Product Description

Customer Reviews (4)

A Military Pioneer and Survivor
I read Brian Shellum's second and final bio on Charles Young with keen interest. This well researched book about the significant military career of the third black graduate of West Point is impressive with its detail about both Young but also the racism that he fought and endured in order to serve his country with honor. I admire Young's perseverance in the face of such adversity and his ultimate success against the odds. And I applaud Shellum for taking the time to give this Black Officer his long overdue recognition. I hope this book as well as Shellum's Black Cadet in a White Bastion become required reading for all students at the Military Academy.

An Important Chapter in Military History
I had read Shellum's previous work on Charles Young "Black Cadet in a White Bastion: Charles Young at West Point" so I had a good background on the subject going in.

But there really is so little that is known about these types of historical figures in these modern days that it was truly eye openingto roll back the years and see how life -- not just in the US military -- but in all of the US was 100 years ago.

In so many ways, we've come so far.We've elected someone who Charles Young played a small part in clearing a path for a black man to rise up on.Yet -- just as Young faced discrimination and prejudice in his day -- we still have so far to go.

The book made me think about how things are today.The good and the bad.it makes me happy to see our progress.It makes me sad to see how little there really has been and how more there needs to be.

While quite detailed in its historical research, the author manages to tell a story of a man, time & place that should appeal to non-historians as well.

Excellent book about a long neglected American hero
An excellent book, well written and informative.Brian Shellum tells the story of Charles Young, a true American hero and pioneer.The third African-American graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, Young blazed a trail for subsequent generations to follow.Sadly, his life and accomplishments have been overlooked and forgotten in recent times.This book goes far in correcting that injustice.

The Restoration of an African-American Military Hero
The recently published "Black Officer in a Buffalo Soldier Regiment," concludes Brian Shellum's two-volume biography of the African American military hero, Charles Young. These two volumes have been superbly researched and furnish a much-needed documentation of Young's historically important, little known and remarkable military career.
Young's early life through his graduation from West Point was covered in volume one, "Black Cadet in a White Bastion," published in 2006. Young was the third African American to graduate from the Academy.
Shellum's second volume covers, inter alia, Young's long distinguished military career from being appointed as a Black Officer in a Buffalo Soldier Regiment until his retirement as a Colonel after almost thirty years of continuous service. During that period he led troops in combat, was an early Superintendent of Sequoia National Park, directed the military cadet program at Willberforce University and served abroad as a military attaché. He, also, developed ties with African American leaders such as W.E.B. DuBois, Booker T. Washington and mentored Benjamin Davis Sr.who would later become the first African American General officer. In addition, in 1916, he received the second annual Spingarn Medal awarded by the NAACP. The only other American military officer to be awarded this medal was General Colin T. Powell in 1991.
I noted with interest that four of Young's cadets, when he was posted to Wilberforce University, were South African AME missionary students and that one of them later became a founding member of the ANC.In this I see an interesting parallel between the ANC's Nelson Mandela and Young. They both endured years of racial discrimination and humiliation but emerged without having been consumed by vengeful bitterness.
Since the publication of the second volume of the Young biography, I have asked a number of African American friends, colleagues and acquaintances what they thought of Charles Young. I was surprised to discover that almost none of them knew anything about Young. It is my hope that Brian Shellum's biography will, in time, come to be widely read in America and particularly by members of the African American community.

- James W. Rawlings: retired Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Southern Africa, Inc. and United States Ambassador to Zimbabwe 1986-1989
... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

detailed history of this event in Buffalo Soldier history
On the good side, this is a highly detailed account of what happened during this event on the high plains in 1877.The account is a little hard to follow due to the large number of names, locations, dates and jumping around of the narrative.Still, a worthwhile volume for reference though I would pass on it as a recreational read. ... Read more

Product Description
Imagine defending your country with your life and then being treated unfairly when the battle is over and you go back home to rest and recover. That is what it was like for many of the African American soldiers who fought on the frontier in the mid-1800s. As peacekeepers on American soil and as soldiers fighting the Spanish-American War, the Buffalo Soldiers saved lives and gave their own to help the United States grow. Find out what roles they played, and how, as soldiers, they took a major step toward desegregating the military and in gaining civil rights for future generations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (21)

MY BUFFALO SOLDIER
In the period following the Civil War, many African American males joined the Union Army in hopes of getting employment and national respect.They traveled west, as soldiers, to help the government claim Native American lands for the United States.During this same period, many non-military people also moved west, looking to begin new lives on the frontier.
In MY BUFFALO, it was in such a time and setting that Enid Jamison met Sergeant Nick Balfours.Nick, as a soldier, was no stranger to racism and near the end of his military tour.As a result of inheritance and keen business acumen, he'd amassed a small fortune.His plans were to leave the army, relocate to Paris, paint and live well.
Enid is a recent widow, the daughter of an abolitionist, and the sister of a Ku Klux Klan leader.She wants to get away, find peace and solitude.When rested, she plans to start teaching children and adults, without regard to their race, ethnicity, or culture.
It is under these diverse histories that these two people meet.They are attracted to each other, but the racial tensions and prohibitions of that time are both real and imagined.
MY BUFFALO SOLDIER is an excellent book with accurate historical references.It's fast paced with lots of action obstacles.It's a love story, but a whole lot more.

excelent
A wonderfull romance, exciting, fast read , romatic and very touching. I loved both Enid & Nick, would love to read the next one by Ms Reeves.

