World War II

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Recognized for its depth of research into history’s most powerful device of war, historian Richard Rhodes’ The Making of the Atomic Bomb (1987) documents the development of the atomic bomb in the 1930s and 1940s, from its conception to its deployment as part of an atrocity committed by the United States against Japan. Rhodes provides extensive background on the personal histories and scientific achievements of the group of international scientists who collectively brought the atomic... Read The Making of the Atomic Bomb Summary

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Published in March 1942 and inspired by Steinbeck’s work during the World Wars, The Moon is Down explores the psychological, moral, and ethical implications of a town occupied during wartime. The novel focuses on the struggle of an authoritarian occupier, Colonel Lanser, to subdue the democratic revolt of the people in an unnamed northern European town.John Steinbeck is a prominent figure of American contemporary fiction and is the author of 33 completed works, including the... Read The Moon Is Down Summary

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Richard Flanagan’s 2014 novel The Narrow Road to the Deep North won the Man Booker Prize for fiction. It is an examination of the consequences of war, regret, loneliness, adultery, and love. The book unfolds through brief chapters that span five parts and multiple decades. The experiences of the men in the WWII Japanese POW camp mirror those of Richard Flanagan’s father, who was himself a prisoner of war. Although the novel has many characters—even... Read The Narrow Road to the Deep North Summary

The Nazi Hunters, by Neal Bascomb, published in 2013, is the story of the manhunt and capture of Adolf Eichmann, the "World's Most Notorious Nazi" in Argentina, 1961. The story centers on the agents of the Mossad and Shin Bet—Israeli intelligence and investigatory agencies—painstakingly detailing their plans, and execution, along with the capture’s aftermath. In addition to these, the recollections of Auschwitz survivor and witness Zeev Sapir feature prominently. Looming over the entire narrative is... Read The Nazi Hunters Summary

The Nightingale is a best-selling historical fiction novel written by Kristin Hannah and published in 2015. Hannah is known for her other popular historical fiction works, including Winter Garden (2010) and The Four Winds (2021). The Nightingale, which takes places in France during World War II, was inspired by the life and memoirs of Andrée de Jongh, a Belgian woman who survived the war and organized the Comet Line, an underground effort that allowed countless... Read The Nightingale Summary

Marie Benedict’s work of historical fiction, The Only Woman in the Room, tells the life story of Hedy Lamarr, a famed actress of the 1930s and 1940s. The 2019 novel rewrites Lamarr’s legacy by focusing on her path towards inventing a frequency-hopping radio technology that anticipates wi-fi. Benedict uses the political machinations of WWII and Hedy’s experiences to explore performativity, guilt, and sexism.Content Warning: The source material and this guide contain instances and discussions of... Read The Only Woman in the Room Summary

Though The Painted Bird is set during the Holocaust, it is not strictly a Holocaust novel. The book is largely metaphorical and deals with the brutality of human nature and how the horrors we perpetrate on each other become part of us. The novel’s protagonist, a boy who is an outsider, or a “painted bird,” witnesses acts of subjugation and cruelty and seeks to understand why some people are more powerful than others. Thematically, the... Read The Painted Bird Summary

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Queen Elizabeth I enacted laws that persecuted Catholics in England; in response, some daring inventors created secret hiding places within Catholic homes to hide the priests from raids. In the 2013 novel, The Paris Architect, Charles Belfour transposes this real historical event into a new context: hiding Jewish people from German forces in Occupied France. The story centers on an architect in Paris who undertakes the dangerous work of designing invisible hiding places, makes new... Read The Paris Architect Summary

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Władysław Szpilman writes his 1946 memoir, The Pianist, about his experiences in Poland during World War II. Before the war, he is a well-known pianist and composer who works with Radio Poland. When the Germans invade Poland in September 1930, Władysław and his family are relegated to the Warsaw ghetto. Though not as wealthy as some of the other inhabitants of the ghetto, Władysław is part of the intelligentsia, a class of artists and intellectuals... Read The Pianist Summary

In The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights, historian Steve Sheinkin traces the story of the Port Chicago 50, a group of African-American sailors charged with mutiny for disobeying orders during World War II. Sheinkin’s history opens, however, with the story of Dorie Miller, a black mess attendant stationed at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attack in 1942. Though not trained for battle, Miller courageously begins fighting with an anti-aircraft... Read The Port Chicago 50 Summary

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The Rape of Nanking is a historical nonfiction book published in 1997 by American author and journalist Iris Chang. Subtitled The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II, the book chronicles the 1937 Nanking massacre, during which the Imperial Japanese Army, over a six-week period, killed between 260,000 and 400,000 Chinese noncombatants and raped between 20,000 and 80,000 women. The Rape of Nanking was enormously influential in drawing attention to Japanese wartime atrocities, earning Chang numerous... Read The Rape of Nanking Summary

Introduction Law professor Bernhard Schlink published The Reader (Der Vorleser) in Germany in 1995. Two years later, an English version arrived in the United States, and it became a bestseller and a selection for Oprah's Book Club. The German newspaper Abendzeitung named the book Stern des Jahres (Star of the Year), and it was also awarded the 1998 Hans Fallada Prize, given to works that address social or political issues. Translated editions of The Reader... Read The Reader Summary