Showing posts with label military fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label military fiction. Show all posts

Military Fiction in Honor of Veterans Day



  1. Author Ralph Peters, winner of the American Library Association's W. Y. Boyd Award for Excellence in Military Fiction,  presents a reimagining of the pivotal Civil War battle from the perspectives of a Blue Ridge Confederate sergeant, a bitter survivor of the Great Famine in Ireland, and a German political refugee in Cain at Gettysburg.


  2. Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes is the timeless story of a young Marine lieutenant his comrades, who are dropped into the mountain jungle of Vietnam as boys and forced to fight their way into manhood. Standing in their way are not merely the North Vietnamese but also monsoon rain and mud, leeches and tigers, disease and malnutrition. Almost as daunting are the obstacles they discover between each other: racial tension, competing ambitions, and duplicitous superior officers. But when the company finds itself surrounded and outnumbered by a massive enemy regiment, the Marines are thrust into the raw and all-consuming terror of combat. The experience will change them forever.


  3. The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers: In the midst of a bloody battle in the Iraq War, two soldiers, bound together since basic training, do everything to protect each other from both outside enemies and the internal struggles that come from constant danger. Author Kevin Powers earned the honor of being a  National Book Award Finalist with The Yellow Birds.
To find more military fiction books, visit the library's display located next to the Adult Fiction collection or ask a librarian.



Warfare and the Human Spirit: The Yellow Birds


Highlighted in Amazon’s “Best Books of the Month” and labelled by The New York Times as a "classic of contemporary fiction", The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers is a powerful novel of the Iraq War.  At the age of 17, Powers joined the Army and served in Iraq during 2004 and 2005.  Drawing on these experiences, The Yellow Birds tells the story of two young men trying to stay alive on the battlefield.  Though it is a short novel, it is not an easy or light read as Powers delves into the futility of war and the nature of freedom and free will. 

Coming Of Age in the Israeli Army


Shani Boianjiu’s searing debut novel, The People of Forever Are Not Afraid, tells the story of three young women coming of age in the military.  Yael, Avishag, and Lea grow up together in a small Israeli village.  When they are conscripted into the army, their lives change in unpredictable ways which influences both the women they become and the friendships they sustain.  Intense and full of caustic humor, The People of Forever Are Not Afraid offers a unique picture of military life in the Middle East.