A Unique and Spellbinding Read
I met B.K. Reeves at the 2000 Golden Triangle Writer's Conference in Beaumont recently. Of all the author's offerings, her book, My Buffalo Soldier, is the one that will stick with me the longest. Many years ago B.K. wrote this interracial historical romance and the fact that has only now been published speaks to the shortsightedness of the publishing industry. I highly reccommend My Buffalo Soldier to men and woman alike. It is in no way a traditional Harlequin style romance. B.K. paints on a much larger canvas.

My Buffalo Soldier
Reeves, Barbara B.K. MY BUFFALO SOLDIER. Columbus, Mississippi: Genesis Press, Inc. 2000. 265 p. Paperback: $8.95. ISBN 1-58571-013-X

My BuffaloSoldier is a compelling story of an impossible love between a man and awoman. In 1871 when Nick Balfours feels an attraction to Enid Jamison, heknows he must ignore it. Even a century later the love between a black manand a white woman will be barely tolerated.

Fighting his heart Nickrefuses to allow Enid to teach in a black school at Fort Clark. "A whiteteacher, young and delectable, beautiful and blonde, standing up before allthose horny black soldiers" was unthinkable.

When Enid's racist brother,Paul, discovers she is teaching ignorant black soldiers, he threatens toconfine her to an asylum. Enid recognizes her own attraction to Nick. Bothstruggle to hide their longings for each other. Nick attempts to save themboth from the many opposing villians, knowing he has no business wanting awhite woman.

Just when true love seems to have conquered all, Enid'sbrother brings his gang of cutthroats to wreak vengence on those who wouldlove enough to defy customs.

The prejudice and bigotry of theReconstruction South almost defeat the love of a black Buffalo soldier fora white Confederate widow.

B.K. Reeves writes western, science fiction,contemporary, and historical novels. She teaches novel and short story atSan Jacinto College. My Buffalo Soldier is BK's sixth published novel.

My Buffalo Soldier
I must admit that I didn't have any expectations when I read "MyBuffalo Soldier".This is a story that will get you involved withoutknowing it.It's fun! And, it will knock you over with it's contrast ofsensitivity and brutality set against a backdrop of life in West Texasafter the Civil War.And, there is always an underlying tension that ispertinent to today's society because the main characters are a black,educated Union soldier and a white Confederate widow who try to avoidfalling in love.This is a story about a dangerous relationship and loveis the catalyst. As the story develops you will become absorbed in thecharacters, the times and the underlying anticipation of the inevitablebattle between good and evil.Suddenly, and without realizing it, thestory has snuck up on you and absorbed you.You can't turn the pages fastenough.You can't put the book down.If you are looking for a good timeand great reading I highly recommend "My Buffalo Soldier". ... Read more

Product Description
This memoir by Forrestine Cooper Hooker details her childhood and young adulthood in the midst of the frontier cavalry. Hooker's father, Charles Cooper, was an officer in the Tenth U.S. Cavalry, one of two regiments with black troops, known as the Buffalo Soldiers, commanded by white officers. Hooker's stories capture the drama of growing up in the frontier army, the Indian wars on the plains, the Geronimo campaign in the Southwest and Mexico, her love for the regiment and the Buffalo Soldiers, their admiration for her, and even her lost love for a dashing young cavalry officer. Her narrative is by turns compelling, charming, humorous, and warm. As Laura Ingalls Wilder depicted farm life on the frontier, so Forrestine Cooper Hooker depicts army life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

An amazing account of growing up with the famous Buffalo Soldiers on the western frontier.
I was given this book by someone who thought it would really interest me.It was a few days after I recieved the book that I had a chance to start reading it.Once I opened the cover, I found it very difficult to put this wonderful story down.When the author is describing her life as a "Child of the Fighting Tenth", the accounts are so descriptive that the reader can actually visualize what life was like for her.Even when I was not reading this book, my mind would wander across the open prairie as if it were today as it was 120 years ago. Even my dreams were of little Forrestine's amazing adventures with her family.This is by far the most captivating book I have ever had the pleasure of reading. If you enjoy reading about history and the west, you would love this story of life "On the Frontier with the Buffalo Soldiers". Written by Forrestine C. Hooker, daughter of Captain Charles Cooper, and edited by Steve Wilson, I highly recommend this book. Once you open the cover, you won't want to close the book until you have read every last word.

