Military Reads

The Assault is an historical fiction novel written by Dutch author Harry Mulisch. First published in 1982 under the Dutch title De Aanslag, the novel was translated and published in English in 1985 and later translated into over a dozen languages. Mulisch was born in Haarlem, Netherlands, the same setting in which The Assault occurs. The story is based on actual events and Mulisch’s experiences during German occupation in World War II. The narrative is... Read The Assault Summary

The Attack is a 2005 book written by Yasmina Khadra, translated in 2006 by John Cullen and published by Anchor Books. It describes the aftermath of a suicide bomb attack in Tel Aviv and a man’s struggle to accept his wife’s involvement in the attack. Plot SummaryThe Introduction of the novel describes an unnamed narrator (later revealed as Dr. Amin Jaafari) watching a religious figure get into a car in a busy crowd. An explosion rocks... Read The Attack Summary

... Read Thebaid Summary

“The Battle of Blenheim,” also known as “After Blenheim,” is a satirical, antiwar poem by English Romantic poet Robert Southey, written in 1798 and published in the Morning Post newspaper on August 9 of that year. The poem, which is in the form of a ballad, looks back at the Battle of Blenheim, which was fought around the Bavarian town of Blindheim, in southern Germany, on August 2, 1704, during the War of the Spanish... Read The Battle of Blenheim Summary

“The Battle of Maldon” is a heroic poem, also classified as an epic, dating from the 10th century. Originally written in Old English, the text details a violent battle between the Anglo-Saxon warriors and the raiding Vikings. The Anglo-Saxons are led by Earl Byrhtnoth, who held land in the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Essex and fought for his ruler, King Æthelred the Unready. The poem depicts some of the central tenets of Anglo-Saxon culture, praising loyalty... Read The Battle of Maldon Summary

The Beach is an adventure fiction novel written by Alex Garland and originally published in 1996. Garland wrote the book during his time in the Philippines and was inspired by the landscape there, as well as historical events such as the Vietnam War. It was adapted into a successful major motion picture starring Leonardo DiCaprio and directed by Danny Boyle in 2000, and the novel was included on a BBC list of most-read novels in... Read The Beach Summary

... Read The Beekeeper of Aleppo Summary

The Berlin Boxing Club is the second novel by Robert Sharenow, also the author of My Mother the Cheerleader. It was published in 2011 and won the Association of Jewish Libraries Sidney Taylor Award.While a work of fiction, The Berlin Boxing Clubis based on a true story: that of the German boxing champion Max Schmeling, who sheltered two Jewish children during Kristallnacht—the night of Nazi-sponsored rioting against Jews that many see as the beginning of... Read The Berlin Boxing Club Summary

Eleven-year-old Mariatu lives in a small village in Sierra Leone. There are growing reports of rebels attacking villagers nearby but, for over a year, the villagers avoid attack by hiding in the bush.One night, Mariatu dreams of palm oil—a sign that blood will be spilled the next day. Sure enough, the following day, Mariatu is captured by rebel soldiers. She prays for death but instead has her hands cut from her body by child soldiers... Read The Bite of the Mango Summary

The Black Echo (1992) is Michael Connelly’s first novel and the first book in the long-running series featuring Los Angeles police detective Harry Bosch. It won the 1993 Edgar Award for Best First Novel and is now a classic in the modern crime genre. Connelly, who worked as a crime reporter for the Los Angeles Times while starting his career as a novelist, has written over 37 novels, including 24 featuring Detective Bosch. His works... Read The Black Echo Summary

... Read The Blazing World Summary

... Read The Bomber Mafia Summary

... Read The Book of Lost Friends Summary

... Read The Book of Lost Names Summary

The Book Thief (December 2007) is a young adult novel by Australian author Markus Zusak. Other titles by Zusak include Underdogs (1999), I am the Messenger (2002), and Bridge of Clay (2018). All his works have received multiple literary prizes and reader’s choice awards from countries around the world.When first published, The Book Thief became a #1 New York Times bestseller and was a nominee of PBS’s The Great American Read as one of America’s... Read The Book Thief Summary

John Boyne’s juvenile historical novel The Boy at the Top of the Mountain (2016, Henry Holt and Company) weaves real-life figures and events into the fictional story of a boy named Pierrot Fischer, who becomes corrupted after falling under the direct influence of the Nazi leader, Adolf Hitler. The novel’s central themes involve the conflicts and struggles of life under Nazi rule, as well as Pierrot’s move from innocence and naïveté to violence and abuse—and... Read The Boy at The Top of the Mountain Summary

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a historical fiction novel published in 2006 by celebrated Irish author John Boyne, known both for his adult and young adult fiction. Set around the World War II concentration camp Auschwitz, the novel combines realism with parable. It portrays a young German boy, Bruno, whose father is commander of the camp, and his unusual and ultimately tragic friendship with a Jewish boy, Shmuel. The work sold over seven... Read The Boy in the Striped Pajamas Summary

Leon Leyson’s The Boy on the Wooden Box (2013) is a memoir for young readers about the author’s experiences as a survivor of the Holocaust. Leyson was one of the youngest persons on the famous list of Jews that businessman Oskar Schindler employed in his ammunition factory in Poland, thus saving them from execution. The book’s title comes from the fact that Leon, being small of stature, must stand on a wooden box to operate... Read The Boy On The Wooden Box Summary

The Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Knud Pedersen and the Churchill Club by Phillip Hoose is a young adult (YA) nonfiction book published in 2015. Hoose, who previously received a Newbery Honor for Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice, was inspired to write the book after learning about the Churchill Club on a visit to the Museum of Danish Resistance in Copenhagen. The book is composed of Hoose’s research-based narration of the actions and events surrounding the... Read The Boys Who Challenged Hitler Summary

The Boy Who Dared is a young adult novel, written by award-winning children’s author Susan Campbell Bartoletti and published in 2008. The Boy Who Dared is a historical fiction novel based on the real life of Helmuth Hübener, a German boy who defied the Nazis during WWII. Alternating between his last day on death row and his memories, Helmuth’s story depicts the danger of silence, the value of the individual, and the power of the... Read The Boy Who Dared Summary