Publication year 2025
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Love, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Grief, Conflict, Perseverance, Memory, The Past, War, Safety & Danger
Tags Historical Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Romance, Jewish Literature, World War II
World War II
This carefully curated selection of titles examines the history, politics, and social impacts of World War II and its indelible mark on the world. The Collection highlights global perspectives through historical fiction, memoirs and biographies, and nonfiction titles that discuss topics including the Holocaust, the atomic bombings of Japan, and the effects of conflict.
Last Twilight in Paris
Left for Dead
Legends of the Fall
Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed
Letters from Cuba
Letters from Rifka
Life After Life
Lifeboat 12
Life in a Jar: The Irena Sendler
Lilac Girls
Linked
Lost in the Pacific 1942
Lost Roses
Lovely War
Making Bombs for Hitler
Manhattan Beach
Man's Search for Meaning
Maus
Max in the House of Spies
Mementos, 1
Publication year 2025
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Love, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Grief, Conflict, Perseverance, Memory, The Past, War, Safety & Danger
Tags Historical Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Romance, Jewish Literature, World War II
Publication year 2002
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Perseverance, Justice, Safety & Danger
Tags US History, Military & War, World War II, Education, Education, World History, Action & Adventure, Biography
Left for Dead is a work of military nonfiction for young adults by Pete Nelson. It tells the true story of what happened to the men whose ship, the USS Indianapolis, sank during World War II in July 1945. Hunter Scott, who wrote an introduction for the book, studied the incident for a school history fair project and became determined to discover the truth about what happened. Dismayed by the miscarriage of justice surrounding the... Read Left for Dead Summary
Publication year 1979
Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction
Themes War, Masculinity
Tags Historical Fiction, Western, Relationships, World War II, American Literature, World History, Romance, Classic Fiction
Legends of the Fall is a collection of three novellas by Jim Harrison, including “Revenge,” “The Man Who Gave Up His Name,” and the titular novella, “Legends of the Fall.” First published in 1979 by Collins, Legends of the Fall remains one of Harrison’s most highly regarded works. Harrison wrote across a range of genres such as fiction, poetry, essay, and film and was the recipient of several awards including a Guggenheim Fellowship. His work... Read Legends of the Fall Summary
Publication year 1994
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Forgiveness, Race, Death, Community, War, Fate, Good & Evil, Justice, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Religion & Spirituality, Safety & Danger, Truth & Lies
Tags World War II, Military & War, French Literature, World History, Philosophy, Philosophy, Religion & Spirituality
Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Family, Perseverance, Race, Self Discovery, Immigration, Friendship
Tags Historical Fiction, World War II, Latin American Literature, Jewish Literature, Race & Racism, Holocaust, Children`s Literature, Military & War, World History
Publication year 2009
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Race, Family, Immigration
Tags Historical Fiction, Life-Inspired Fiction, Immigration & Refugeeism, Military & War, European History, World War I, Children`s Literature, Russian Literature, Jewish Literature, Education, Education, World War II, World History
Karen Hesse’s young adult historical novel Letters from Rifka (1992) takes place between 1919 and 1920 and follows a young Jewish girl, Rifka, and her family as they escape persecution in Russia and begin a new life in America. The novel takes the form of letters Rifka writes, but cannot send, to her cousin in Russia, composed in the blank spaces of a volume of poetry by Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. The work thus combines... Read Letters from Rifka Summary
Publication year 2013
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Grief, Love, Family, War
Tags Historical Fiction, Fantasy, World War II, Science Fiction, Military & War, World History
Life After Life is a work of adult historical fiction written by acclaimed British author Kate Atkinson and published in 2013. Atkinson’s debut novel, Behind the Scenes at the Museum, won the Whitbread Book of the Year prize and her subsequent novels have all been international bestsellers, including the mystery series featuring Jackson Brodie, which has been adapted to a BBC show. Other works by this author include Case Histories, A God in Ruins, and... Read Life After Life Summary
Publication year 2018
Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Coming of Age, Environment
Tags Historical Fiction, Survival Fiction, World War II, Action & Adventure, Children`s Literature, Military & War, World History
Publication year 2005
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Family
