Living History:Historical Fiction
Explore captivating historical fiction books that bring history to life. Discover top picks in living history novels for immersive reads that transport you to the past.
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The Source
by James Albert Michener
In this compelling novel, Michener sweeps readers back through time to the very beginnings of the Jewish faith, thousands of years ago, to experience the entire colorful history of the JewsQfrom the lives of the early Hebrews to the impact of Christianity, the Crusades, and the Spanish Inquisition to present-day Israel and the Middle-East conflict. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.
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Moses
by Howard Fast
This definitive new edition of Howard Fast's riveting novel protrays the early years of the man who would lead his people out of slavery to freedom. In MOSES, the author uses his widely acclaimed story-telling skills to paint a protrait of the most fascinating figure of the Bible. The child Moses grows to adulthood in the royal household of Ramses II, surrounded by the political factions, sensing, but not fully understanding the paradox of his singular position. Through the strikingly contrasting events of Moses' epic life, Howard Fast traces the growth of his character as a biblical hero. He takes us into the white house above the first cataract as Moses experiences his first love; watches as Moses endures the savage Egyptian campaigns against the black men of the Kush; and recalls the young man's rebellion against the Egyptian priesthood. Renouncing his royal trappings, Moses casts his lot with his own people, the Jews, and becomes for all time, an inspiration to the world.
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Sarum
by Edward Rutherfurd
A masterpiece that is breathtaking in its scope, SARUM is an epic novel that traces the entire turbulent course of English history. This rich tapesty weaves a compelling saga of five families who preserve their own particular characteristics over the centuries, and offer a fascinating glimpse into the future.
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London
by Edward Rutherfurd
“A TOUR DE FORCE . . . London tracks the history of the English capital from the days of the Celts until the present time. . . . Breathtaking.”—The Orlando Sentinel A master of epic historical fiction, Edward Rutherford gives us a sweeping novel of London, a glorious pageant spanning two thousand years. He brings this vibrant city's long and noble history alive through his saga of ever-shifting fortunes, fates, and intrigues of a half-dozen families, from the age of Julius Caesar to the twentieth century. Generation after generation, these families embody the passion, struggle, wealth, and verve of the greatest city in the Old World. Praise for London “Remarkable . . . The invasion by Julius Caesar’s legions in 54 B.C. . . . The rise of chivalry and the Crusades . . . The building of the Globe theatre . . . and the coming of the Industrial Revolution. . . . What a delightful way to get the feel of London and of English history. . . . We witness first-hand the lust of Henry VIII. We overhear Geoffrey Chaucer deciding to write The Canterbury Tales. . . . Each episode is a punchy tale made up of bite-size chunks ending in tiny cliffhangers.”—The New York Times “Hold-your-breath suspense, buccaneering adventure, and passionate tales of love and war.”—The Times (London) “Fascinating . . . A sprawling epic.”—San Francisco Chronicle
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Poland
by James Albert Michener
Like the heroic land that is its subject, Poland teems with vivid events and unforgettable characters in the sweeping span of eight tumultuous centuries. In a tradition of resistance to barbarian Tatar invaders and brutal Nazi occupiers, with a heritage of pride that burns through eras of romantic passion and courageous solidarity, three Polish families live out their destinies and - and the drama of a nation.
