100 books like To End All Wars

By Adam Hochschild,

Here are 100 books that To End All Wars fans have personally recommended if you like To End All Wars. Shepherd is a community of 11,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Anyush

Susan Lanigan Author Of White Feathers

From my list on World War One that don’t have the same old story.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a writer based in Ireland. When I was fifteen, I read about the Battle of Verdun, and the horror and ineptitude of it led me into an obsession with World War I. Visiting the Imperial War Museum, I learned about the white feather of cowardice, bestowed by girls upon men out of uniform. Such a transformation of a symbol of peace to an instrument of stigma and shame made me think of Irish society as well as British. When White Feathers was published, its refusal to follow a sentimental “Tommy in the trenches” line angered some revisionist critics. But in the end, it is a passionate and intense love story with resistance.

Susan's book list on World War One that don’t have the same old story

Susan Lanigan Why did Susan love this book?

Anyush’s eponymous heroine is a young Armenian girl whose life is turned upside-down by the genocide carried out by the Ottomans under the Young Turks during fighting in World War One. I was only vaguely aware of the genocide before picking up the novel and it combines a beautiful love story between Anyush and Turkish captain Jahan with a vivid account of the horrors people faced. Beautifully researched and written by Martine Madden, it’s a book that both enthralled and humbled me. 

By Martine Madden,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Anyush as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Ottoman Empire, 1915

On the Black Sea coast, Anyush Charcoudian dances at her friend's wedding, dreaming of a life beyond her small Armenian village. Defying tradition, she embarks on a secret and dangerous affair with a Turkish officer, Captain Jahan Orfalea. As the First World War rages, the Armenian people are branded enemies of the state, and atrocities grow day by day. Torn apart and catapulted into a struggle to survive in the face of persecution and hatred, the lovers strive desperately to be reunited.


Book cover of A Long Long Way

Mary Chamberlain Author Of The Forgotten

From my list on forgotten (or untold) histories of war.

Why am I passionate about this?

History and literature have been my two passions in life, and I’ve been lucky enough to have had a career in both. I’m fascinated in particular by history ‘from below,’ the stories of those disenfranchised – by gender, race, class – from the historical record. My non-fiction books, focusing on oral histories of women, and the Caribbean, reflect this. Untold histories continue in my fiction. My novels are set in WWII, telling parts of its history rarely encountered in the official record – of women trafficked and abused, of survival and misogyny, of the long shadow of war trauma on the soldiers who fought and the society that silenced them

Mary's book list on forgotten (or untold) histories of war

Mary Chamberlain Why did Mary love this book?

I think Sebastian Barry is one of the greatest contemporary novelists whose prose unfailingly sings, pirouettes, and enriches. I would recommend all his novels, which take various members of the Dunne or McNulty families over time and place. This particular novel is set in the First World War and follows Willie Dunne as he leaves Dublin to fight for the British, only to find himself caught on the wrong side at the Easter uprising and having to face his own countrymen. It is a brilliant depiction of a young Irish tommy out of his depth in a brutal war, fighting on the side of a country for whom he has mixed loyalties, of the ambivalence and tension of the Irish war of independence, and those caught in its cross hairs.

By Sebastian Barry,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked A Long Long Way as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Praised as a "master storyteller" (The Wall Street Journal) and hailed for his "flawless use of language" (Boston Herald), Irish author and playwright Sebastian Barry has created a powerful new novel about divided loyalties and the realities of war.

Sebastian Barry's latest novel, Days Without End, is now available.

In 1914, Willie Dunne, barely eighteen years old, leaves behind Dublin, his family, and the girl he plans to marry in order to enlist in the Allied forces and face the Germans on the Western Front. Once there, he encounters a horror of violence and gore he could not have imagined…


Book cover of Fallen

Susan Lanigan Author Of White Feathers

From my list on World War One that don’t have the same old story.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a writer based in Ireland. When I was fifteen, I read about the Battle of Verdun, and the horror and ineptitude of it led me into an obsession with World War I. Visiting the Imperial War Museum, I learned about the white feather of cowardice, bestowed by girls upon men out of uniform. Such a transformation of a symbol of peace to an instrument of stigma and shame made me think of Irish society as well as British. When White Feathers was published, its refusal to follow a sentimental “Tommy in the trenches” line angered some revisionist critics. But in the end, it is a passionate and intense love story with resistance.

