If you liked March by Geraldine Brooks...
You might also enjoy the following books and films:
Books
Away West by Patricia McKissack
In 1879, thirteen-year-old Everett Turner leaves a life of struggle on his family's farm and runs away to St. Louis, where he works in a livery stable before heading to the all-Black town of Nicodemus, Kansas.
Anna Sunday by Sally M. Keehn
In 1863 twelve-year-old Anna, disguised as a boy and accompanied by her younger brother Jed, leaves their Pennsylvania home and makes the difficult journey to join their wounded father in Winchester, Virginia, where they find themselves in danger from Confederate troops.
Badd by Tim Tharp
A teenaged girl's beloved brother returns home from the Iraq War completely unlike the person she remembers.
Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
In 1941, fifteen-year-old Lina, her mother, and brother are pulled from their Lithuanian home by Soviet guards and sent to Siberia, where her father is sentenced to death in a prison camp while she fights for her life, vowing to honor her family and the thousands like hers by burying her story in a jar on Lithuanian soil. Based on the author's family, includes a historical note.
Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith
During World War II, a light-skinned African American girl "passes" for white in order to join the Women Airforce Service Pilots.
Iron Thunder by Avi
After his father is killed during the Civil War, thirteen-year-old Tom takes on a job to at the ironworks to support his family, and finds himself a target of ruthless spies when he begins assisting with the ironclad ship the "Monitor."
Mare’s War by Tanita S. Davis
Teens Octavia and Tali learn about strength, independence, and courage when they are forced to take a car trip with their grandmother, who tells about growing up Black in 1940s Alabama and serving in Europe during World War II as a member of the Women's Army Corps.
The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by W.R. Philbrick
Twelve-year-old Homer, a poor but clever orphan, has extraordinary adventures after running away from his evil uncle to rescue his brother, who has been sold into service in the Civil War.
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
A young soldier overcomes his cowardice to become a hero on the battlefield.
The River Between Us by Richard Peck
During the early days of the Civil War, the Pruitt family takes in two mysterious young ladies who have fled New Orleans to come north to Illinois.
Sunrise over Fallujah by Walter Dean Myers
Robin Perry, from Harlem, is sent to Iraq in 2003 as a member of the Civilian Affairs Battalion, and his time there profoundly changes him.
The Things a Brother Knows by Dana Reinhardt
Although they have never gotten along well, seventeen-year-old Levi follows his older brother Boaz, an ex-Marine, on a walking trip from Boston to Washington, D.C. in hopes of learning why Boaz is completely withdrawn.
Cloudsplitter by Russell Bank
The life of radical abolitionist John Brown, narrated by his last surviving son, told through letters. A Pulitzer and PEN/Faulkner award-winning finalist.
Civil War Women: The Civil War Seen Through Women’s Eyes in Stories by Louisa May Alcott, Kate Chopin, Eudora Welty, and Other Great Women Writers edited by Frank McSherry, Jr., Charles G. Waugh, and Martin Greenberg
This anthology includes: Introduction / by Hope Norman Coulter -- The Brothers / Louisa May Alcott -- Hear the Nightingale Sing / Caroline Gordon -- A Woman / Rose Terry Cooke -- The Locket / Kate Chopin -- Crowder's Cove / Constance Fenimore Woolson -- Turkey Hunt / Alberta Pierson Hannum -- Bayou l'Ombre / Grace King -- The Battleground / Elsie Singmaster -- Comrades / Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward -- The Burning / Eudora Welty.
Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
A wounded Confederate deserter returns home to the southern mountains.
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
In a letter to his son, John Ames reveals the life of his father, a Christian pacifist, and grandfather, a radical abolitionist and chaplain with the Union Army.
Lincoln by Gore Vidal
The character of President Lincoln, unremittingly tested by the trials of the war years, is reflected through the eyes of the diverse and colorful denizens of Washington, including his wife Mary and his political rivals and disciples.
Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women by Harriet Reisen
Reisen portrays a writer as worthy of interest in her own right as her famous character, Jo March. In this biography Reisen addresses all aspects of Louisa May Alcott’s life in the context of her works, many of which are to some extent autobiographical. A fresh, modern take on this remarkable and prolific writer is also the story of how the all-time beloved American classic Little Women came to be. Reisen presents Alcott as she was and as she has never been seen before in a vivid and energetic account of the beloved author whose work has delighted millions of readers.
