Publication year 2023
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Immigration, Nation, Politics & Government, War
Tags World War II, World History, Military & War, Espionage, Horror & Suspense, Japanese Literature
Military Reads
Our Military Reads Collection features works that examine military service, conflict, and peace. Representing global perspectives and a broad range of literary genres, these selections explore the impacts of wars both real and imagined on civilians and service members alike.
Ghosts of Honolulu
Ghost Soldiers
Girl in the Blue Coat
Give Me Liberty, or Give Me Death
God Grew Tired of Us
Going After Cacciato
Going Solo
Gone With The Wind
Goodbye to All That
Good Night, Irene
Goodnight Mister Tom
Grant
Gravity's Rainbow
Great and Precious Things
Greater Love
Grenade
Ground Zero
Gulag
Gunga Din
Half-Blood Blues
Publication year 2023
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Immigration, Nation, Politics & Government, War
Tags World War II, World History, Military & War, Espionage, Horror & Suspense, Japanese Literature
Publication year 2001
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Perseverance, War, Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Hope
Tags Military & War, World War II, World History, US History, Biography
Ghost Soldiers: The Epic Account of World War II’s Greatest Rescue Mission by American journalist and historian Hampton Sides tells the story of a daring rescue raid on the Japanese-controlled Cabanatuan Allied prisoner-of-war camp in the Philippines at the end of World War II. 121 US Rangers, Alamo Scouts, and hundreds of armed and unarmed Filipino guerillas successfully rescued over 500 remaining POWs on January 30, 1945. The book details the stories of the American POWs... Read Ghost Soldiers Summary
Publication year 2016
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Friendship
Tags Realistic Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, World War II, Military & War, World History, Historical Fiction
Monica Hesse’s 2016 novel Girl in the Blue Coat was the winner of the Edgar Award for Best YA Mystery. Its events take place over two weeks in January 1943 during the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam. The narrator, Hanneke Bakker, is an 18-year-old girl who lost her boyfriend, Sebastian “Bas” Van de Kamp, two years before the events of the novel. As far as her parents know, Hanneke works as a receptionist for an undertaker... Read Girl in the Blue Coat Summary
Publication year 1775
Genre Essay / Speech, Nonfiction
Themes Justice, War, Religion & Spirituality
Tags US History, Politics & Government, American Revolution, Military & War, World History, Inspirational, Philosophy, Philosophy, Classic Fiction
Patrick Henry, widely considered a Founding Father of the United States, delivered his speech “Give me Liberty, or Give me Death” to the Second Virginia Convention in 1775. The goal of the convention was to decide how to handle Britain’s military threat. Henry believed in fighting for independence—the speech’s immediate goal was to convince Virginia to raise a militia—while others wanted to compromise with Britain. Although no manuscript of Henry’s speech exists, accounts from convention... Read Give Me Liberty, or Give Me Death Summary
Publication year 2007
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Family
Tags Military & War, Immigration & Refugeeism, History: African , World History, Biography
God Grew Tired of Us, published in 2007, is a Christian memoir that chronicles John Bul Dau’s 1,000-mile journey from his home village of Duk Payuel in Sudan to the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya. This study guide refers to the 2008 first paperback printing edition.In the Introduction Dau states that although he is just one of thousands of Lost Boys, he wanted to tell his story in hope of using his education and experiences... Read God Grew Tired of Us Summary
Publication year 1978
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes War, Shame & Pride, Guilt
Tags Military & War, American Literature, Education, Education, World History, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction
Going After Cacciato, by Tim O’Brien, is a novel about a young soldier’s experiences in the Vietnam War. However, as the New York Times noted in its initial review of the novel upon its publication in 1978, “call[ing] Going After Cacciato a novel about war is like calling Moby Dick a novel about whales.” The novel does not simply recount the events of the war; it dives into the inner life of its protagonist, Paul... Read Going After Cacciato Summary
Publication year 1986
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Community, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Memory, Nostalgia, Mothers, Social Class, Colonialism, Globalization, War
Tags Social Science, Sociology, World History, Psychology, Psychology, Relationships, Self-Improvement, World War II, Military & War, Action & Adventure
Publication year 1936
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Love, Femininity, Perseverance, Coming of Age
Tags Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction, Romance, Military & War, American Civil War, Southern Literature, World History
