History
Professor Johnston often said that if you didn't know history, you didn't know anything. You were a leaf that didn't know it was part of a tree.
~Michael Crichton, Timeline
300
"Spartans, tonight, we dine in hell!"
300 written by Frank Miller and illustrated by Lynn Varley is a 1998 comic book series about King Leonidas, a Spartan, and the historical Battle of Thermopylae.
It was adapted to screen in 2006, directed by Zack Snyder, and won 9 academy awards.
To Kill A Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a 1960 novel about Atticus Finch, a lawyer in the Depression-era South, defends a black man against an undeserved rape charge, and his kids against prejudice.
It was adapted to the screen in 1962, directed by Robert Mulligan and won 3 Oscars.
War
If we do not end war - war will end us. Everybody says that, millions of people believe it, and nobody does anything.
~H.G. Wells, Things to Come Part III, adapted from his 1933 novel The Shape of Things to Come, spoken by the character John Cabal
The Short-Timers/Full Metal Jacket
"In Vietnam The Wind Doesn't Blow It Sucks"
The Short-Timers by Gustav Hasford is a 1979 semi-autobiographical novel about his time in Vietnam during the war. The U.S. Marine experiences the first-hand effects of the War and sees how it influences the recruits.
It was adapted to the screen in 1987, titled Full Metal Jacket, and directed by Stanley Kubrick. The book is out of print, but is available from Hasford's website.
The Good German
"If war is hell then what comes after?"
The Good German by Joseph Kanon is a 2002 novel about an Amerivan military journalist located in post-war Berlin that begins to investigate a murder which involves his former mistress and his driver.
It was adapted to the screen in2006, directed by Steven Soderbergh, and starring George Clooney, Toby Maquire, and Cate Blanchett.
All Quiet on the Western Front
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque is a 1929 novel about the horrors of The Great War, which illustrates the deep detachment from German civilian life felt by many men returning from the front.
It was adapted to the screen in 1930, directed by Lewis Milestone, and won 3 Oscars.