Property by Valerie Martin
The tragedies and emotional repercussions of slavery in the antebellum South are seen through the eyes of slave owner Manon Gaudet, who marries the owner of a sugar plantation, only to see her own slave, Sarah, become her husband's mistress.
White Doves at Morning by James Lee Burke
Despite their misgivings about "the Cause," Willie Burke and his best friends, three young men from New Iberia, Louisiana, enlist in the Confederate Army and head off to war, in a novel drawn from the author's own family history.
Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All: A Novel by Allen Gurganus
Lucy married at the turn of the last century, when she was fifteen and her husband was fifty. If Colonel William Marsden was a veteran of the "War for Southern Independence", Lucy became a "veteran of the veteran" with a unique perspective on Southern history and Southern manhood. Her story encompasses everything from the tragic death of a Confederate boy soldier to the feisty narrator's daily battles in the Home--complete with visits from a mohawk-coiffed candy-striper.
The Widow of the South by Robert Hicks
Based on the true story of Carrie McGavock, who reburied 1500 fallen soldiers on her own property.
Films*
A Woman Called Moses (1978)
About the life and career of the African American abolitionist and slave escape leader, Harriet Tubman.
Ambrose Bierce Civil War Stories (2006)
Three of the most popular and controversial Civil War stories by legendary writer Ambrose Bierce including One Kind of Officer, Story of a Conscience and An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.
Andersonville (1996)
The daunting true story of the most notorious Confederate prisoner of war camp during the American Civil War.
The Andersonville Trial (1970)
A dramatization of the 1865 war-crimes trial of Henry Wirz, commandant of the notorious Confederate POW camp at Andersonville, Georgia.
Beulah Land (1980)
This sweeping mini-series dramatizes the lives of two Georgia families during the early-to-mid 1800s: the Kendricks, who resided on the Beulah Land plantation, and the Davises, who owned the Oaks plantation. Both families loved, prospered and lost during this period, and were both touched by the events of the Civil War.
Birth of a Nation (1915) (controversial - no rating available)
Starting with Thomas Dixon's The Clansman, much of which was eliminated, D.W. Griffith created a controversial masterpiece that still can enthrall a viewer. However, many prefer not to view it because of its handling of race relations--thus one should be prepared for some scenes that most viewers find highly objectionable today (as many did when the epic production was first screened).
The Blue and the Gray (1982)
TV mini-series about 2 families divided by war is based on Brue Catton’s books.
Buffalo Soldiers (1997)
A look back at the post-Civil War Black cavalry troops.
The Civil War (1990)
A 5-part (10 hours) documentary film created by Ken Burns about the American Civil War.
Civil War Diary (1990)
Based on the Newberry Prize winning book Across Five Aprils written by Irene Hunt, it is the story about a boy in Southern Illinois whose family is split between the Union and the Confederacy.
Cold Mountain (2003) (Rated R)
A wounded Confederate deserter returns home to the southern mountains.
The Colt (2005)
A Hallmark Hall of Fame movie about a young boy and his horse in the war.
The Conspirator (2010)
Mary Surratt is the lone female charged as a co-conspirator in the assassination trial of Abraham Lincoln. As the whole nation turns against her, she is forced to rely on her reluctant lawyer to uncover the truth and save her life.
Drums in the Deep South (1951)
About 2 friends who fight on opposite sides in the war.
Friendly Persuasion (1956)
A Southern Indiana Quaker family does its best to keep to its non-violent beliefs even though the Civil War has encroached upon its land. Warm, touching performances by all the players.
Gangs of New York (2002) (Rated R)
Deals with gangs of New York and the Draft Riot of 1863.
Gettysburg (1993)
In 1863, the Northern and Southern forces fight at Gettysburg in the decisive battle of the American Civil War.
Glory (1989) (Rated R)
A stirring account of black soldiers in the Civil War, specifically the 54th Regiment of the Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. This regiment led an assault against Fort Wagner at the Battle of Fort Wagner that helped turn the tide of battle. The film is historically accurate and rich in detail with superb acting from an all-star cast.
