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A More Unbending Battle: The Harlem Hellfighter's Struggle for Freedom in WWI and Equality at Home
The night broke open in a storm of explosions and fire. The sound of shells whizzing overhead, screeching through the night like wounded pheasants, was terrifying. When the shells exploded prematurely overhead, a rain of shrapnel fell on the men below—better than when the shells exploded in the trenches...In A More Unbending Battle, journalist and author Pete Nelson chronicles the little-known story of the 369th Infantry Regiment—the first African-American regiment mustered to fight in WWI. Recruited from all walks of Harlem life, the regiment had to fight alongside the French because America’s segregation policy prohibited them from fighting with white U.S. soldiers.
Despite extraordinary odds and racism, the 369th became one of the most successful—and infamous—regiments of the war. The Harlem Hellfighters, as their enemies named them, spent longer than any other American unit in combat, were the first Allied unit to reach the Rhine, and showed extraordinary valor on the battlefield, with many soldiers winning the Croix de Guerre and the Legion of Honor. Replete with vivid accounts of battlefield heroics, A More Unbending Battle is the thrilling story of the dauntless Harlem Hellfighters.
Despite extraordinary odds and racism, the 369th became one of the most successful—and infamous—regiments of the war. The Harlem Hellfighters, as their enemies named them, spent longer than any other American unit in combat, were the first Allied unit to reach the Rhine, and showed extraordinary valor on the battlefield, with many soldiers winning the Croix de Guerre and the Legion of Honor. Replete with vivid accounts of battlefield heroics, A More Unbending Battle is the thrilling story of the dauntless Harlem Hellfighters.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
8 people are currently reading
292 people want to read
About the author
Pete Nelson
43 books29 followersPete Nelson lives with his wife and son in Westchester, New York. He got his MFA from the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop in 1979 and has written both fiction and non-fiction for magazines, including Harpers, Playboy, Esquire, MS, Outside, The Iowa Review, National Wildlife, Glamour, Redbook. He was a columnist for Mademoiselle and a staff writer for LIVE Magazine, covering various live events including horse pulls, music festivals, dog shows, accordion camps and arm wrestling championships. Recently he was a contributing editor and feature writer for Wondertime, a Disney parenting magazine.
He's published twelve young adult novels, including a six-book series about a girl named Sylvia Smith-Smith which earned him an Edgar Award nomination from the Mystery Writers of America. His young adult non-fiction WWII history, Left For Dead (Randomhouse, 2002) about the sinking of the USS Indianapolis won the 2003 Christopher award as was named to the American Library Association's 2003 top ten list.
His other non-fiction titles include Real Man Tells All (Viking, 1988), Marry Like a Man (NAL, l992), That Others May Live (Crown, 2000) and Kidshape (Rutledge Hill, 2004). His novel The Christmas List was published by Rutledge Hill Press in 2004. He wrote, with former army counterintelligence agent Dave DeBatto, a four book series of military thrillers, including CI: Team Red (2005), CI: Dark Target (2006), CI: Mission Liberty (2006) and CI: Homeland Threat (2007) published by Time-Warner. A More Unbending Battle; The Harlem Hellfighters' Struggle for Democracy in WWI and Equality at Home, was published in 2009 by Basic Civitas books. His novel, I Thought You Were Dead, will be published by Algonquin in 2010. He also has two CDs out on the Signature Sounds label, the first entitled The Restless Boys Club (1996), the second called Days Like Horses (2000).
He's published twelve young adult novels, including a six-book series about a girl named Sylvia Smith-Smith which earned him an Edgar Award nomination from the Mystery Writers of America. His young adult non-fiction WWII history, Left For Dead (Randomhouse, 2002) about the sinking of the USS Indianapolis won the 2003 Christopher award as was named to the American Library Association's 2003 top ten list.
His other non-fiction titles include Real Man Tells All (Viking, 1988), Marry Like a Man (NAL, l992), That Others May Live (Crown, 2000) and Kidshape (Rutledge Hill, 2004). His novel The Christmas List was published by Rutledge Hill Press in 2004. He wrote, with former army counterintelligence agent Dave DeBatto, a four book series of military thrillers, including CI: Team Red (2005), CI: Dark Target (2006), CI: Mission Liberty (2006) and CI: Homeland Threat (2007) published by Time-Warner. A More Unbending Battle; The Harlem Hellfighters' Struggle for Democracy in WWI and Equality at Home, was published in 2009 by Basic Civitas books. His novel, I Thought You Were Dead, will be published by Algonquin in 2010. He also has two CDs out on the Signature Sounds label, the first entitled The Restless Boys Club (1996), the second called Days Like Horses (2000).
