Book picks similar to
After the War by Richard Marius


historical-fiction
wwi
fiction
world_war

Delirium of the Brave


William C. Harris Jr. - 1998
    Confederate Captain Patrick Driscoll and his dear friend and manservant Shadrack "Shad" Bryan leave their tearful families to help fight for the Southern cause. They are to set up fort at Raccoon Island off Georgia's coast in a last-ditch effort to save their beloved city from Union attack. But only days into their assignment, the two men die in each other's arms in a Yankee bombardment. Though the men are gone, their legacy will live on-as will the legend of the priceless Driscoll family treasure the two men have buried on Raccoon Island.Four generations after the Civil War, many Confederate families still remain in Savannah, struggling through the twentieth-century in a South rife with hardball politics, personal vendettas and the hangover of war.John-Morgan Hartman, son of a newspaper man and great-great grandson of Captain Patrick Driscoll, goes to serve his country in Vietnam, unaware of the physical and psychological wounds that will befall him...Tony O'Boyle is an ambitious young politician who will stop at nothing and spare no one to get ahead-but his family's dark past will come back to haunt him...Lloyd Bryan, descended from slaves, is determined to succeed where his ancestors didn't. But his celebrity as a professional football player immerses him in a world of temptation that ultimately turns him toward religion...Charlotte Drayton, a successful television reporter, has always used her beauty to get her way-but the one man she can't have is the only one she wants...After many years, four friends will meet on the very island where the two confederate soldiers died in each other's arms. To find where they buried Driscoll's treasure-and to uncover the dangerous secrets of a prominent Savannah family.A gripping novel of history, intrigue, war, and love, Delirium of the Brave follows four generations of families contemplating the pain of the past and the promise of the future. Get swept away by this glorious saga rich with the sights, sounds, flavors, and people of the South's most stunning locale.

The Mule Soldiers


Blair Howard - 2014
    Streight, at the head of a brigade of Federal infantry, set out on a 220-mile ride to destroy the Western and Atlantic Railroad at Rome, Georgia. The most fascinating thing about the raid is that Streight’s brigade of four infantry regiments, almost 1,800 soldiers, was mounted on mules, a huge problem in itself; few of his men had ever ridden a horse, let alone a mule. But not only did Streight have almost 1,600 stubborn and wily animals to contend with, he soon found himself being relentlessly pursued by the inimitable Confederate cavalry commander, General Nathan Bedford Forrest. The raid soon turned into a running battle between Streight’s raiders and Forrest's cavalry. For Streight, it was a long and tortuous journey across Northern Alabama. For Forrest, it was one defeat after another at the hands of the very “able” Abel Streight, even though he, Forrest, had the advantage of home territory and the sympathy and aid of the local populace. There are some wildly hilarious moments involving the mules and their new masters; or is it the other way around? There's plenty of action and suspense, and an unforgettable cast of characters, real and fictional, animal and human; some you will come to love, some... not so much. They say that truth is stranger than fiction. This amazing story proves the point, for the end of the story is”� well, unbelievable. The Mule Soldiers is the true story ”" fictionalized ”" of Colonel Abel Streight’s Raid into Northern Alabama that took place from 19 April to 3 May 1863. It is an enthralling and bittersweet story that will stay with you long after you have you have finished reading it. Scroll up and grab a copy today.

The Colour Of Lightning


Paulette Jiles - 2009
    But their dreams are abruptly shattered by a brutal Indian raid upon the Johnsons' settlement while Britt is away establishing a business. Returning to find his friends and neighbors slain or captured, his eldest son dead, his beloved and severely damaged Mary enslaved, and his remaining children absorbed into an alien society that will never relinquish its hold on them, the heartsick freedman vows not to rest until his family is whole again. A soaring work of the imagination based on oral histories of the post-Civil War years in North Texas, Paulette Jiles's The Color of Lightning is at once an intimate look into the hearts and hopes of tragically flawed human beings and a courageous reexamination of a dark American history.

Soul Catcher


Michael C. White - 2007
    Rosetta is a runaway slave who bears the scars, inside and out, of a life of servitude to a cruel and unforgiving master. Her flight is fueled by a passion and determination only a mother could feel, and she would rather die than let anyone drag her back to hell. In a dark, volatile time prior to the Civil War, fate has bound the hunted and hunter on a remarkable odyssey from Virginia to Boston and back again—an extraordinary test of character and will, mercy and compassion, that will change them both forever.

