read An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States Summary