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Mexico
by James Albert Michener
"Astounding...Fast-moving, Intriguing...James Michener is back in huge, familiar form with MEXICO." LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS Here is the story of an American journalist who travels to Mexico to report on the upcoming duel between two great matadors, but who is ultimately swept up in the dramatic story of his Mexican ancestors. From the brutality and brilliance of the ancients, to the iron fist of the invading Spaniards, to the modern-day Mexicans battling through dust and bloodshed to build a nation upon the ashes of revolution, James Michener weaves it all into an epic human story that ranks with the best of his beloved, bestselling novels. A MAIN SELECTION OF THE BOOK-OF-THE-MONTH CLUB
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Caribbean
by James Albert Michener
"A grand epic." THE CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER Master storyteller James A. Michener sweeps us off to the Caribbean, with a magnificent novel that captures the eternal allure of that glittering string of islands and their tumultuous history. Beginning in 1310 and continuing through Columbus's arrival and the bloody slave revolt of Haiti to the rise of Castro, CARIBBEAN carries us through 700 dramatic years in a tale teeming with revolution and romance, slavery and superstition, heartfelt characters and thunderous destinies. A Dual Main Slection of the Book-of-the-Month Club
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War and Peace
by graf Leo Tolstoy
War and Peace broadly focuses on Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812 and follows three of the most well-known characters in literature: Pierre Bezukhov, the illegitimate son of a count who is fighting for his inheritance and yearning for spiritual fulfillment; Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, who leaves his family behind to fight in the war against Napoleon; and Natasha Rostov, the beautiful young daughter of a nobleman who intrigues both men.
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Forever Flowing
by VasiliÄ Semenovich Grossman
The novel tells the story of Ivan Grigoryevich, who has returned to Russia after thirty years in the Gulag. After short and unsatisfying visits to familiar places and persons in Moscow and Leningrad, the hero settles in a southern provincial town where he briefly establishes a new life with a war widow. Ivan Grigoryevich eventually returns to his boyhood home on the Black Sea, where he is finally able to come to terms with the inhumanity of the new Russian regime.
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Exodus
by Leon Uris
“Passionate summary of the inhuman treatment of the Jewish people in Europe, of the exodus in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries to Palestine, and of the triumphant founding of the new Israel.”—The New York Times Exodus is an international publishing phenomenon—the towering novel of the twentieth century's most dramatic geopolitical event. Leon Uris magnificently portrays the birth of a new nation in the midst of enemies—the beginning of an earthshaking struggle for power. Here is the tale that swept the world with its fury: the story of an American nurse, an Israeli freedom fighter caught up in a glorious, heartbreaking, triumphant era. Here is Exodus—one of the great bestselling novels of all time.
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The Hope
by Herman Wouk
Like no other novelist at work today, Herman Wouk has managed to capture the sweep of history in novels rich in character and alive with drama. In "The Hope," which opens in 1948 and culminates in the miraculous triumph of 1967's Six-Day War, Wouk plunges the reader into the story of a nation struggling for its birth and then its survival. As the tale resumes in "The Glory," Wouk portrays the young nation once again pushed to the brink of annihilation -- and sets the stage for today's ongoing struggle for peace.Taking us from the Sinai to Jerusalem, from dust-choking battles to the Entebbe raid, from Camp David to the inner lives of such historical figures as Golda Meir, Moshe Dayan, and Anwar Sadat, these extraordinary novels have the authenticity and authority of Wouk's finest fiction -- and together strike a resounding chord of hope for all humanity. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.
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The Glory
by Herman Wouk
Like no other novelist at work today, Herman Wouk has managed to capture the sweep of history in novels rich in character and alive with drama. In "The Hope," which opens in 1948 and culminates in the miraculous triumph of 1967's Six-Day War, Wouk plunges the reader into the story of a nation struggling for its birth and then its survival. As the tale resumes in "The Glory," Wouk portrays the young nation once again pushed to the brink of annihilation -- and sets the stage for today's ongoing struggle for peace. Taking us from the Sinai to Jerusalem, from dust-choking battles to the Entebbe raid, from Camp David to the inner lives of such historical figures as Golda Meir, Moshe Dayan, and Anwar Sadat, these extraordinary novels have the authenticity and authority of Wouk's finest fiction -- and together strike a resounding chord of hope for all humanity.
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Alaska
by James Albert Michener
Describes the lives and struggles of humans and animals in Alaskan prehistory and then leaps into the eighteenth century where the historical high points are vividly portrayed.
