It's the biggest war the world has ever seen and changed the map of Europe forever. More than 70 million people died and entire cities were destroyed. It has also been the inspiration for countless works of literature, art and film. There are so many books about World War 2 that you may not know where to start. The easiest is to narrow down your search by looking at specific categories.
Most people immediately think of the Holocaust when they think about World War 2. Personal accounts of those who lived through it can be very inspiring. One that definitely is stranger than fiction is 'I was Hitler Youth Salomon', which was made into the movie 'Europa Europa'. It is the autobiography of Salomon Perel, a Jewish teenager who ended up in the Hitler Youth. The teenager whose story is probably better known than any other, however, is Anne Frank's. Her 'The Diary of a Young Girl' is all the more poignant because she didn't survive the Nazi occupation of The Netherlands.
Fiction about the war as told from the perspective of children make for gripping reading. In 'The Book Thief', for instance, Death narrates the story of nine-year-old Liesel, a German orphan and book lover. Author Markus Zusak's debut novel won several awards. Another unforgettable nine-year-old German character is John Boyne's creation Bruno, the narrator of 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas'.
Holocaust novels from the perspective of adults abound as well. Edgar Hilsenrath broke away from the mold by making his protagonist in the controversial 'The Nazi and the Barber' a Nazi mass murderer. Mass murders took place all over Europe and one in the Ukraine inspired Jonathan Safran Foer's first work, 'Everything is Illuminated'.
Explaining how and why the Holocaust happened and how it affected the survivors is the theme of many non-fiction works. The Pulitzer Prize-winning 'Maus' is unique in this sense. Art Spiegelman presents his father's account not as pages and pages of text, but as a moving graphic novel.
The war didn't only take place in Europe and was not only about the Holocaust. Several books account what happened in, for instance, the Pacific campaign. 'Flags of Our Fathers' by James Bradley tells the story behind a famous photograph taken at the Battle of Iwo Jima. There is also a variety of publications about the internment of Japanese American civilians that will make you look at the aftermath of Pearl Harbor in a different way.
Several authors have set novels in the Pacific Theater. James Jones, for instance, is known for 'From Here to Eternity' and 'The Thin Red Line'. Africa is one of the settings for another seminal novel, Michael Ondaatje's 'The English Patient'.
While most fictional and biographical books about World War 2 focus on the people involved, you may want to read about the battles themselves. Photograph-filled military-history publications explain how these took place. They will also give you insight into the armory used.
Most people immediately think of the Holocaust when they think about World War 2. Personal accounts of those who lived through it can be very inspiring. One that definitely is stranger than fiction is 'I was Hitler Youth Salomon', which was made into the movie 'Europa Europa'. It is the autobiography of Salomon Perel, a Jewish teenager who ended up in the Hitler Youth. The teenager whose story is probably better known than any other, however, is Anne Frank's. Her 'The Diary of a Young Girl' is all the more poignant because she didn't survive the Nazi occupation of The Netherlands.
Fiction about the war as told from the perspective of children make for gripping reading. In 'The Book Thief', for instance, Death narrates the story of nine-year-old Liesel, a German orphan and book lover. Author Markus Zusak's debut novel won several awards. Another unforgettable nine-year-old German character is John Boyne's creation Bruno, the narrator of 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas'.
Holocaust novels from the perspective of adults abound as well. Edgar Hilsenrath broke away from the mold by making his protagonist in the controversial 'The Nazi and the Barber' a Nazi mass murderer. Mass murders took place all over Europe and one in the Ukraine inspired Jonathan Safran Foer's first work, 'Everything is Illuminated'.
Explaining how and why the Holocaust happened and how it affected the survivors is the theme of many non-fiction works. The Pulitzer Prize-winning 'Maus' is unique in this sense. Art Spiegelman presents his father's account not as pages and pages of text, but as a moving graphic novel.
The war didn't only take place in Europe and was not only about the Holocaust. Several books account what happened in, for instance, the Pacific campaign. 'Flags of Our Fathers' by James Bradley tells the story behind a famous photograph taken at the Battle of Iwo Jima. There is also a variety of publications about the internment of Japanese American civilians that will make you look at the aftermath of Pearl Harbor in a different way.
Several authors have set novels in the Pacific Theater. James Jones, for instance, is known for 'From Here to Eternity' and 'The Thin Red Line'. Africa is one of the settings for another seminal novel, Michael Ondaatje's 'The English Patient'.
While most fictional and biographical books about World War 2 focus on the people involved, you may want to read about the battles themselves. Photograph-filled military-history publications explain how these took place. They will also give you insight into the armory used.
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