A Decade of Hit Books

Listopia > 1940s Book Lists

The Book Thief by Markus ZusakAll the Light We Cannot See by Anthony DoerrThe Nightingale by Kristin HannahThe Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann ShafferSarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
WWII Historic Fiction
1,533 books — 1,660 voters
1984 by George OrwellAnimal Farm by George OrwellThe Diary of a Young Girl by Anne FrankThe Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-ExupéryThe Stranger by Albert Camus
Best Books of the Decade: 1940s
815 books — 1,159 voters

The Nightingale by Kristin HannahAll the Light We Cannot See by Anthony DoerrThe Book Thief by Markus ZusakBeneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark T. SullivanLilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly
Best WWII Historical Fiction
593 books — 706 voters
The Book Thief by Markus ZusakAll the Light We Cannot See by Anthony DoerrThe Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann ShafferThe Winds of War by Herman WoukThe Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
Best 1940s Historical Fiction
421 books — 469 voters

1776 by David McCulloughTeam of Rivals by Doris Kearns GoodwinLife In Instalments by Danielle SartorelliBattle Cry of Freedom by James M. McPhersonJohn Adams by David McCullough
U.S. History Reading List
484 books — 202 voters
The Book Thief by Markus ZusakCode Name Verity by Elizabeth WeinBetween Shades of Gray by Ruta SepetysRose Under Fire by Elizabeth WeinSalt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
YA Fiction set in the 1940s
263 books — 169 voters

A Spy Among Friends by Ben MacintyreIron Curtain by Anne ApplebaumSaigon Warrior by Al McDonaldThe Triumph of Improvisation by James Graham WilsonThe Billion Dollar Spy by David E. Hoffman
The Cold War (nonfiction)
381 books — 134 voters
A Bridge Too Far by Cornelius RyanThe Longest Day by Cornelius RyanBand of Brothers by Stephen E. AmbroseAn Army at Dawn by Rick AtkinsonCitizen Soldiers by Stephen E. Ambrose
Must Read World War II Military History - European Theater of Operations (nonfiction)
317 books — 120 voters

1984 by George OrwellSpace Cadet by Robert A. HeinleinEarth Abides by George R. StewartAnimal Farm by George OrwellRed Planet by Robert A. Heinlein
Classic Science Fiction - 1940-1949
75 books — 115 voters
Towards Blue Skies by Adele MinnarBlackout by Connie WillisThe Raiders and the Cross by Patrick LarsimontAll Clear by Connie WillisThe English Agent by Clare Harvey
The Blitz: Fiction & Non-Fiction
202 books — 103 voters

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper LeeCharlotte's Web by E.B. WhiteThe Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg LarssonThe Hunger Games by Suzanne CollinsThe Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larsson
New York Times Bestsellers
232 books — 84 voters
Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskeyPippi Longstocking by Astrid LindgrenCurious George by H.A. ReyLittle Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls WilderBlueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey
Best Children's Books of the 1940s
237 books — 72 voters

Born of Gilded Mountains by Amanda DykesThe Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. LewisAll the Light We Cannot See by Anthony DoerrThe Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann ShafferThe Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Fiction Set in 1940s
268 books — 65 voters
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria RemarqueA Farewell to Arms by Ernest HemingwayGoodbye to All That by Robert GravesAshenden by W. Somerset MaughamStorm of Steel by Ernst Jünger
Vintage Novels & Memoirs About World War I
80 books — 54 voters

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth WeinCharlotte Gray by Sebastian FaulksA Life in Secrets by Sarah HelmThe Alice Network by Kate QuinnThe Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
If You Liked Agent Carter, Try...
193 books — 45 voters
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. LewisThe War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker BradleyGood Night, Mr. Tom by Michelle MagorianCarrie's War by Nina BawdenThe Sky Is Falling by Kit Pearson
War Guests in Children's Literature
98 books — 44 voters

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise BrownMadeline by Ludwig BemelmansMake Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskeyThe Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix PotterThe Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
Picture Books of the 1940s and Before
300 books — 44 voters
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper LeeGone with the Wind by Margaret MitchellThe Book Thief by Markus ZusakA Prayer for Owen Meany by John IrvingCutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
Favorite Books of Women Born in the 40s and 50s
449 books — 38 voters

FDR by Jean Edward SmithNo Ordinary Time by Doris Kearns GoodwinThe Defining Moment by Jonathan AlterFranklin and Winston by Jon MeachamTraitor to His Class by H.W. Brands
Franklin Delano Roosevelt: A Reading List (nonfiction)
146 books — 36 voters
The Let Them Theory by Mel RobbinsThe Women by Kristin HannahThe Correspondent by Virginia EvansThe Wedding People by Alison EspachThe Housemaid by Freida McFadden
2025: What PEOPLE born BEFORE 1970 Have Read So Far
311 books — 36 voters

They Called Us Enemy by George TakeiWeedflower by Cynthia KadohataDisplacement by Kiku HughesPaper Wishes by Lois SepahbanSylvia & Aki by Winifred Conkling
Japanese American Internment in YA & Middle Grade Fiction
57 books — 30 voters
War Horse by Michael MorpurgoThe Winter of Red Snow by Kristiana GregoryIsabel by Carolyn MeyerThe Girl Who Chased Away Sorrow by Ann RinaldiNumber the Stars by Lois Lowry
Historical Fiction for Children
125 books — 30 voters

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne FrankA Woman in Berlin by AnonymousJambusters by Julie SummersDesert Exile by Yoshiko UchidaBlitz Writing by Inez Holden
Everyday Lives in History: 1940s (nonfiction)
125 books — 26 voters
Death of an Officer by Mark EllisThe Pale Horse by Agatha ChristieThe Zig Zag Girl by Elly GriffithsThe Secrets of Greystone House by Marcus AttwaterBrat Farrar by Josephine Tey
1950s British Mysteries
21 books — 19 voters

A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate AlbusOur Castle by the Sea by Lucy StrangeThe War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker BradleyWhen the Sky Falls by Phil EarleThe Swallows' Flight by Hilary McKay
Children's WWII Fiction set in the UK
82 books — 14 voters
A Spy Among Friends by Ben MacintyreThe Ghost by Jefferson MorleyA Spy Named Orphan by Roland PhilippsStalin's Englishman by Andrew LownieTreason in the Blood by Anthony Cave Brown
Cambridge Spy Ring (nonfiction)
32 books — 13 voters

1984 by George OrwellAnimal Farm by George OrwellNative Son by Richard WrightDeath of a Salesman by Arthur MillerA Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams
A Century of Reading: 1940s
62 books — 11 voters
One Eye Laughing, the Other Weeping by Barry DenenbergEarly Sunday Morning by Barry DenenbergMy Secret War by Mary Pope OsbornePieces of the Past by Carol MatasThe Fences Between Us by Kirby Larson
Scholastic Diaries: WWII
27 books — 10 voters

Mother Goose by Joseph HirschRide a cock-horse and other nursery rhymes by Mervyn PeakeAnimal Mother Goose by Ruth E. NewtonRuth Newton's Mother Goose by Ruth E NewtonNursery Rhymes by Louise Altson
Nursery Rhyme Collections of the 1940s
10 books — 2 voters
The Potato Man by Devon MinchinGoddesses in Slacks by Allan DayAmos Intolerable by Richard MallettBeyond the Atom by John DeVriesPink Pills for Pale People by F. William Saul
Least Popular Books From The 1940s
100 books — 1 voter

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