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 22, 2019
A More Unbending Battle by Peter N. Nelson
A flier dropped by the Germans and directed toward the 369th infantry read
Can you get into a restaurant where white people dine? Can you get a seat in a theater where white people sit? Can you get a seat or a berth in a railroad car, or can you even ride in the South in the same street car with the white people? Now all this is different in Germany, where they do like colored people; where they treat them ad gentlemen and as white men, and quite a number of colored people have businesses in Berlin and other German cities. Why, then, fight the Germans?<\b>
This book is about the highly decorated 369th black infantry, the Harlem Hellfighters, who were amongst the first American infantry units to fight in WWI. This unit was loaned to the French Army and many men from the unit would later become highly decorated.
The story centers on the obstacles, mostly segregation and racism, that the Hellfighters had to overcome in their role in the Great War. It may come as little surprise that this unit was awarded more recognition by the French than by their own government. There was a journalist from the South, previously known as a race baiter, who wrote about the 369th in a glowing article. This made the men minor heroes back home and most especially in various African American communities around the country.
The book tries to cover a lot of ground, covering the Great War and the systemic racism faced by the 369th but the depth was lacking in spots. The lack of photographs and maps of the battlefields didn’t help. It could have been a four star book, the writing was pretty good but not sure the author is a historian by trade.
3.5 stars. The chapter called Baptism tells the story of Henry Johnson who with his partner fought off 24 German invaders, killing many before the Germans retreated. Johnson was found unconscious in his trench with over 20 gunshot wounds. He won the Croix de Guerre. This chapter on Johnson was absolute 5 star material. Unfortunately this chapter was the exception rather than the rule.
I picked up this book at the suggestion of a ranger while visiting the Carter Woodson National Historic Site near Howard University during one of my National Park site tours. This was my 70th WW1 read and it took me a while to get through.
A flier dropped by the Germans and directed toward the 369th infantry read
Can you get into a restaurant where white people dine? Can you get a seat in a theater where white people sit? Can you get a seat or a berth in a railroad car, or can you even ride in the South in the same street car with the white people? Now all this is different in Germany, where they do like colored people; where they treat them ad gentlemen and as white men, and quite a number of colored people have businesses in Berlin and other German cities. Why, then, fight the Germans?<\b>
This book is about the highly decorated 369th black infantry, the Harlem Hellfighters, who were amongst the first American infantry units to fight in WWI. This unit was loaned to the French Army and many men from the unit would later become highly decorated.
The story centers on the obstacles, mostly segregation and racism, that the Hellfighters had to overcome in their role in the Great War. It may come as little surprise that this unit was awarded more recognition by the French than by their own government. There was a journalist from the South, previously known as a race baiter, who wrote about the 369th in a glowing article. This made the men minor heroes back home and most especially in various African American communities around the country.
The book tries to cover a lot of ground, covering the Great War and the systemic racism faced by the 369th but the depth was lacking in spots. The lack of photographs and maps of the battlefields didn’t help. It could have been a four star book, the writing was pretty good but not sure the author is a historian by trade.
3.5 stars. The chapter called Baptism tells the story of Henry Johnson who with his partner fought off 24 German invaders, killing many before the Germans retreated. Johnson was found unconscious in his trench with over 20 gunshot wounds. He won the Croix de Guerre. This chapter on Johnson was absolute 5 star material. Unfortunately this chapter was the exception rather than the rule.
I picked up this book at the suggestion of a ranger while visiting the Carter Woodson National Historic Site near Howard University during one of my National Park site tours. This was my 70th WW1 read and it took me a while to get through.
June 11, 2021
Read for history and understanding.
October 22, 2024
I read this book based on a recommendation from the author of Lovely War. One of my favorite aspects of that book was the racism that one of the main characters faced as a black man in the army in World War 1. He had an interesting background, a charming personality, and a wonderful girlfriend, but he faced trial after trial related to his race. In the bibliography, this book was mentioned as a source of information.
And yes, that's what this book provides - information. However, it doesn't do a great job with context. As we cycle through the various stages of the Hellfighters' training and combat duties, there's lots of information, but very little context. We hear about the struggles in various cities with locals, but all we hear about is the conflicts, and not much about what the effects of these were, either on the psyche of the men or the nation as a whole. Similarly, once the war begins, there is lots of information about what the men did and lots of anecdotes, but very little about the progress of the war as a whole or anything else that's going on. And that would be fine, except that we don't really have many characters to be following. The book mainly follows the lives of a couple of soldiers, but so many stories are cycled through that it's hard to understand what is going on and who is involved. I look at books like Steve Sheinkin's that have told wonderful stories alongside compelling characters, and I don't really get that from this book. It's just a lot of facts.
Also, I'd like to mention the very last part of the title of the book - "equality at home". This must be referring to what's happened *before* the war because the post-war analysis at the end is just a list of all the soldiers who had been mentioned in the book and what they did in their life after. I expected to hear something about some kind of movement made by the black soldiers in their post-war lives, but there was nothing of the sort.
