World War II

The global conflict that took place between 1939 and 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. World War II is also known as the Second World War. It involved the majority of the world's nations, eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis.

It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries.

This category includes non-fiction books as well as historical novels that are set during World War II. ...more

New Releases Tagged "World War II"

Empire of Ashes: Truman, Hirohito, and the Descent into Total War

Ortiz’s War: The Allies' Secret Weapon Against the Nazis in France

They Shall Not See The Dawn: The Manhunt for the Third Reich's Most Wanted

Collapse: A Global History of the Second World War, 1931-1941

Most Read This Week

The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War

Lists

World War II/Holocaust Fiction & Non-fiction

1,030 books — 833 voters

We Were Soldiers Once... and Young by Harold G. Moore

Best Non-fiction War Books

2,266 books — 2,625 voters

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark T. Sullivan

Best WWII Historical Fiction

588 books — 701 voters

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

Best Children's Books about World War II (1939-1945)

388 books — 393 voters

YA Holocaust & WWII Novels

499 books — 792 voters

Best Modern Day Military Accounts

458 books — 633 voters

World War II Books

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The Tattooist of Auschwitz (The Tattooist of Auschwitz, #1)

More world war ii books...

Related Genres

History
War
Holocaust
Hìstory
Hiśtory

Featured News & Interviews

Great New Books to Read for Hispanic Heritage Month

Read »

Quotes Tagged “World War II”

“ ...we're dealing with two devils who both want to rule hell. ...more ”
― Ruta Sepetys, Between Shades of Gray

150 likes

“ SEPTEMBER 1, 1939 I sit in one of the dives On Fifty-second Street Uncertain and afraid As the clever hopes expire Of a low dishonest decade: Waves of anger and fear Circulate over the bright And darkened lands of the earth, Obsessing our private lives; The unmentionable odour of death Offends the September night. Accurate scholarship can Unearth the whole offence From Luther until now That has driven a culture mad, Find what occurred at Linz, What huge imago made A psychopathic god: I and th SEPTEMBER 1, 1939 I sit in one of the dives On Fifty-second Street Uncertain and afraid As the clever hopes expire Of a low dishonest decade: Waves of anger and fear Circulate over the bright And darkened lands of the earth, Obsessing our private lives; The unmentionable odour of death Offends the September night. Accurate scholarship can Unearth the whole offence From Luther until now That has driven a culture mad, Find what occurred at Linz, What huge imago made A psychopathic god: I and the public know What all schoolchildren learn, Those to whom evil is done Do evil in return. Exiled Thucydides knew All that a speech can say About Democracy, And what dictators do, The elderly rubbish they talk To an apathetic grave; Analysed all in his book, The enlightenment driven away, The habit-forming pain, Mismanagement and grief: We must suffer them all again. Into this neutral air Where blind skyscrapers use Their full height to proclaim The strength of Collective Man, Each language pours its vain Competitive excuse: But who can live for long In an euphoric dream; Out of the mirror they stare, Imperialism's face And the international wrong. Faces along the bar Cling to their average day: The lights must never go out, The music must always play, All the conventions conspire To make this fort assume The furniture of home; Lest we should see where we are, Lost in a haunted wood, Children afraid of the night Who have never been happy or good. The windiest militant trash Important Persons shout Is not so crude as our wish: What mad Nijinsky wrote About Diaghilev Is true of the normal heart; For the error bred in the bone Of each woman and each man Craves what it cannot have, Not universal love But to be loved alone. From the conservative dark Into the ethical life The dense commuters come, Repeating their morning vow; 'I will be true to the wife, I'll concentrate more on my work,' And helpless governors wake To resume their compulsory game: Who can release them now, Who can reach the dead, Who can speak for the dumb? All I have is a voice To undo the folded lie, The romantic lie in the brain Of the sensual man-in-the-street And the lie of Authority Whose buildings grope the sky: There is no such thing as the State And no one exists alone; Hunger allows no choice To the citizen or the police; We must love one another or die. Defenseless under the night Our world in stupor lies; Yet, dotted everywhere, Ironic points of light Flash out wherever the Just Exchange their messages: May I, composed like them Of Eros and of dust, Beleaguered by the same Negation and despair, Show an affirming flame. ...more ”
― W.H. Auden, Another Time

321 likes

More quotes...