War has shaped history, leaving an indelible mark on the human experience. Through the power of literature, we can delve into the depths of conflict, uncovering the triumphs, tragedies, and the profound impact war has on individuals and societies. This article will explore some of the best books based on war, each a gateway to a world of courage, sacrifice, and resilience.
People run away from history in schools, but I never found it as something to be scared of. I’ve always loved history. To know about warfare and historically remarkable conflicts, movies and series are not-so-reliable sources, but books are! From gripping personal narratives to insightful historical analysis, books offer a treasure trove of stories illuminating the complexities and consequences of armed conflict.
Not only biographies, autobiographies, true records, and history books, but also several fictional books that are based on significant historical wars and conflicts that can give you insights into the situation in a fun and engaging way, and many of them are listed here.
Buckle up, scroll down, and embark on the journey through these books that bring the reality of war to life.
Top 15 Books Based on Wars
1. War and Peace
Full Title: War and Peace
Author: Leo Tolstoy
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publishing Date: 1867
Description:
The plot of War and Peace follows three of the most well-known literary characters: Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, who leaves his family behind to fight in the war against Napoleon; Natasha Rostov, the stunning young daughter of a nobleman who intrigues both men; and Pierre Bezukhov, the illegitimate son of a count who is fighting for his inheritance and yearning for spiritual fulfillment.
Tolstoy masterfully follows characters from various backgrounds—peasants and nobility, civilians and soldiers—battling issues particular to their era, history, and culture as Napoleon’s army invades.
2. The Shadow of Arms
Full Title: The Shadow of Arms
Author: Hwang Sok-yong
Genre: Fiction
Publishing Date: 1994
Description:
“The Shadow of Arms” is a Vietnam fight novel unlike any other, one that genuinely observes the fight from both sides. It is about the black markets of the South Vietnamese city of Danang during the Vietnam War and is based on the author’s experiences as a self-described South Korean mercenary on the side of the South Vietnamese. The way war scenes are described is stunning.
The plot is filled with mystery and intricate subplots. However, The Shadow of Arms ultimately focuses on the human condition rather than the victories and setbacks of one side or the other in a conflict.
3. The Art of War
Full Title: The Art of War
Author: Sun Tzu
Genre: Non-Fiction
Publishing Date: 5th century BC
Description:
This famous work on military strategy by Sun Tzu, based on Chinese battle and the army doctrine, was written 250 years ago. Since then, all military ranks have applied Sun Tzu’s precepts to battle, and civilization has modified these teachings for application in business, politics, and daily life.
One should use The Art of War to their advantage on the battlefield and in business meetings.
4. Empire of the Sun
Full Title: Empire of the Sun
Author: J. G. Ballard
Genre: War-story
Publishing Date: 1984
Description:
In a time of conflict, Jim is separated from his parents. If he is to live, he must develop an inner strength larger than all the circumstances around him. Shanghai was on fire in 1941 due to the tragic events at Pearl Harbour.
Unable to find his parents, a little British kid wanders the chaotic, dead-filled streets. He is a prisoner in a Japanese incarceration camp when Nagasaki explodes, signaling the end of the war and the beginning of a world plagued by evil.
5. Slaughterhouse-Five
Full Title: Slaughterhouse-Five
Author: Kurt Vonnegut
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publishing Date: 1969
Description:
One of the best antiwar books ever written is the American classic Slaughterhouse-Five. Kurt Vonnegut spent twenty-three years trying to write a book about what he had seen while an American prisoner of war, with the novel’s focus on the horrific World War II firebombing of Dresden.
A narrative of the life of Billy Pilgrim, a barber’s son turned draftee who became optometrist turned alien abductee, blends historical fiction, science fiction, autobiography, and satire. Billy, a POW, witnesses Dresden’s devastation much as Vonnegut had.
6. The American War in Afghanistan
Full Title: The American War in Afghanistan: A History
Author: Carter Malkasian
Genre: Non-Fiction
Publishing Date: 2021
Description:
In his book The American War in Afghanistan, Carter Malkasian presents the first thorough history of the entire fight. As the senior advisor to General Joseph Dunford, the US military commander in Afghanistan and later the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Malkasian is a preeminent academic expert and a skilled practitioner. He spent nearly two years working in the Afghan countryside.
7. For Whom the Bell Tolls
Full Title: For Whom the Bell Tolls
Author: Ernest Hemingway
Genre: War novel
Publishing Date: 1940
Description:
Ernest Hemingway visited Spain in 1937 to report on the country’s civil war for the North American Newspaper Alliance.
He finished For Whom the Bell Tolls, the best book to come out of “the good fight,” three years later. It relates the narrative of Robert Jordan, a young American serving in the International Brigades who joined an antifascist guerilla group in the mountains of Spain.
It is a melancholy tale about the passing of an ideal.
8. The Kite Runner
Full Title: The Kite Runner
Author: Khaled Hosseini
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publishing Date: 2003
Description:
Twelve-year-old Amir is determined to triumph in the neighborhood kite-flying competition, and his devoted friend Hassan offers to assist him. However, neither of the lads could have predicted what would happen to Hassan that day, a circumstance that would change their lives forever.
