The Dogs of War
(1974) is a war novel by Frederick Forsyth chronicling a company of European mercenary soldiers hired by a British industrialist to depose the government of the African country of Zangaro. An eponymous film was released in 1981, based upon the novel and directed by John Irvin.
The mercenary protagonists, (like the protagonist the author's earlier novel The Day of the Jackal [1971]) are professional killers — ruthless, violent men, heroic only in the word's loosest sense, thus, they are anti-heroes. The Irishman Carlo Alfred Thomas "Cat" Shannon, commander of the mercenary group, is the exception; the others are life's losers, emotionally impoverished, expendable men.
The story details a geologist's mineral discovery, and the preparations for the attack: soldier recruitment, training, reconnaissance, and the coup d'йtat logistics (buying weapons, transport, payment). Like most of Forsyth's work, the novel is more about the protagonists' occupational tradecraft than their characters. The Dogs of War title is a term from line 270, scene 1, Act III: Cry, 'Havoc!', and let slip the dogs of war, from the play Julius Caesar (1599), by William Shakespeare.
Novelist Forsyth draws upon his journalistic experiences in reporting the Biafran War between Biafra and Nigeria; though fictional, the Central African 'Republic of Zangaro', is based upon Equatorial Guinea, a former Spanish colony . The novels's dedication — five named men and "the others in the unmarked graves" concludes: "at least we tried" — clearly alludes to Forsyth's time in Biafra; the dark tone and cynical plot of the story stem from the same source. 

James Joyce's Ulysses: A Reference Guide
by Bernard McKenna

Perhaps the most important literary achievement of the 20th century, Ulysses is also one of the most challenging. This reference introduces beginning readers to Joyce and his novel, removes some of the obstacles readers face when confronting his text, provides background information to facilitate understanding of the nuances of the book, and illuminates the critical dialogue surrounding his work. With the help of this guide, beginning readers will discover the rewards of reading the novel and find that they outweigh the potential obstacles to understanding Ulysses. To introduce readers to Joyce and his work, the volume begins with a short biography and a survey of the importance and cultural impact of Ulysses. Most beginning readers find it difficult to follow Joyce's plot, and so they abandon the text in frustration. Thus the book includes the most detailed available plot summary of Joyce's novel. The chapters that follow overview the novel's publication history; its historical and cultural contexts, including Modernism, Irish literature and history, and political and social trends; major themes and issues; Joyce's narrative art, including his character development, language, images, and style; and the academic and critical response to the work. The volume closes with a bibliographical essay.

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch (Cliffs Notes) by Franz G. Blaha
The original CliffsNotes study guides offer expert commentary on major themes, plots, characters, literary devices, and historical background. The latest generation of titles in this series also feature glossaries and visual elements that complement the classic, familiar format.
In CliffsNotes on One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, you explore the short book that established Alexander Solzhenitsyn's reputation and instantly placed him on the master list of human rights advocates. It describes a typical day in the life of an inmate in the Siberian prison camps of Stalinist Soviet Union.
This study guide carefully documents the ordeal of prisoner S-854 through his ten-year sentence in the Gulag. You'll find a summary and critical analyses of each section of the novel, and explore the life and background of the author, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, and gain insight into how he came to write the novel. Other features that help you study include
Character analyses of major and minor players
A history of the Gulag prison system and what crimes could get people sentenced to them
Critical essays on levels of meaning in the novel and narrative perspective
A review section that tests your knowledge
Suggested theme topics and a selected bibliography

Classic literature or modern modern-day treasure — you'll understand it all with expert information and insight from CliffsNotes study guides.

Pride and Prejudice, first published on 28 January 1813, is the most famous of Jane Austen's novels and one of the first "romantic comedies" in the history of the novel. The book is Jane Austen's second published novel.

This book portrays life in the genteel rural society of the day, and tells of the initial misunderstandings and later mutual enlightenment between Elizabeth Bennet (whose liveliness and quick wit have often attracted readers) and the haughty Darcy. The title Pride and Prejudice refers (among other things) to the ways in which Elizabeth and Darcy first view each other. The original version of the novel was written in 1796-1797 under the title First Impressions, and was probably in the form of an exchange of letters.

Shadow of the Hegemon (2001) is the second novel in the Ender's Shadow series (often called the Bean Quartet) by Orson Scott Card. It is also the sixth novel in the Ender's Game series. It is told mostly from the point of view of Bean, a largely peripheral character in the original novel Ender's Game.