Powered by a book like {foo}
Recommendations based on North and Southby John Jakes
* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans
Love and War
by John Jakes
Epic saga of a family divided by the American Civil War.
The Hazards and the Mains – the first fatal shot fired at Fort Sumter divided them irrevocably with loyalties more powerful than family ties. The young would clash on the bloody battlefields of Bull ... (Goodreads)
Heaven and Hell
by John Jakes
A family saga set in late 19th century America, confronting the consequences of ambition and greed.
The last days of the Civil War bring no peace for the Main and Hazard families. As the Mains’ South smolders in the ruins of defeat, the Hazards’ North pushes blindly for relentless industrial ... (Goodreads)
The Thorn Birds
by Colleen McCullough
A powerful tale of forbidden love, set in rural Australia in the early 20th century.
The story begins in New Zealand on 8 December 1915, the fourth birthday of Meghann "Meggie" Cleary who is the only daughter of Padriac ("Paddy"), an Irish farm labourer, and Fiona ("Fee"), his wife. ... (Wikipedia)
The Bastard
by John Jakes
Epic journey of a young man searching for his identity amidst the chaos of the American Civil War.
The story begins in November 1770 in Auvergne , France , near Chavaniac . Philippe Charboneau, a seventeen-year-old boy, is living with his mother, Marie, in an inn inherited from her deceased ... (Wikipedia)
Roots: The Saga of an American Family
by Alex Haley
A multigenerational saga tracing the journey of an African American family in the U.S.
Roots tells the story of Kunta Kinte —a young man taken from the Gambia when he was seventeen and sold as a slave—and seven generations of his descendants in the United States. Kunta, a Mandinka ... (Wikipedia)
The Fiery Cross
by Diana Gabaldon
Epic saga of a time-traveling couple navigating the dangers of 18th century Scotland.
Claire, the heroine of Outlander , figures in The Fiery Cross as a reluctant oracle and wife to Jamie Fraser, her 18th-century partner, and faces the politics and turmoil of the forthcoming American ... (Wikipedia)
Fall of Giants
by Ken Follett
Epic historical fiction recounting the tumultuous events of World War I and its aftermath.
The novel begins with the thirteen-year-old Billy Williams, nicknamed 'Billy With Jesus', going to work his first day in the coal mine underneath the fictional Welsh town of Aberowen in 1911. Three ... (Wikipedia)
A Woman of Substance
by Barbara Taylor Bradford
The rags-to-riches story of Emma Harte, who overcomes poverty and adversity to build a retail empire.
One of the top-ten bestselling novels ever written. “An extravagant, absorbing novel of love, courage, ambition, war, death and passion.” —,The New York Times, Barbara Taylor Bradford’s The Emma ... (Barnes & Noble)
Voyager
by Diana Gabaldon
A grand adventure across time and space, filled with romance, danger and mystery.
Voyager opens on the battlefield at Culloden , where Jamie Fraser finds himself gravely wounded and his rival Jack Randall dead. Jamie is carried to a nearby farmhouse where 18 Highland soldiers have ... (Wikipedia)
A Breath of Snow and Ashes
by Diana Gabaldon
A time-traveling story of loss and redemption, as characters confront the past and the future.
Claire is the wife of Jamie Fraser, her 18th century husband, and facing the politics and turmoil of the forthcoming American Revolution . The preceding novel,, The Fiery Cross, , concluded with ... (Wikipedia)
The Prince of Tides
by Pat Conroy
A man's search for solace and understanding in his troubled family's past.
Tom Wingo is a middle-aged man with a wife and three young daughters who has recently lost his job as a high school English teacher and football coach. He learns that his twin sister, Savannah, has ... (Wikipedia)
War and Remembrance
by Herman Wouk
Epic saga of a Jewish family's journey through WWII, facing the struggles of a war-torn world.
War and Remembrance completes the cycle that began with, The Winds of War, . The story includes historical occurrences at Midway , Yalta , Guadalcanal , and El Alamein as well as the Allied invasions ... (Wikipedia)
The Winds of War
by Herman Wouk
The story of a family caught in the middle of World War II and their struggles to survive.
Like no other masterpiece of historical fiction, Herman Wouk's sweeping epic of World War II is the great novel of America's Greatest Generation. , Wouk's spellbinding narrative captures the tide of ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Clan of the Cave Bear
by Jean M. Auel
A young woman's journey of survival and self-discovery in prehistoric times.
A five-year-old girl, Ayla , who readers come to understand is Cro-Magnon, is orphaned and left homeless by an earthquake that destroys her family's camp. She wanders aimlessly, naked and unable to ... (Wikipedia)
Winter of the World
by Ken Follett
Epic saga of war, family, and love during the tumultuous times of the 20th century.