Susan's book list on World War One that don’t have the same old story

Susan Lanigan Why did Susan love this book?

Set in the period 1914-1916, it follows the life of Kate Crilly, a young girl whose brother Liam has just been killed in the Great War. This loss binds Kate to Liam’s comrade in arms, Hubie Wilson. Meanwhile, the tensions of the Rising are at boiling point and Dublin is turning into a battleground as Kate doubles back and across the River Liffey checking on her family, her friends and her desperately ill sister. Mills excels at describing the nature of grief and how one lives with it, rather than dwelling on the immediate impact of the loss per se. Beautiful, limpid prose and imagery, really enjoyed.

By Lia Mills,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Fallen as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Fallen by Lia Mills - a remarkable love story amidst the ruins of the First World War and the Easter Rising
SELECTED AS THE 2016 'ONE CITY ONE BOOK' TITLE FOR BOTH DUBLIN AND BELFAST

Spring, 1915. Katie Crilly gets the news she dreaded: her beloved twin brother, Liam, has been killed on the Western Front.

A year later, when her home city of Dublin is suddenly engulfed by the violence of the Easter Rising, Katie finds herself torn by conflicting emotions and loyalties. Taking refuge in the home of a friend, she meets Hubie Wilson, a friend of Liam's…


Book cover of The Watermelon Boys

Susan Lanigan Author Of White Feathers

From my list on World War One that don’t have the same old story.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a writer based in Ireland. When I was fifteen, I read about the Battle of Verdun, and the horror and ineptitude of it led me into an obsession with World War I. Visiting the Imperial War Museum, I learned about the white feather of cowardice, bestowed by girls upon men out of uniform. Such a transformation of a symbol of peace to an instrument of stigma and shame made me think of Irish society as well as British. When White Feathers was published, its refusal to follow a sentimental “Tommy in the trenches” line angered some revisionist critics. But in the end, it is a passionate and intense love story with resistance.

Susan's book list on World War One that don’t have the same old story

Susan Lanigan Why did Susan love this book?

Again set in the Middle East, this novel about Ahmad and Carwyn, Arab and Welsh, who are both drawn into the war on its Eastern Front, is an absorbing story from a part of the world that has been neglected in World War I fiction. The two men are both betrayed by the English in different ways, and Izzidien’s Iraqi-Welsh heritage allows her to draw a compassionate picture of both protagonists. It also shows how the rapacious European colonialist mentality that underpinned the entire war created the conditions for terrorism and strife in the region today.

By Ruqaya Izzidien,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Watermelon Boys as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Shortlisted for The Betty Trask Prize

It is the winter of 1915 and Iraq has been engulfed by the First World War. Hungry for independence from Ottoman rule, Ahmad leaves his peaceful family life on the banks of the Tigris to join the British-led revolt. Thousands of miles away, Welsh teenager Carwyn reluctantly enlists and is sent, via Gallipoli and Egypt, to the Mesopotamia campaign.

Carwyn’s and Ahmad’s paths cross, and their fates are bound together. Both are forever changed, not only by their experience of war, but also by the parallel discrimination and betrayal they face.

Ruqaya Izzidien’s evocative…


Book cover of Reaper's Fall

Victoria Jayne Author Of Jacob

From my list on motorcycle club romance.

Why am I passionate about this?

Maybe it was because I fell in love with Sons of Anarchy and needed more when the series ended. Maybe it was because I’ve always loved alpha holes. Either way, motorcycle club romances just fit in my reader wheelhouse. There's something about the ultimate bad boys who will burn the world down for that one woman. I think what appeals to me most is that these couples, their relationships, are never perfect. The men don’t magically become the perfect boyfriends. They still screw up, but they love in their own gritty, possessive, dirty way with their whole hearts. When I devoured every audiobook I could find, I decided to try my hand at writing one. 

Victoria's book list on motorcycle club romance

Victoria Jayne Why did Victoria love this book?

Painter screwed up. He made the wrong choice and he knew it. Melanie swore off bikers to protect her daughter. It didn’t matter that they still loved each other. They couldn’t be together. Until Melanie makes the wrong choice and violates their rules.

This second chance romance had hold of my emotions from page one. I went on a roller coaster with Painter and Melanie.

By Joanna Wylde,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Reaper's Fall as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The New York Times bestselling author of Reaper’s Stand is back in her “uber-alpha rough world of MCs”* as one woman’s future is rocked by the man whose hardcore past could destroy her…

He never meant to hurt her.

