20 Great World War Two Novels
Discover 20 great World War Two novels that capture history's drama and heroism. Explore must-read books from iconic authors, perfect for history buffs and fiction lovers alike.
Book
Catch-22
by Joseph Heller
Catch-22 is like no other novel. It is one of the funniest books ever written, a keystone work in American literature, and even added a new term to the dictionary. At the heart of Catch-22 resides the incomparable, malingering bombardier, Yossarian, a hero endlessly inventive in his schemes to save his skin from the horrible chances of war. His efforts are perfectly understandable because as he furiously scrambles, thousands of people he hasn't even met are trying to kill him. His problem is Colonel Cathcart, who keeps raising the number of missions the men must fly to complete their service. Yet if Yossarian makes any attempts to excuse himself from the perilous missions that he is committed to flying, he is trapped by the Great Loyalty Oath Crusade, the hilariously sinister bureaucratic rule from which the book takes its title: a man is considered insane if he willingly continues to fly dangerous combat missions, but if he makes the necessary formal request to be relieved of such missions, the very act of making the request proves that he is sane and therefore ineligible to be relieved. Catch-22 is a microcosm of the twentieth-century world as it might look to some one dangerously sane -- a masterpiece of our time.
Book
Dragon's Teeth
by Upton Sinclair
N the wake of the 1929 stock market crash, Lanny Budd's financial acumen and his marriage into great wealth enable him to continue the lifestyle he has always enjoyed. But the devastation the collapse has wrought on ordinary citizens has only strengthened Lanny's socialist ideals -- much to the chagrin of his heiress wife, Irma, a confirmed capitalist. In Germany to visit relatives, Lanny encounters a disturbing atmosphere of hatred and jingoism. His concern over the growing popularity of the Nazi Party escalates when he meets Adolf Hitler, the group's fanatical leader, and the members of his inner circle. But Lanny's gravest fear is the threat a national socialist government poses to the German Jewish family of Hansi, the musician husband of Lanny's sister, Bess -- a threat that will impel the international art dealer to risk his wealth, his future, even his life in a courageous attempt to rescue his loved ones from a terrible fate.
Book
The Naked and the Dead
by Norman Mailer
The story of a platoon of Marines stationed on the Japanese-held island of Anopopei in World War II.
Book
Tales of the South Pacific
by James Albert Michener
"Truly one of the most remarkable books to come out of the war. Mr. Michener is a born story-teller." THE NEW YORK TIMES Winner of the 1948 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction Enter the exotic world of the South Pacific, meet the men and women caught up in the drama of a big war. The young Marine who falls madly in love with a beautiful Tonkinese girl. Nurse Nellie and her French planter, Emile De Becque. The soldiers, sailors, and nurses playing at war and waiting for love in a tropic paradise.
Item Not Found
ID: 0394756967
(Type: books)
Item Not Found
ID: 4770028563
(Type: books)
Book
A Bell for Adano
by John Hersey
This classic novel and winner of the Pulitzer Prize tells the story of an Italian-American major in World War II who wins the love and admiration of the local townspeople when he searches for a replacement for the 700-year-old town bell that had been melted down for bullets by the fascists. Although stituated during one of the most devastating experiences in human history, John Hersey's story speaks with unflinching patriotism and humanity.
Book
The Thin Red Line
by James Jones
They are the men of C-for-Charlie company—“Mad” 1st Sgt. Eddie Welsh, Pvt. 1st Class Don Doll, Pvt. John Bell, Capt. James Stein, Cpl. Fife, and dozens more just like them—infantrymen who are about to land, grim and white-faced, on an atoll in the Pacific called Guadalcanal. This is their story, a shatteringly realistic walk into hell and back. In the days ahead, some will earn medals, others will do anything they can dream up to get evacuated before they land in a muddy grave. But they will all discover the thin red line that divides the sane from the mad—and the living from the dead—in this unforgettable portrait that captures for all time the total experience of men at war. Foreword by Francine Prose “Brutal, direct, and powerful . . . The men are real, the words are real, death is real, imminent and immediate.”—Los Angeles Times “A rare and splendid accomplishment . . . strong and ambitious, spacious, and as honest as any novel ever written.”— Newsweek “[A] major novel of combat in World War II . . . reminiscent of Stephen Crane in The Red Badge of Courage.”—The Christian Science Monitor “The Thin Red Line moves so intensely and inexorably that it almost seems like the war it is describing.”—The New York Times Book Review
Book
The Eagle Has Landed
by Jack Higgins
As the Allied forces slowly begin turning the tide of war, Hitler vehemently orders the impossible—kidnap Winston Churchill, or kill him. A crack team of commandos led by a disgraced war hero must venture into the heart of England to carry out their mission, or die trying. Meanwhile, in a quiet seaside village, a beautiful widow and an IRA assassin have already laid the groundwork for what will be the most treacherous plot of the war. It begins on November 6, 1943, when Berlin receivs the fateful message... "First rate...a fascinating adventure story." —San Francisco Chronicle "The master's master of World War II spycraft storytelling...A superb and mysterious tale." —United Press International
Book
Empire of the Sun
by J. G. Ballard
Jim, an eleven-year-old British schoolboy living in Shanghai in 1941, must learn to survive on his own when he is separated from his parents and sent to a Japanese prison camp
Book
Schindler's List
by Thomas Keneally
Historical fiction about a man and the Jews he saved from the Holocaust in Poland.
Item Not Found
ID: 0226751295
(Type: books)
Item Not Found
ID: 1931313164
(Type: books)
Item Not Found
ID: B000HT2OZ8
(Type: books)
Item Not Found
ID: B000FCB4K8
(Type: books)