And yes, that's what this book provides - information. However, it doesn't do a great job with context. As we cycle through the various stages of the Hellfighters' training and combat duties, there's lots of information, but very little context. We hear about the struggles in various cities with locals, but all we hear about is the conflicts, and not much about what the effects of these were, either on the psyche of the men or the nation as a whole. Similarly, once the war begins, there is lots of information about what the men did and lots of anecdotes, but very little about the progress of the war as a whole or anything else that's going on. And that would be fine, except that we don't really have many characters to be following. The book mainly follows the lives of a couple of soldiers, but so many stories are cycled through that it's hard to understand what is going on and who is involved. I look at books like Steve Sheinkin's that have told wonderful stories alongside compelling characters, and I don't really get that from this book. It's just a lot of facts.
Also, I'd like to mention the very last part of the title of the book - "equality at home". This must be referring to what's happened *before* the war because the post-war analysis at the end is just a list of all the soldiers who had been mentioned in the book and what they did in their life after. I expected to hear something about some kind of movement made by the black soldiers in their post-war lives, but there was nothing of the sort.
August 17, 2023
Last year I read Julie Berry's Lovely War which introduced me to the Harlem Hellfighters, an African-American Regiment that saw combat alongside the French army in World War I. Berry recommended this book to readers who wanted to learn more, so I put it on my to-read list.
It's an uncomfortable truth that the American army didn't appreciate the abilities of its black soldiers. Our country used them as porters and stevedores, but didn't think they could be the equal of white soldiers in actual combat. The French had no such compunction, and were happy to use the 369th on the front lines. Men in this brigade proved their capabilities, and had great hopes that their consistently heroic actions would force changes in prejudices at home. Unfortunately preconceived notions are hard to overcome, and those with racist attitudes were quick to explain away any black accomplishments. But author Pete Nelson makes a strong argument that the experiences of WWI empowered black men and gave the black community examples of strength and self-defense that they called on over the next decades as they fought for their own civil rights.
I did find the book interesting, but the best tidbits were used in Lovely War and thus weren't new to me. 3.5 stars.
It's an uncomfortable truth that the American army didn't appreciate the abilities of its black soldiers. Our country used them as porters and stevedores, but didn't think they could be the equal of white soldiers in actual combat. The French had no such compunction, and were happy to use the 369th on the front lines. Men in this brigade proved their capabilities, and had great hopes that their consistently heroic actions would force changes in prejudices at home. Unfortunately preconceived notions are hard to overcome, and those with racist attitudes were quick to explain away any black accomplishments. But author Pete Nelson makes a strong argument that the experiences of WWI empowered black men and gave the black community examples of strength and self-defense that they called on over the next decades as they fought for their own civil rights.
I did find the book interesting, but the best tidbits were used in Lovely War and thus weren't new to me. 3.5 stars.
June 30, 2023
Excellent read. The prejudice these men had to face prior to shipping out to Europe was just appalling. Incredible stories of heroic feats and dismaying events of tragedy. I highly recommend this book.
February 28, 2022
I didn't think James Reese Europe's sex life should have been put on display in this book, it had nothing to do with the Hellfighters. This could and should have been a better book.
May 19, 2024
La patrie ou la mort, nous vaincrons!
Want to read
January 20, 2025recommended in “Lovely War” by Julie Berry
September 27, 2010
A brief but enlightening account of the first African American regiment, formed in the latter part of WWI. Amidst racial tensions that was the norm back in the day, the author depicts the contributions these marginalised warriors brought not only to the war effort, but also to the advancement of racial tolerance in America.
These men grew in maturity and stature, as they advanced the cause of democracy and freedom through their courage, their music and ultimately their lives.
It is ironic to read too that both before and after the war, and despite their efforts and sacrifices for the greater good, that these men would continue to be discriminated by bigotry and small mindedness. More surprising is the fact that they were treated with much greater respect by their French comrades (whom they were annexed to) and European civillians, than their own army.
A real eye opener.
These men grew in maturity and stature, as they advanced the cause of democracy and freedom through their courage, their music and ultimately their lives.
It is ironic to read too that both before and after the war, and despite their efforts and sacrifices for the greater good, that these men would continue to be discriminated by bigotry and small mindedness. More surprising is the fact that they were treated with much greater respect by their French comrades (whom they were annexed to) and European civillians, than their own army.
A real eye opener.
January 10, 2014
This book jumped out at me because it seemed like such a fascinating subject deemed worthy of exploration. All the background on the men in the regiment and the heroic things they did in battle kept me reading. (Play-by-play battle scenes in both fiction and non-fiction tend to bore me.)
read-some
April 15, 2016Great for research papers, but not my type of nonfiction book to just sit down and read for fun.
Read
January 14, 2018for my dad, an avid reader of WWI and II history, although he is more interested in the first world war. He has read so much that I’m thinking maybe something brand new or something from a small publisher that he may not have seen. Non-fiction is not in my wheelhouse and def not this subject so any help would be appreciated.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews