I’ve always been fascinated by World War II. Both my grandfather’s enlisted and fought in WWII and I have too many great uncles that didn’t make it home. For obvious reasons, my grandfathers never mentioned the war but I’ve always been fascinated with that time period. This list of books has helped me grasp a multi-faceted war filled with tragedy and unimaginable loss. Originally, I was going to keep this list nonfiction but there are SO many good fiction WWII books that give emotion to an incredibly violent time. I think the nonfiction books are great and give you the education needed to understand what really happened during the war but fiction books give you all the feels and send you back in time. Ready to become a WWII buff? See below for a list of my favorite books in relative chronological order.
In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson
Erik Larson is one of my favorite nonfiction writers (he’s on this list three times…). He somehow tackles a dense subject and personalizes it with character testimony from whatever time period he’s analyzing. He creates a story that teaches you the history of that time while keeping you turning the pages. Set during Hitler’s rise to power, this book focuses on William E. Dodd, America’s first ambassador to Hitler’s Nazi Germany, and his family in 1933. Larson writes on the growth of the Nazi party and the mounting Jewish persecution during the mid-1930s, while emphasizing the largely indifferent American government.
Dead Wake by Erik Larson
Another Erik Larson masterpiece! Larson dives into the last crossing of the Lusitania and the sinking of the ship by a German U-boat during WWII. He examines how the sinking of the Lusitania dealt America its first real blow during the war and its effect on Woodrow Wilson’s administration.
The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson
I told you I really liked Erik Larson, right? In his newest book, Larson chronicles the British experience before America entered into WWII, particularly Churchill’s involvement. Larson shows Churchill’s courage in the face of a growing Nazi threat, his perseverance during long air raids, and his heartfelt loyalty to the British people.
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
The writer of Seabiscuit delivers another fantastic true story of a man who beats all the odds. A story of a man who runs in the Berlin Olympics, joins the Army Air Forces as an airman, and faces life as a POW, Unbroken is filled with Zamperini’s undeniable will to survive.
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer
An authoritative look at the rise and fall of Hitler’s Nazi Germany, Shirer is able to present information through memos, letters, and diaries while adding in his own experience living in Germany as an international correspondent throughout the war. His use of Goebbel’s diaries and other testimony from the Nuremberg Trials, makes this book a clear and detailed account of WWII.
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
Anne Frank’s diary is a quintessential novel on the horrors of World War II. In her diary, Anne Frank records her experiences of living in a confined, secret annex with the ever present fear of discovery and death. I was lucky enough to visit the Anne Frank House and see her story come to life before my eyes. If you ever find yourself in Amsterdam, I highly recommend it.
The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
The best part about this novel is the fact that it’s based on a real true love story. In April 1942, Lale Sokolov is transported to the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau. He quickly discovers his ability to use his privileged position as tattoist to smuggle jewels and money for food for his fellow prisoners. And then he meets Gita, or prisoner 32407, and his life is changed forever.
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
A story set during the French occupation, Marie-Laure flees Paris with her father and stays with a reclusive great uncle in Saint-Malo. Werner Pfenning, an orphan and radio expert, is enlisted in the German army to use his radio talents to track down the resistance. A beautifully interwoven tale of a blind French girl, a Germany boy, and the things people do to try to be good to one another.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
This story is fascinatingly told by Death, who begins this story in Nazi Germany in 1939. Liesel Meminger is a young girl living in Munich. The things she cannot help but take? Books. With the help of her foster father, she learns to read her stolen books and shares them with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
Delve into this story about two very different sisters trying to survive during WWII. Vianne Mauriac’s home is requisitioned by a German captain and she must make difficult choices to keep her and her daughter alive while helping others in any way she can. Her sister, Isabel, fights her own war by joining the French Resistance. This story is a heartbreaking novel that celebrates the resilience and durability of women.
A Woman of No Importance by Sonia Purnell
The French army has fallen and the Vichy government is in cahoots with Nazi Germany. A young American woman, Virginia Hall, is fighting for liberty in France and, according to the Gestapo, is the most dangerous of all Allied spies. Sonia Purnell dives into Virginia’s life – her continuous search for belonging, her loneliness as a spy, and her unending need to fight for France – in this suspenseful book about a woman deployed behind enemy lines.
Code Talker by Chester Nez & Judith Schiess Avila
How did the United States finally create a code the Japanese couldn’t break? During WWII, the Japanese managed to crack every code the United States used. This memoir by one of the original Navajo code talkers explains how the Marines turned to its Navajo recruits who were able to create a secret military language that remained the only unbroken code in modern warfare helping assure victory for the United States in the South Pacific.
Ghost Soldiers by Hampton Sides
Ghost Soldiers exemplifies how many epic stories were untold in the Pacific. This book is the harrowing tale of 121 U.S. troops that slipped behind enemy lines in the Philippines to rescue 513 POWs. Offering a minute-by-minute narration that unfolds alongside intimate portraits of the prisoners and their lives, Sides gives testament to the human spirit and each man’s enormous bravery.
The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang
In December 1937, the Japanese army invaded Nanking, the capital of China, and systematically raped, tortured, and murdered more than 300,000 Chinese civilians. Written in three perspectives – that of Japanese soldiers, the Chinese, and a group of Westerners who created a safety zone within the city – The Rape of Nanking draws on interviews with survivors and other documents that bring to light an incredibly horrifying episode during WWII.
Operation Paperclip by Annie Jacobsen
What happened to all the Nazi scientists after WWII? Were they arrested? Tried? Executed? Some were, but others were brought to the United States in a covert operation code-named Paperclip. In this explosive nonfiction book, Jacobson unveils the secret of America’s post-WWII science programs – the hiring of the Third Reich’s most brilliant scientific minds. Can a person’s knowledge outweigh a person’s crimes?
Alyssa Flores
Alyssa reads hundreds of books a year and is on a never-ending quest to find the perfect book.