The story follows characters from Germany , Britain , the United States and the Soviet Union , who become linked by events leading to World War II , and continues through the war and its immediate ... (Wikipedia)
World Without End
by Ken Follett
Epic tale of love and war, tracing the lives of two families over centuries.
The novel begins in the fictional city of Kingsbridge, England in the year 1327 . Four children - Merthin, Caris, Gwenda, and Merthin's brother Ralph - head into the woods on All Hallows Day . ... (Wikipedia)
Lonesome Dove
by Larry McMurtry
Epic tale of two former Texas Rangers on a cattle drive from Texas to Montana.
It is the late 1870s. , Captain Woodrow F. Call and Captain Augustus "Gus" McCrae, two famous retired Texas Rangers , run the Hat Creek Cattle Company and Livery Emporium in the small Texas border ... (Wikipedia)
The Killer Angels
by Michael Shaara
A gripping story of the Battle of Gettysburg, told through the eyes of the soldiers on both sides.
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain , one of the major characters, remembers reciting to his father a speech from, Hamlet, : "What a piece of work is man...in action how like an angel!" Sgt. Buster Kilrain ... (Wikipedia)
Rich Man, Poor Man
by Irwin Shaw
A family saga spanning generations, exploring the power of money and its influence on relationships.
In the early parts of the novel Shaw goes to great lengths to make the point about "Jordache blood" – violent, bitter, resentful. One of the ways he does this is by meticulously describing the ... (Wikipedia)
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
by Lisa See
Story of two women in 19th-century China, exploring the power of female friendship.
In rural Hunan province called Puwei (nicknamed the Common Beauty Village), a county in China, Lily is destined to become a, laotong, pair with Snow Flower, a girl of the same age from Tongkou (the ... (Wikipedia)
Mystic River
by Dennis Lehane
Three childhood friends are reunited by a tragedy that exposes their dark past and tests their loyalty.
The novel revolves around three boys who grow up as friends in Boston — Dave Boyle, Sean Devine, and Jimmy Marcus. When the story opens, Dave is abducted by child molesters while he, Sean, and Jimmy ... (Wikipedia)
East of Eden
by John Steinbeck
Exploration of the timeless struggle between good and evil, set against a backdrop of a family saga.
In his journal, Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck called East of Eden “the first book,” and indeed it has the primordial power and simplicity of myth. Set in the rich farmland of California’s Salinas ... (Goodreads)
The Green Mile
by Stephen King
A prison guard discovers the power of redemption, and miracles, when he meets a mysterious inmate.
Featuring a first-person narrative told by Paul Edgecombe, the novel switches between Paul as an old man in the Georgia Pines nursing home writing down his story in 1996, and his time in 1932 as the ... (Wikipedia)
Evergreen
by Belva Plain
A family saga spanning generations, exploring the complexities of love, loss, and the ties that bind us.
“A grand, sweeping panorama . . . richly written, finely detailed . . . vivid and memorable.”—,Daily News ,(New York), Yearning for a better life, Anna Friedman fled Poland for New York at the turn ... (Barnes & Noble)
Scruples
by Judith Krantz
A young woman rises to the top of the fashion industry, navigating love, betrayal, and scandal along the way.
Born the only child of a distinguished scientist, who is a member of the venerable Winthrop family but must work for a living, Wilhelmina is nicknamed "Honey," a diminutive of her middle name. In her ... (Wikipedia)
The Last Full Measure
by Jeff Shaara
Epic story of the battles of Gettysburg, Antietam, and Chickamauga as told through the eyes of the soldiers and officers who fought them.
Librarian's note: An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here . In the Pulitzer prize-winning classic The Killer Angels, Michael Shaara created the finest Civil War novel of our ... (Goodreads)
Left Behind
by Tim LaHaye
A post-apocalyptic world of chaos and destruction, as the Rapture takes away all the believers in Christ.
An airborne Boeing 747 is headed to London when, without any warning, passengers mysteriously disappear from their seats. Terror and chaos slowly spread not only through the plane but also worldwide ... (Goodreads)
Tai-Pan
by James Clavell
Epic tale of struggle for power and control in Hong Kong during the 19th century.
The novel begins following the British victory of the first Opium War and the seizure of Hong Kong. Although the island is largely uninhabited and the terrain unfriendly, it has a large natural ... (Wikipedia)
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe
by Fannie Flagg
A nostalgic tale of friendship, courage and resilience set in the American South.
Throughout the novel the narrator and time period change, and the reader relies on the chapters' headings to establish the date and the source of the chapter. Some of the narration comes in the form ... (Wikipedia)
Captains and the Kings
by Taylor Caldwell
The rise of an Irish immigrant from poverty to wealth and power, and the corruption and tragedy that follow.
Young Joseph Armagh, recently of Ireland, who promised his dying mother to care for his younger siblings lands in Boston . His determination carries him through years of shady-deal making and his ... (Wikipedia)