My Old True Love


Sheila Kay Adams - 2004
    These long, sad stories of heartbreak and betrayal, violence and love, have been sung for generations by the descendents of those who settled the Appalachian mountains in the 1700s. As they raised their children, they taught them first to sing, for the songs told the children everything they needed to know about life. So it was with the Stanton family living in Marshall, North Carolina, during the 1800s. Even Larkin Stanton, just a baby when his parents die and he's taken in by his cousin Arty, starts humming before he starts talking. As he grows up, he hungrily learns every song he can, and goes head-to-head with his cousin Hackley for the best voice, and, of course, the best attentions of the women. It's not long before the two boys find themselves pursuing the affections of the same lovely girl, Mary, who eventually chooses Hackley for her husband. But, just as in the most tragic ballads, there is no stowing away of emotions. And when Hackley leaves his wife under his cousin's care in the midst of the Civil War, Larkin finds himself drawn back to the woman who's held his heart for years. What he does about that love defies all his learning of family and loyalty and reminds us that those mournful ballads didn't just come from the imagination, but from the imperfections of the heart.

A Cage of Eagles


James Follett - 1989
    The British Army calls it No. 1 POW Camp Grizedale Hall. British Intelligence call it their Cage of Eagles. It is the biggest concentration of German prisoner-of-war talent in wartime England. Gathered together are airmen, navigators, radio operators, and U-boatmen. Over 100 skilled and determined men with one thought uppermost in their mind -- escape.

When Empires Collide


Andrew Wareham - 2016
    Never far from his mind is his ‘Monkey’ otherwise known as squire’s daughter, Grace; friends since Tommy returned from America with his aircraft designer father, over time their friendship blossoms into something deeper. With the conflict and speculation about his shadowy half-brother intensifying, Tommy is eventually sent to France as the Corps makes its first haphazard attempts to engage the enemy in the skies over Europe. Books best read in series order. About the Series The Royal Flying Corps grew from the amateur hobbyists flying the earliest and most dangerous machines. Mostly drawn from the Army and Navy, the pilots regarded themselves as gentlemen members of a new club. The Great War saw the death of amateurism - except in the higher ranks - and the unplanned, fortuitous creation of a professional force. Innocents at War follows the career of Anglo-American flier, Tommy Stark, an enthusiastic boy forced to grow up quickly as many around him die. His deep affection for squire’s daughter, Grace is his only certainty as the bitter conflict threatens to strip the world of its innocence. Published by The Electronic Book Company

Lincoln's Story: The Wayfarer


Vel - 2012
    He did not claim he was God’s agent. Did he believe in God? Did he look for a sign when he was desperate? Did he follow the Divine Will? Many believers are not followers; many followers are not believers. Is he a believer or a follower or both?

Weaponsmith


Mike Crawshaw - 2013
    Seven years of the worst war in history – so far – have turned the region into a wasteland where only the sword rules, and only the rats and the bankers grow fat. Roger Hawken, seventeen-year-old Englishman, black sheep of a family of minor landed gentry, leaves his Wiltshire home to take service with a free company of mercenary soldiers based in the Netherlands. Roger’s indiscretions have resulted in his being apprenticed as blacksmith in place of a more gentlemanly occupation, and as a smith he joins the company. Pitchforked into the bloody conflict of the siege of Breda, he finds there is more to his job than shoeing horses and forging short-swords, and starts to make his name as a fighting soldier…

War Brides


Lois Battle - 1982
    Young, idealistic, and eager to live the American dream, Sheila, Dawn, and Gaynor travel by ocean liner to join the soldiers they swore to love when peacetime seemed like a lifetime away. But the world that awaits them on the other shore will challenge their illusions and their love, and force them to summon courage and strength they never knew they had.Lois Battle's ear for dialogue and eye for detail bring characters and places to life as few authors can. Rich with the vibrant language and heady atmosphere of postwar America, War Brides captures the look and feel of one of this country's most memorable eras. But in her portrayal of three women coming face to face with the sometimes harsh and often joyful realities of marriage in a new land, Battle -- herself the daughter of an Australian war bride -- offers a timeless, universal story that will satisfy and entertain readers of every age.

The Soul of Viktor Tronko


David Quammen - 1987
    Convinced that Tronko was working as a disinformation agent, the CIA furiously did everything they could to break him. But Tronko had one more surprise for them: he refused to break.Almost two decades later, former CIA officer Mel Pokorny shows up at journalist Michael Kessler’s house and offers to talk about Tronko. It’s the scoop of a lifetime for Kessler. But the more he investigates, the closer he gets to the truth: a truth so shocking that someone would do anything to keep it under wraps. This could be the biggest story of his life…if it doesn’t kill him first.Filled with fascinating characters and darkly delicious humor, The Soul of Viktor Tronko is a rich, suspenseful espionage saga inspired by a true story.