Tags Children`s Literature, European History, World War II, Military & War, World History, Biography
Life in a Jar: The Irena Sendler Project is a work of creative nonfiction written by Jack Mayer and originally published in 2010. The book tells two overlapping stories. One is about Irena Sendler, a Polish social worker who helped save 2,500 Jewish children in Warsaw from the Nazis during World War II. The other is about three high school girls—Liz Cambers, Megan Stewart, and Sabrina Coons. In 1999, the girls, with the help of... Read Life in a Jar: The Irena Sendler Summary
Publication year 2016
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Forgiveness
Tags Historical Fiction, World War II, Military & War, World History
Lilac Girls is a historical fiction novel by Martha Hall Kelly. Published in 2016, Kelly’s debut novel is inspired by the true story of New York City activist and socialite Caroline Ferriday. Kelly was also inspired by the true story of the Ravensbrück Rabbits, a group of Polish women who were victims of torturous medical experiments during the Second World War. The novel explores the themes of hope, sacrifice, and forgiveness in the face of... Read Lilac Girls Summary
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Race, Hate & Anger, Community
Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, World War II, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2016
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Tags Children`s Literature, World History, Military & War, World War II, Action & Adventure
Written by Tod Olson and published in 2016, Lost in the Pacific, 1942 is a fictionalized account of the true story of soldiers lost at sea during World War II. The text begins with a Prologue describing a plane crash that strands the soldiers in the Pacific Ocean. The B-17 transport plane’s pilot, Captain Bill Cherry, plans to land at Canton Island to refuel. However, due to a faulty navigational antenna and a problem with... Read Lost in the Pacific 1942 Summary
Publication year 2019
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Mothers, Social Class, War
Tags Historical Fiction, Life-Inspired Fiction, Poverty, World War I, Russian Literature, World War II, Military & War, World History
Publication year 2019
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Love, Race, Mental Health, War, Beauty, Music
Tags Historical Fiction, Romance, Mythology, Civil Rights & Jim Crow South, Grief & Death, World History, Love & Sexuality, Military & War, Music, Race & Racism, Trauma & Abuse, World War I, World War II, Fantasy
Publication year 2012
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Hope, Good & Evil, Friendship, Family
Tags Historical Fiction, Survival Fiction, World War II, Holocaust, Children`s Literature, Military & War, World History, Action & Adventure
Publication year 2017
Genre Novel, Fiction
Tags World War II, Historical Fiction, World History
Manhattan Beach is a 2017 novel by American writer Jennifer Egan. Born in Chicago and raised in San Francisco, Egan, now a New Yorker, did much of her research for the novel at the Brooklyn Historical Society. Using oral histories, photographs, and other supporting documents, she reconstructed the vibrant world of the wartime Brooklyn Naval Yard and Coney Island. The novel won the 2018 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, was long-listed for the... Read Manhattan Beach Summary
Publication year 1946
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Religion & Spirituality
Tags Holocaust, Religion & Spirituality, World War II, Philosophy, Philosophy, Psychology, Psychology, Biography, Self-Improvement
Man’s Search for Meaning is a 1946 memoir and work of popular psychology. It details the author, Viktor Frankl’s, experience in a concentration camp and his attempts to overcome and understand the trauma of that experience. Through these autobiographical details, Frankl introduces logotherapy, the psychotherapeutic theory for which he would become famous, and explores themes of Finding Meaning in Extreme Conditions, Faith as an Expression of Humanity’s Deepest Impulses, and The Importance of Moral Choice... Read Man's Search for Meaning Summary
Publication year 1986
Genre Graphic Novel/Book, Nonfiction
Themes Friendship, Family, Fate
Tags World History, World War II, Holocaust, European History, Postmodernism, Military & War, Biography
Maus by Art Spiegelman was the first graphic novel to win the Pulitzer Prize. It originally ran in Spiegelman’s Raw magazine between 1980 and 1991 before receiving mainstream attention as two collected volumes, Maus I in 1986 and Maus II in 1991. This guide is based on the 1996 complete edition. This historic memoir interlaces two narratives, one of Spiegelman’s Jewish father as he survives World War II Poland and the Auschwitz concentration camp, and... Read Maus Summary
Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Perseverance, Childhood & Youth, War
Tags Fantasy, Children`s Literature, Action & Adventure, Historical Fiction, World War II
Publication year 1987
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Memory, Marriage, Loyalty & Betrayal, The Past, Love, Nostalgia
Tags Lyric Poem, Free Verse, Confessional, World War II, Relationships