Levi “Painter” Brooks was nothing before he joined the Reapers motorcycle club. The day he patched in, they became his brothers and his life. All they asked in return was a strong arm and unconditional loyalty—a loyalty that’s tested when he’s caught and sentenced to prison for a crime committed on their behalf.

Melanie Tucker may have had a rough start,…


Book cover of Sky in the Deep

Lindsey Pogue Author Of Tide and Tempest: A Forgotten Lands Novel

From my list on historical fiction and fantasy.

Why am I passionate about this?

I write historical fiction and survival adventures, but I’m a historian at heart. The past fascinates me and provides the best fodder to explore age-old questions about life, love, and the hero and heroine’s journey to greatness. History has sparked inspiration for some of the most beautiful fictional and reimagined stories I’ve ever read, and transports readers to places long forgotten and unknown—and all without cell phones and internet at the core. Perhaps that’s what I love—a crueler but more hard-earned, simpler life. I hope you enjoy these epic tales of love and adventure as much as I did, and lose yourself in the magic of story. 

Lindsey's book list on historical fiction and fantasy

Lindsey Pogue Why did Lindsey love this book?

I love a book that not only transports me to new lands, but that feeds my historical nerdiness. I’m a history major by trade and author at heart. I love historical epics that feel real and ancient and include a dash of romance. Sky in the Deep does not disappoint. It’s a kickass read!

By Adrienne Young,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Sky in the Deep as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

A 2018 Most Anticipated Young Adult book from debut author Adrienne Young, Sky in the Deep is part Wonder Woman, part Vikings―and all heart.

OND ELDR. BREATHE FIRE.

Raised to be a warrior, seventeen-year-old Eelyn fights alongside her Aska clansmen in an ancient, rivalry against the Riki clan. Her life is brutal but simple: fight and survive. Until the day she sees the impossible on the battlefield―her brother, fighting with the enemy―the brother she watched die five years ago.

Faced with her brother's betrayal, she must survive the winter in the mountains with the Riki, in a village where every…


Book cover of Exit, Voice, and Loyalty: Responses to Decline in Firms, Organizations, and States

Rajiv Sethi Author Of Shadows of Doubt: Stereotypes, Crime, and the Pursuit of Justice

From my list on human interactions and the complexity of social life.

Why am I passionate about this?

Rajiv Sethi is an economist, currently a professor at Barnard College, Columbia University, and an external professor at the Santa Fe Institute. His research deals with information and beliefs, with particular focus on how stereotypes condition interactions among strangers. 

Rajiv's book list on human interactions and the complexity of social life

Rajiv Sethi Why did Rajiv love this book?

This breathtakingly original book examines two interconnected ways in which organizations can be induced to improve performance—abandonment (exit) and complaint (voice).

If exit is too easy, there may not be enough time for voice to operate, and organizations that could have recovered may end up collapsing instead. Loyalty to the organization can slow exit and create space for voice to operate, but not if loyalty is blind and uncritical. 

By Albert O. Hirschman,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Exit, Voice, and Loyalty as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An innovator in contemporary thought on economic and political development looks here at decline rather than growth. Albert O. Hirschman makes a basic distinction between alternative ways of reacting to deterioration in business firms and, in general, to dissatisfaction with organizations: one, "exit," is for the member to quit the organization or for the customer to switch to the competing product, and the other, "voice," is for members or customers to agitate and exert influence for change "from within." The efficiency of the competitive mechanism, with its total reliance on exit, is questioned for certain important situations. As exit often…


Book cover of Embassytown

Gillian Cross Author Of After Tomorrow

From my list on about communication.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been writing children’s books all my adult life. That means trying to find ways to communicate exactly what I’m imagining. I love words and stories. As a teenager, I wrote down my favourite words and carried them around with me. When I had children, I was fascinated by how fast they learned to make themselves understood, with and without words. The words we choose are important – but they’re only one way to communicate. What about pictures? Body language? Online media? Pheromones? The signals animals and plants give out? The more I learn about communication, the more fascinating it becomes.

Gillian's book list on about communication

Gillian Cross Why did Gillian love this book?

