AMERICAN PATRIOTS

Paring away the footnotes, considerable background detail, and many individual anecdotes, Bolden cuts Buckley’s monumental, same-titled history (2001) by about half. What remains is still a sweeping account of heroism on two fronts, as the African-Americans who fought in each of this country’s wars have done so in the face of more than two centuries of overt racial prejudice, both inside and outside the services. The author(s) begin with Crispus Attucks, end with Colin Powell, and in between track the exploits of dozens of soldiers and units, occasionally grinding the axe—“Unlike the black soldiers with whom he would ‘never submit to fight,’ [future Senator Robert C.] Byrd did not serve in the military in World War II”—but more intent on chronicling the slow, hard-won integration of the armed forces. Even in this abridged version, the tallies of names and unit numbers may hang heavy over young readers’ heads, but it will serve equally well as an update for older histories, and a gateway to the many adult-level titles on the topic. (bibliography, b&w photo section) (Nonfiction. 13-15)