Gods and Generals (2003)
A prequel to the film Gettysburg, this film follows Stonewall Jackson through the Civil War up to his death from wounds received at Chancellorsville, where he and General Lee defeated the Army of the Potomac that had a two to one advantage over the Army of Northern Virginia.
Gone With the Wind (1939)
Based on Margaret Mitchell's best-selling novel, this is the famous romantic melodrama with the Civil War and Reconstruction as the external forces that affect the characters and their beloved Old South. The burning of Atlanta and confiscating of Tara provides a compelling look at the effect of Sherman's March to the Sea on the Southern people.
Gore Vidal’s Lincoln (1988)
The progress of the war is seen through Lincoln’s eyes, a very human figure as he contends with Generals who won’t fight and politicians who scheme to usurp him.
The Great Locomotive Chase (1956)
Walt Disney film based on a true story. During the Civil War, a Union spy, Andrews, is asked to lead a band of Union soldiers into the South so that they could destroy the railway system.
Hearts in Bondage (1936)
Events leading up to the battle of the Monitor and Merrimac.
The Horse Soldiers (1959)
Based on the true story of Col. Benjamin H. Grierson. A Union Cavalry outfit is sent behind confederate lines in strength to destroy a rail/supply center.
The Hunley (1999)
The incredible true story of the crew of the manually propelled submarine CSS Hunley, during the siege of Charleston of 1864.
The Last Confederate: The Story of Robert Adams (2005)
Based on a true story: This is a journey through the psyche of a Southern captain in the waning days of the American Civil War.
The Littlest Rebel (1935)
A rebel officer, sneaks back to his rundown plantation to see his family and is arrested. A Yankee takes pity and sets up an escape. Everyone is captured and the officers are to be executed. Shirley Temple and "Bojangles" Robinson beg President Lincoln to intercede.
Little Women (1994, 1943, 1933)
Based on Louisa May Alcott's classic novel about a family of women in Civil War-era New England. The film spans years, following the girls' struggles with life's challenges and illustrating how their family connection remains strong in the face of tragedies large and small.
Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women (2010)
Harriet Reisen’s fine script and Nancy Porter’s vivid production combine to treat viewers to a visually rich, well-paced, and intimate view of Louisa May Alcott’s life.
Major Dundee (1965)
A mixed force of Union soldiers and Confederate prisoners join forces to hunt and ultimately defeat an Apache raider, Sierra Charriba, in 1864-65.
North and South (1985)
Based on John Jakes' bestseller, the first "Book" of three made for television mini-series that covers the tensions building up to the Civil War, the War itself, and the aftermath. Two friends--North and South--and their families are portrayed as they deal with the changing world around them.
Pharaoh’s Army (1995)
During the American Civil War, a Union Army captain leads his rag-tag cavalry troop up a misty creek to a remote farm to steal enemy (Confederate) livestock. The story chronicles the pathology of war, how escalating events can trigger unasked-for tragedy. Based on a true story about a southern child who shot and killed a union soldier during the Civil War.
Raintree County (1957)
A graduating poet/teacher falls in love with a Southern woman, and then the Civil War and her past create problems.
The Red Badge of Courage (1951)
Based on the classic novel by Stephen Crane captures a young Union soldiers struggle with cowardice. Even though this film was reduced drastically from its original length by studio editors it still has stood the test of time. The movie offers some great battle scenes and narration from the novel.
Ride with the Devil (1999) (R)
Southern guerillas harass the Union forces and Union sympathizers on the Kansas/Missouri border.
Roots (1977)
A mini-series dramatization of author Alex Haley's family line from ancestor Kunta Kinte's enslavement to his descendants' liberation.
Seven Angry Men (1955)
A fanatical abolitionist leads a personal war against slave owners in Kansas.
Shenandoah (1965)
A successful planter in Virginia is unwilling to take sides in the American Civil War until he--and his children--must become involved.
Wicked Spring (2002)
During the 1864 battle of the Wilderness, three Union soldiers and three Confederate Soldiers get separated from their units as twilight engulfs the ravaged battlefield. The men wander alone through the dangerous woods, separate of each other, until they meet by chance on the banks of a quiet creek. The men meet and spend the night around a campfire, not realizing they are enemies until the next morning when the sun rises and a new day of battle begins.
* Although the films listed deal with the American Civil War in one respect or another, it should be taken into account that they are dramatic works that often contain fictionalized events and characters.