Amir learns that one day he must return to Afghanistan, ruled by the Taliban, to find what his new world cannot provide him: redemption when the Russians invade, and the family is forced to flee to America.
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9. The Korean War
Full Title: The Korean War
Author: Max Hastings
Genre: Military History
Publishing Date: 1987
Description:
Since the end of World War II, the two superpowers have never engaged in combat. The foremost military historian, Max Hastings, returns to the deadly, bitter struggle to reclaim South Korea’s independence following the Communist invasion in June 1950.
Hasting follows actual officers and soldiers through the fights using first-person narratives from interviews with more than 200 veterans, including Chinese veterans. He expertly portrays the domestic Cold War dilemma, including the tactics and ideologies of Truman, Acheson, Marshall, MacArthur, Ridgeway, and Bradley, and demonstrates the lessons we should have taken away from the conflict that preceded the Vietnam War.
10. Unbroken
Full Title: Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
Author: Laura Hillenbrand
Genre: Biography
Publishing Date: 2010
Description:
Based on the biography of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic athlete who became a Japanese POW, this book is an epic tale. It follows his life from when Zamperini started running in high school to when he was an Olympian and eventually a POW.
When World War II started, he volunteered in the Army Air Corps just as his athletic career began taking off. He finally finds himself engaged in a Pacific War with the Japanese. Zamperini and his crew are forced to spend more than a month on a lonely island when their jet is shot down.
Despite all difficulties, he manages to survive on the lonely, sandy island, but the Japanese capture him.
11. The Corpse Washer
Full Title: The Corpse Washer
Author: Sinan Antoon
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publishing Date: 2013
Description:
This tragic work, which has received praise and praise across the Arab world for its evocative portrayal of Iraq, confronts the horrific recent history of the war-torn country. Young Jawad, raised in Baghdad by a traditional Shi’ite family of body washers and shrouders, decides to break with the past and pursue his passion for the sculpture to celebrate life rather than attend to death.
In violation of his father’s desires and intending to pursue his interests, he enrolls in Baghdad’s Academy of Fine Arts in the late 1980s. But historical circumstances force a different conclusion. The socioeconomic foundation of society is destroyed by both the tyranny of Saddam Hussein and the economic sanctions of the 1990s.
12. Peleliu
Full Title: Peleliu: Tragic Triumph: The Untold Story of the Pacific War Forgotten Battle
Author: Bill D Ross
Genre: Nonfiction
Publishing Date: 1991
Description:
This description of the fight of Peleliu, often regarded as the bloodiest in the Pacific during World War II, is incredibly thorough. As a war correspondent in the Pacific theatre of World War II, Bill D. Ross saw many of the bloodiest battles firsthand.
In this book, Ross provides a day-by-day chronicle of the battle of Peleliu, fought in the last few months of 1944 between the United States and the Empire of Japan. The story is based on years of research and interviews with soldiers who survived the conflict, which took place over a small but crucially located island in the Pacific.
13. The Iliad
Full Title: The Iliad
Author: Homer
Genre: Epic poetry
Publishing Date: 1598
Description:
The Iliad tells the tale of the legendary Greek hero Achilles, his fury, and the havoc it creates. The narrative also follows the Trojan warrior Hector, who fights to defend his family and fellow citizens in a parallel plot.
Since Achilles is the main character, it is usually accepted that he is the story’s hero.
14. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant
Full Title: Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant
Author: Ulysses S. Grant
Genre: Biography
Publishing Date: 1885
Description:
The first thoroughly annotated edition of Grant’s memoirs, this book accurately captures the great military leader’s reflections on his life and times from childhood through the end of the Civil War as well as his priceless insight into tactical decision-making.
A preface places Grant’s life and significance in context, and clear editorial commentary lets the president’s voice and story stand out. This authoritative edition improves our knowledge of the pre-Civil War era, the Mexican War, and the Civil War through annotations produced by the editors of the Ulysses S. Grant Association’s Presidential Library.
Grant sheds light on how these events severely strained the coherence of America’s social order and democratic institutions.
15. The Killer Angels
Full Title: The Killer Angels: A Novel of the Civil War
Author: Michael Shaara
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publishing Date: 1974
Description:
Two armies fought for two opposing dreams over the four bloodiest and bravest days in the history of our country. Both had similar goals: one of liberation, the other of a way of life. There was a lot more brought into battle than just firearms and ammo. Memories existed.
There were assurances. Love was present. On those Pennsylvanian fields, considerably more people died than just males. The war also claimed the lives of promising futures, naive innocence, and unblemished beauty.
Conclusion| Top 15 Books Based on War
So, what do you think of these books? I got goosebumps writing about them. These books based on war excel in their ability to convey the human experience, explore moral complexities, and provoke deep reflections on the consequences of armed conflict.
Whether through personal accounts, historical analysis, or imaginative storytelling, these books shed light on the indomitable spirit of humanity and the tragic realities of war, ensuring that their lessons remain relevant and impactful for generations to come.
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