Burr


Gore Vidal - 1973
    With their broad canvas and large cast of fictional and historical characters, the novels in this series present a panorama of the American political and imperial experience as interpreted by one of its most worldly, knowing, and ironic observers. Burr is a portrait of perhaps the most complex and misunderstood of the Founding Fathers. In 1804, while serving as vice president, Aaron Burr fought a duel with his political nemesis, Alexander Hamilton, and killed him. In 1807, he was arrested, tried, and acquitted of treason. In 1833, Burr is newly married, an aging statesman considered a monster by many. Burr retains much of his political influence if not the respect of all. And he is determined to tell his own story. As his amanuensis, he chooses Charles Schermerhorn Schuyler, a young New York City journalist, and together they explore both Burr's past and the continuing political intrigues of the still young United States.

The Wolf Cub


David Pilling - 2015
    The great city of Constantinople, last remnant of the once-mighty Roman Empire, falls to the Ottoman armies of Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror. An English knight named Sir John Page is taken prisoner by the Ottomans, and forced to entertain the Sultan with tales of the West. Page chooses to tell the story of his own long career as a soldier of fortune in France, Bohemia and the Italian city-states. Page’s tale begins in the year of Agincourt, Henry V’s famous victory over the French. As the bastard son of Thomas Page, a famous mercenary captain known as The Half-Hanged Man or The Wolf of Burgundy, Page soon acquires the nickname of The Wolf Cub. After slaying his cousin in a duel, Page flees his home and joins a band of outlaws in the forests of Sussex. At last - tired of the brutality of his companions - he decides to leave England and join the English army in Normandy. There he endures brutal sieges, vicious combats, torture, betrayal and imprisonment, all to win glory and redeem his father's name. Trapped in the Sultan’s prison, Page must hope his story is enough to save him from the executioner’s blade....at least for another three days...

The Cyclist: A World War 2 Novel: World War 2 Romance (World War II Adventure Series Book 1)


Fred Nath - 2010
    Nath’s biggest success is the sustained atmospheric tension that he creates somewhat effortlessly."- Little Interpretations "A haunting and bittersweet novel that stays with you long after the final chapter – always the sign of a really well-written and praiseworthy story. It would also make an excellent screenplay."- Historical Novels Review - Editor's Choice, Feb 2011Nazi occupied Aquitaine, 1943: A young woman is found murdered in the shadow of the Bergerac Prefecture. Auguste Ran, Assistant Chief of Police, suspects Brunner, a German Security Police Major, of the crime. The more Auguste investigates, the more obsessed he becomes with bringing down the seemingly untouchable Brunner.Auguste begins to realise he has been conveniently ignoring the Nazi atrocities going on around him, and understands too late the human cost of his own participation in the internment of the local Jewish population.Driven by conscience and struggling with his Catholic religious beliefs, his actions start to put his own family at risk. Harbouring the daughter of his lifelong Jewish friend Pierre, they are forced into a desperate trek towards neighbouring Switzerland, pursued all the way by the German Sicherheitspolizei.The Cyclist is the first in Fredrik Nath's series of World War 2 novels. The adventures continue in Farewell Bergerac, Francesca Pascal. Find out more about The Cyclist and Fredrik Nath's other holocaust novels in his 3D author room at http://inkflash.com/FredrikNath

Stonewall's Gold: A Novel of the Civil War


Robert J. Mrazek - 1998
    Combining a fascinating and gripping narrative with a portrait of life in the Civil War-era South, it is also the moving story of a boy on the edge of manhood, taking on difficult challenges that force him to confront the world for the first time.The year of 1864 is a difficult time to be living in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia. The Civil War is drawing to a close and, under the orders of General Sheridan, Union troops have laid waste to the countryside. Against this bleak backdrop, Jamie Lockhart's mother takes on a boarder to help her eke out a living until her husband returns from the war.Soon, someone begins desecrating local soldier's graves, and Jamie, an intrepid fifteen-year-old, discovers that their boarder is the culprit. Confronted, the boarder assaults Jamie's mother; defending her, Jamie kills him. In his personal effects Jamie discovers the item he was looking for in the graveyard, a cryptic map to Stonewall's gold. Thus begins Jamie's quest.Along the way, Jamie is faced with the best and the worst in human nature, and meets a young girl and falls in love for the first time. He becomes privy to the hidden politics behind the war when he stumbles upon escaped slaves on the Underground Railroad, and he is also forced to confront the ugly realities of war and the absurdity of the lost cause in the final days of the conflict.A ripping adventure yarn, a moving coming-of-age tale, and a fascinating portrait of the difficulty of life in the Appalachians at the end of the Civil War, Stonewall's Gold is a compelling novel that is certain to appeal to teacher and student alike.