Gone with the Wind (1936) is the only novel by author Margaret Mitchell published during her lifetime. It is an enduring but controversial classic of American literature, and according to one poll, its popularity among American readers is only exceeded by the Bible. Thirty million copies have been sold worldwide.The novel’s tale of the Civil War is told from the perspective of the wealthy planter class that ruled the antebellum South, a class from which... Read Gone With The Wind Summary
Publication year 1929
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes War, Mothers
Tags Military & War, World War I, World History, Classic Fiction, Biography
English poet and classicist Robert Graves wrote his autobiography, Good-Bye to All That, in 1929, at the age of 34. Graves undertook the writing of his autobiography with the hope of crafting a best-selling book that would support his career as a writer. Good-Bye to All That details Graves’s life from his upper-middle-class childhood in England to his service as a military officer in World War I, and on to his first few years as... Read Goodbye to All That Summary
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Death, Femininity
Tags Historical Fiction, World War II, Trauma & Abuse, Military & War, French Literature, World History
Publication year 1981
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Fear, Gratitude, Love, Childhood & Youth, Family, Fathers, Friendship, Mothers, Community, War, Safety & Danger
Tags Historical Fiction, Military & War, World War II
Goodnight Mister Tom is a work of historical fiction written by Michelle Magorian and published in 1981. The novel is aimed at an audience of middle grade readers. It tells the story of eight-year-old William Beech, who, at the start of WWII, has to move with his abusive mother from an impoverished suburb of London to the countryside, where they are in the care of an elderly recluse, Thomas Oakley. The novel explores the impact... Read Goodnight Mister Tom Summary
Publication year 2017
Genre Biography, Nonfiction
Tags Politics & Government, US History, American Civil War, Military & War, World History, Biography
Publication year 1973
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes War, Truth & Lies, Conflict, Science & Technology
Tags Historical Fiction, Science Fiction, World War II, Satirical Literature, Trauma & Abuse, Military & War, American Literature, Classic Fiction
Gravity’s Rainbow is a 1973 historical satire by American novelist Thomas Pynchon, who is known for complex narratives that are often dense, fragmented, and episodic. The story is set during the last days of World War II as characters search for a mysterious rocket developed by the German military. The novel has been hailed as one of the most important English language works of the 20th century.Pynchon, disinclined to engage with the press or public... Read Gravity's Rainbow Summary
Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Death, Conflict, Grief, Guilt, Love, Memory, Disability, Mental Health, Aging, The Past, Family, Fathers, Friendship, Siblings, Self Discovery, Community, Fate, Justice, Literature, Loyalty & Betrayal, Trust & Doubt, Truth & Lies
Tags Romance, Military & War, Contemporary Literature, Dramatic Literature
Publication year 1918
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Love, War, Death, Masculinity, Truth & Lies
Tags Lyric Poem, Military & War, Grief & Death, Trauma & Abuse, European History, World War I, British Literature, The Lost Generation
Publication year 2018
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Religion & Spirituality, Truth & Lies, Loyalty & Betrayal, War, Siblings, Place, Race, Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Guilt
Tags Historical Fiction, Action & Adventure, Coming of Age, World War II, Military & War, Grief & Death, Trauma & Abuse, Asian History, US History, Religion & Spirituality, Children`s Literature, World History
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Revenge, Teamwork, War
Tags 9/11, Historical Fiction, Children`s Literature, Military & War, Realistic Fiction, World History, Action & Adventure
Publication year 2003
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Memory, Social Class, Politics & Government, Justice, Power & Greed
Tags European History, World History, Military & War, Politics & Government, Incarceration, Russian Literature
Publication year 1890
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Guilt, Memory, Shame & Pride, Disability, Masculinity, Race, Death, Colonialism, War, Religion & Spirituality
Tags Classic Fiction, Military & War
Publication year 2011
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Music
Tags Music, Arts & Culture, World War II, Military & War, World History, French Literature, Historical Fiction
Published in 2011, Half-Blood Blues is the second book by Esi Edugyan, a black Canadian author. The novel won the Scotiabank Giller Prize in 2012 and was also shortlisted for the 2011 Man Booker Prize and the 2012 Orange Prize for Fiction. As historical fiction, the story examines the lives of a diverse group of jazz musicians during World War II as they balance personal jealousies with the need to help each other amid mounting... Read Half-Blood Blues Summary