American Patriots: A Young People's Edition: The Story of Blacks in the Military from the Revolution to Desert Storm

by Gail Lumet Buckley, Tonya Bolden

They fought on Lexington Green the first morning of the Revolution and survived the bitter cold winter at Valley Forge. They stormed San Juan Hill with Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders and manned an anti-aircraft gun at Pearl Harbor. They are the black Americans who fought, often in foreign lands, for freedoms that they did not enjoy at home.Adapted for young readers, this dramatic story brings to life the heroism of people such as Crispus Attucks, Benjamin O. Davis, Charity Adams, and Colin Powell, and captures the spirit that drove these Americans to better their lives and demand of themselves the highest form of sacrifice.From the Hardcover edition.

240 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Gail Lumet Buckley is a journalist and the daughter of Lena Horne. Her family history — The Hornes — became an American Masters documentary, and she narrated a documentary on black American families for PBS. She has written for the Los Angeles Times, Vogue, the New York Daily News, and The New York Times. She lives in New York.

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Reviews

[Blake Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gives a great incite into the evolution of black soldiers in the U.S. military throughout time. With the first part of the book talking about the impact slaves had during the American Revolution, it shows how far back blacks have been a central part of the U.S. military. This book has also given me an incite into how hard African-Americans fought to gain there independence just not in regular society but also in the military. Throughout the first part of the book you are introduced to many ¨ only-black regiments¨ that have white officers. These white officers however say throughout the book that they have never seen more bravery than out of those regiments and they would not have wanted to serve with any one else. This book is a very good read for mature reader due to the use of some strong language.

[Ruppert Baird · Rating 3 out of 5]

I apparently read the version for kids. That aside, I must say that this book infuriated me. As a retired soldier, I cannot understand how we as a nation and as individuals could have treated fellow warriors so poorly for so long.
Nevertheless, it was a good read despite a few minor errors and misnomers in military parlance (i.e. there are no oak leaf cluster awards. They designate subsequent awards of the same medal.) But, aside from those, it was informative and in some cases surprising.
Subsequent editions need to find someone more educated concerning military nomenclature, awards, and rank.