BLACK, BLUE, AND GRAY

Through diligent research and intelligent writing, Haskins (Separate But Not Equal, p. 1708, etc.) attempts to redress a historical wrong. In the decades following the conclusion of the Civil War, historians thoroughly expunged the participation of African- American soldiers from the annals of war. Yet free blacks and slaves fought on both sides, until ``black soldiers constituted twelve percent of the North's fighting forces, and they suffered a disproportionate number of casualties.'' Haskins tells the story of their bravery, both in triumph and defeat, and of the obstacles they had to overcome; his lucid account pulls together primary sources, disparate stories, and a jumble of events into a coherent and accessible narrative of black involvement. (index, not seen, b&w photos, chronology, bibliography) (Nonfiction. 10- 12)