I like science fiction when it’s about big ideas and they don’t come much bigger than this. Imagine a world where the alien inhabitants are incapable of lying. They can’t even use figures of speech, like similes, unless someone has acted out what they want to use as a comparison. (Avice, the girl who ate what was given to her, is the human simile who narrates the story.) Sounds idyllic? Maybe – until you start thinking about how you’d make plans, or discuss ideas. This isn’t an easy read, but it’s fascinating and it made me think hard.

By China Miéville,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Embassytown as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Winner of the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, China Mieville's astonishing Embassytown is an intelligent and immersive exploration of language in an alien world.

Embassytown: a city of contradictions on the outskirts of the universe.

Avice is an immerser, a traveller on the immer, the sea of space and time below the everyday, now returned to her birth planet. Here on Arieka, humans are not the only intelligent life, and Avice has a rare bond with the natives, the enigmatic Hosts - who cannot lie.

Only a tiny cadre of unique human Ambassadors can speak Language, and connect…


Book cover of Good Dog

Bobbie Pyron Author Of Stay

From my list on about dogs for grades 3 and up.

Why am I passionate about this?

From the time I was a small, shy child, books and dogs were my best friends. I loved nothing better than reading books about dogs in the company of my dog. I decided that when I grew up, I wanted to be an author. My love of books led to a career as a librarian that lasted over thirty years. Still, I never gave up on my dream of becoming an author. Since then, I have written seven novels for young readers including A Dog’s Way Home, The Dogs of Winter, and my latest award-winning novel, Stay. When I’m not writing, I can be found hiking with my dogs in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.

Bobbie's book list on about dogs for grades 3 and up

Bobbie Pyron Why did Bobbie love this book?

Although I rarely recommend books where the dog dies (I was greatly traumatized by classics Where the Red Fern Grows and Old Yeller), this one is the exception. Brodie was a good, good dog who was wholeheartedly devoted to his boy, Aiden. When Brodie finds himself in the perfect doggy heaven—lots of green grass to roll in and endless balls to chase—Brodie is gripped by a need to go back to Earth and his boy, who he senses is in terrible danger. Aided by a smart, happy-go-lucky pitbull and snarky cat, Brodie makes his way back to Earth and Aiden at the risk of losing his soul. I love this book because it stays firmly in the perspective of the dog (and other animals) with a masterful use of sensory details. Give this book to your reader who likes books that are suspenseful while also exploring deeper themes. 

By Dan Gemeinhart,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Good Dog as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

Brodie was a good dog. And good dogs go to heaven. Except Brodie can't move on. He can't forget the boy he left behind. The boy he loved, and who loved him in return.The boy who's still in danger.So Brodie breaks the rules of heaven. He returns to Earth as a spirit. With the help of two other lost souls-lovable pitbull Tuck and surly house-cat Patsy-he is determined to find his boy and to save him. Even if it costs him paradise. Because it's what a good dog would do.


Book cover of Hachiko: The True Story of a Loyal Dog

Ying Chang Compestine Author Of Dragon Noodle Party

From my list on Asian stories and voices.

Why am I passionate about this?

Ying Chang Compestine is the multi-talented author of 25 books including fiction, picture books, and cookbooks. Frequently sought after by the media, Ying has been featured on numerous national television programs, is regularly profiled in prestigious news media outlets, and has been named one of the "50 Great Writers You Should Be Reading" by The Author's Show. Her keen interest in cuisine has led her to weave food into all of her writing–including cookbooks, novels, and picture books for young readers. Ying grew up in Wuhan, China during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. She uses these experiences, as well as her passion for food, in all her writing.

Ying's book list on Asian stories and voices

Ying Chang Compestine Why did Ying love this book?

Hachiko is a tale of genuine friendship that holds an important lesson on the cultural value of loyalty.

Turner really captures the essence of Japan in her colorful and heartfelt retelling of the legend of Hachiko, the dog that faithfully waited for its owner at a train station after his passing.

By Pamela S. Turner, Yan Nascimbene (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Hachiko as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 6, 7, 8, and 9.

What is this book about?

Imagine walking to the same place every day, to meet your best friend. Imagine watching hundreds of people pass by every morning and every afternoon. Imagine waiting, and waiting, and waiting. For ten years. This is what Hachiko did.
Hachiko was a real dog who lived in Tokyo, a dog who faithfully waited for his owner at the Shibuya train station long after his owner could not come to meet him. He became famous for his loyalty and was adored by scores of people who passed through the station every day. This is Hachiko’s story through the eyes of Kentaro,…


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