Horn Book Review
Stovall does a credible job of briefly tracing the history of the famous African-American calvary units known as the Buffalo Soldiers. Final chapters focus on the other famous African-American fighting units such as the Hell Fighters and the Tuskegee Airmen. Archival photos enhance the text, but some pictures are not of the best quality. A chronology is included. Bib., ind. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Gr. 6^-10. Opening with Congress' approval in 1866 of "the enlistment of Negro soldiers in the peacetime U.S. Army," this history builds in interest as its subject unfolds. Trailing the black 9th and 10th cavalries across the plains, the narrative recalls the indignities and injustices under which those soldiers persevered and simultaneously documents the injustices the U.S. government perpetrated against the Native Americans. The "Buffalo Soldiers" --so nicknamed by the Native Americans for their fierce fighting ability and for the way their curly hair resembled a buffalo's mane--played a little-known yet major role in the Spanish-American War. That effort is spotlighted here, as is the black soldiers' participation in World War I, when they were teamed with French soldiers, who had no tradition of racial prejudice. Captioned archival photos and art reproductions punctuate the account, which includes pertinent quotes, among them several from General Colin Powell, the first African American to chair the Joint Chiefs of Staff. A well-written, eye-opening account of a shamefully obscure aspect of African American and U.S. armed forces history. --Ellen Mandel