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Nathan wrote: "Hey Everyone, I love historic fiction, (which of course is obvious since I’m in this group) but I feel like I read the same wars/conflicts every time. Does anyone have any recommendations of some ..."
Are you more comfortable with recent eras, or do you want to go further back? The ancient and medieval worlds have some fascinating stories.
I do agree, though, about the current glut of books on WW2. It's become tedious.
The Napoleonic/Peninsular War is a rich field, particularly if you're interested in naval warfare. Patrick O'Brian's series starting with Master and Commander is well worth reading.
For the Peninsular War there's Sharpe, of course, and Georgette Heyer's The Spanish Bride is good on the military side, if you don't mind a romance with a very young heroine. It's a true story, and based on the diaries and memoirs of actual participants.
I agree about the era of the Napoleonic Wars—though I’m more interested in stories about the lives of ordinary people as they’re affected by war than in war stories per se. There was so much ferment in the realm of ideas, plus the beginning of industrialization in England, the disappearance of the feudal way of life in France, the invention of new governmental structures in the United States and France, and all those changes impacting and growing out of one another. Italy too in that era had a very complex and fascinating history.
The Dutch period of NY (1624-1664) is fascinating because it was affected directly and indirectly with many wars (Kieft's War and other conflicts with the Lenape natives, 30 Years War, the Dutch Revolt, 3 Anglo-Dutch Wars, and the Franco-Dutch War.)The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony That Shaped America is a wonderful narrative non-fiction about the Dutch era of NY. It re-examines the cartoonish portrayals of the last Dutch governor, peg-leg Peter Stuyvesant, and the purchase of Manhattan for $24 of goods by Piere Minuit. The real hero is Adriaen van der Donck- a young lawyer who pushed for early representative democracy a century before the founding fathers- and was largely forgotten. Several wars affect his struggles so it's less about a particular war than how unrelated conflicts impede progress.
The Mevrouw Who Saved Manhattan: A Novel of New Amsterdam is a more fictional story based around a female taproom owner and The Orphanmaster has a murder/mystery set in the same era.
Nathan wrote: "Does anyone have any recommendations of some unique or unappreciated books with Wars other than WW1, WW2, The USA’s Civil War, or the Vietnam War?"You're still looking for books centering a war, just not these specific ones?
If yes, then maybe Push Not the River, which is the first book of the Poland Trilogy by James Conroyd Martin. It takes place during the Napoleonic Wars, and how that impacted Poland. I loved it years ago when I read it, but I never finished the series. (As with SO many series that I start. LOL)
The Last Kingdom - This is the story of the making of England in the 9th and 10th centuries, the years in which King Alfred the Great, his son and grandson defeated the Danish Vikings who had invaded and occupied three of England’s four kingdoms.
Someone Knows My Name - takes place during the US Revolutionary War, and one enslaved woman's work to get free and help British abolitionists form a new colony in Sierra Leone. Excellent book.
People of the Book is... not SPECIFICALLY about war, since it is specifically about the history of a book, but the history of that book flows through several wars and conflicts and the Inquisition, so perhaps it may be something you're looking for.
The Murmur of Bees is set during the Mexican Revolution and the 1918 influenza pandemic. It's categorized as historical fiction/magical realism, but there are some quite interesting political events that you may still find interesting.
Also, it's TECHNICALLY fantasy, but you may enjoy The Lions of Al-Rassan. It takes place in a medieval Spain-esque setting, among a lot of strife and holy war conflicts.
Since I've already given a couple recs in this "not strictly HF" area, two books on the Trojan War:
The Song of Troy by Colleen McCullough.
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, which takes a different, more personal approach to Achilles. Both are excellent.
I haven't read this one (yet?), but Dreaming the Eagle is about Boudica, the warrior who battled for Celtic England against Imperial Rome.
Labyrinth by Kate Mosse takes place in France during the Crusades.
I'd be remiss if I didn't recommend Shōgun. It's set toward the end of the Sengoku period of warring states within Japan. It is an amazing novel, and I highly recommend it.
If you're just looking for HF that isn't about those wars, then here are a few others:
Speaks the Nightbird by Robert McCammon - this is set in 1699 and is about a witch trial, but not Salem.
Lonesome Dove - It's just a perfect book. :D
The Alienist - Just trust me on this one. :)
The Anatomy of Ghosts
Also Elieen, anything works! Thanks for the clarification.
I can recommend Ironfire by David Ball, about the Siege of Malta and The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman, about the Wars of the Roses.
Nathan wrote: "Also Elieen, anything works! Thanks for the clarification."I will just second most of the books mentioned here! Push Not the River, Colleen Mccullough, Sharp, The Last Kingdom, The Alienist, People of the Book - all fabulous recommendations!
Nathan wrote: "Hey Everyone, I love historic fiction, (which of course is obvious since I’m in this group) but I feel like I read the same wars/conflicts every time. Does anyone have any recommendations of some ..."
These are probably not what you are used to but I highly recommend the following short novels by the french author Joseph Andras:
'Tomorrow They Won't Dare to Murder US' (about the French war in Algeria post WWII) and
'Faraway the Southern Sky: A Novel' which is about the genesis of the Vietnam war.
Books I’ve recently enjoyed covering different time periods:The Lion Women of Tehran
The Book of Longings
And these 3 written by multiple authors:
A Year of Ravens: A Novel of Boudica's Rebellion
A Song of War: A Novel of Troy
A Day of Fire: A Novel of Pompeii
'If God Will Spare My Life...'Hi Nathan
Don't know if you're still looking, but I would recommend, ahem, my own If God Will Spare My Life, an acclaimed historical fiction novel about the Plains Indian Wars of the 1870s - or more specifically the Battle of Little Bighorn.
As you're clearly an aficionado of war books I would say the nearest modern equivalent of the Plains Indian Wars would be Vietnam.
In both cases you have US troops fighting in hostile and alien enemy territory against a foe that knows it itimately.
Anyway, just a thought!
kind regards
Mike Lewis
Nathan wrote: "Hey Everyone,
I love historic fiction, (which of course is obvious since I’m in this group) but I feel like I read the same wars/conflicts every time. Does anyone have any recommendations of some ..."
Becky wrote: "Nathan wrote: "Does anyone have any recommendations of some unique or unappreciated books with Wars other than WW1, WW2, The USA’s Civil War, or the Vietnam War?"You're still looking for books ce..."
What a great list! I have read many of these, and will definitely fill in my gaps based on you recs.
I love historic fiction, (which of course is obvious since I’m in this group) but I feel like I read the same wars/conflicts every time. Does anyone have any recommendations of some unique or unappreciated books with Wars other than WW1, WW2, The USA’s Civil War, or the Vietnam War? I find all books in these genres great, and I appreciate them just as much as any other war, but I wan’t to be able to appreciate more wars than these. Y’know? I want to learn about different cultures, and hear from a generally different time period or part of the world. Every war that is fought is important, and I want to give the others more appreciation. All wars deserve to be thought as important in one’s mind.
Thanks for the suggestions!!! :D
-Nathan P.