Concur strongly. The characters may be fiction but the intensity of the experiences are not. Incredible books and films.
I like similar books about places I have lived so I could better understand the local history as if it were a story. I loved Micnher’s Centennial because it was the history of my family. Moving to Colorado 120 years ago. Highly recommend if you want to “know” Colorado’s history. When were in Panama we read Michner’s Caribbean about the pirates, the sacking of Panama City. On weekends we would go diving at Portobello and Drake Island. I spent a weekend sailing at Nombre de Dios. To read 400 year old history about those places and visit them was incredible. Both great books if you haven’t read them. The made a TV series “Centennial”.
Centennial was excellent. I don’t know what happened to my copy. It got lost in a move.
Sacajawea was a 1500 page read that was also excellent. It was one you don’t want to put down. S
I read almost all of Michener’s books, and Wouk’s books, Shirer’s books, and Leon Uris’ books.
Several others, too.
IOW I discovered “historical fiction” and it turned me into an avid reader.
It provided a “twofer” of both dramatic plot, and factual history.