Stories from Wartime Research Guide

A guide to articles, books, and other resources for researching war experiences.

Reference Books

When beginning a research project, it’s always a great idea to start by looking at background information. This will help you focus your topic and put it in a proper context. Also, searching for background information will often lead you to suggestions for further research, so it’s an excellent use of your time.

Subject encyclopedias are normally an excellent source for background information:

Encyclopedia of Middle East Wars (Reference DS 63.1 .E453 2010; 5 vols.)
Encyclopedia of the American Civil War (Reference E 468 .E53 2000; 5 vols.)
Encyclopedia of the Korean War (Reference DS 918 .E53 2000; 3 vols.)
Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War (Reference DS 557.7 .E53 1998; 3 vols.; 2nd edition available online)
Encyclopedia of World War I (Reference D 510 .E53 2005; 5 vols.)
Encyclopedia of World War II (Reference D 740 .E516 2005; 5 vols.)
Historical Dictionary of Iraq (Reference DS 70.9 .G47 2004)
Historical Dictionary of the Persian Gulf War, 1990-1991 (Reference DS 79.72 .N48 1998)
World Conflicts (Reference D 842 .B69 1998)

Country-specific encyclopedias will provide articles from that country’s point of view:
Brockhaus Enzyklopaedie (Reference AE 27 .G672; 20 vols.)
Encyclopedia of American Social History (Reference HN 57 .E58 1993; 3 vols.)
Grand Dictionnaire Encyclopedique Larousse (Reference AE 25 .G63; 10 vols.)
Great Soviet Encyclopedia (Reference AE 5 .G68; 20 vols.)
Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan (Reference DS 805 .K633 1983; 9 vols.)

Specialized reference sources can help you check facts:
Dictionary of Battles, 1816-1976 (Reference D 25 .A2 C34 1979; vol. 4)
Harper Encyclopedia of Military History (Reference D 25 .D86 1993)
Historical Atlas of the Vietnam War (Reference DS 557.7 .S93 1995)
Historical Atlas of World War II (Reference G 1038 .P55 1995)

The Holocaust is the focus of much scholarship and inquiry:
Dictionary of the Holocaust (Reference D 804.25 .F57 1999)
Encyclopedia of the Holocaust (Reference D 804.3 .E53 1990; 4 vols.)
Holocaust Encyclopedia (Reference D 804.25 .H66 2001)

Interested in films?
Guide to Films on the Korean War (Reference DS 918.16 .E38 1997)
Hollywood War Films, 1937-1945: An Exhaustive Filmography of American Feature- Length Motion Pictures Relating to World War II (Reference D 743.23 .S55 1996)

Electronic Book Collections