Child of the Fighting Tenth
A unique perspective, informative, and insightful! Child of the Fighting Tenth:On the Frontier with the Buffalo Soldiers reflects the way of life of the African American soldier and their white officers in the 1870s and '80s.The experiences as revealed through the eyes of a young girl, an officer's daughter, take the reader beyond the historical surface of the period into the sweat and determination of these soldiers' lives.This story reveals a time when struggle was common, when tragedy on the open plains was expected.The conflict between the soldiers and the Indians was evolving towards the culture changing end for these indigenous peoples and the reign of supremacy for the "white man."



This conflict is softened and personalized as a young lady, Forrestine Cooper, relates the adventures of living at this pinnacle of historical changein the "civilization" of our country.Forrestine's father was the officer in charge of a troop of Buffalo Soldiers, and many of the book's events were experienced and documented by him.



As an elementary student in Oklahoma Public Schools in the fifties, I was enthralled with the adventures of a child named Cricket, often read to us by our second or third grade teacher. The character of Cricket was based on Forrestine's remembrances of her life stationed in many of the frontier outposts built for the soldiers protecting settlers moving west. I especially remembered an account of an older lady who climbed Mt. Scott, a feat that I thought would be difficult for anyone.It was a pleasure to read about the real encounter with this mountain and the drama surrounding the actual events of this perilous climb.



However, as an adult and a history/reading teacher in the Lawton Public Schools, I feel that this book should be in all school libraries in Texas, Oklahoma, and Arizona.Its rich, well-documented information is a treasure for anyone interested in the history of the Southwest.Its level of appeal spans from the elementary classroom to the college level.I have a friend, Randy Garabey, who uses it to teach a history class at the University of Oklahoma. I loaned him my copy to read, and he was thoroughly impressed with how the events paralleled other research and publications-thus verifying its authenticity.



The actual notes of Forrestine Cooper Hooker about her life with the Tenth Cavalry are carefully edited by historian Steve Wilson.His attention to detail results in a true record of this era.However, this book is highlighted with humor and candor, which makes it a great historical read!

From an historic novel reader
Realizing that a writer/editor (Wilson) can only use what is in the original text, this book was a pleasure for a novel-reader like me.What Forrestine Hooker failed to tell in her story cannot be invented by her editor and provides wonderful mystery to go with wonderful historic fact.I had a delicious time speculating on why Hooker failed to give her reader answers to questions she surely knew would arise.
Details of life at that time and place are invaluable and well presented by Wilson.Attitudes, perceptions and values have changed with distance from physical danger.Hooker reminds us that her world was not as safe, easy and secure as ours seems to be.
The book is an interesting excursion into our southwest history.

Army Brat
Having been the Colonel's daughter and the General's daughter-in-law I was the daughter of the Regiment. I loved this book!There was so much military detail!There was even the mention of the color of the lining in the cape of the officer, and for all you militaty brats you know the color is determened by the branch of service. Having been not only an Army brat and an Army wife , I related to the special bonds forged in service.This book speaks to all military wives and children!A must read for all Army brats or those who wish they had been!

A Welcome Addition
(...)Child of the Fighting Tenth is a welcome addition to a body of literature, much of it produced between the l890s and the l930s, based on the memoirs/journals/letters of soldiers (mostly officers), military wives, and occasionally children, who knew regular army service on the frontier between the end of the Civil War and l900.Some of these titles are available in university reprint editions.

(...)The bulk of Hooker's observations deal with the domestic, or what Wilson calls the "behind-the-scenes" side of military life.There is a wealth of interesting and often amusing information: soldiers (called "strikers") who earned extra pay by working as household servants, army housing-both comfortable and primitive, packing box furniture, a sometimes limited menu because the canning industry was in its infancy, parties and outings with family and friends.There are also tales about some well-known frontier personalities such as Tom Custer, Colonels Benjamin Grierson, Wesley Merritt and William Shafter, Generals Nelson Miles and George Crook, Quanah Parker and the Apache leaders Geronimo and Mangus.What a wonderful cast!Hooker also offers a good deal about junior regimental officers, especially the dashing and gallant (Medal of Honor recipient) Powhatan Clarke, on who Hooker cast an admiring teen-age eye.

It is unfortunate that Hooker did not write more about enlisted soldiers, black and white.She could be a keen observer as when she noted that blacks posted in Texas were a "double aggravation" to some white civilians.She clearly had warm memories of some of the men in her father's commands, but she also wrote this: "George Clark, a faithful old Negro soldier of A Troop, had followed father every step of the way, like a faithful, dying dog."One has to ponder if her father saw blacks soldiers in the same light.Hooker is silent on this, although she notes that in early l870 her father requested assignment to a "white" cavalry regiment.

The publisher's decision to direct this book at young readers must have established strict editorial boundaries for Wilson. His introduction is informative, but too brief and his recommendations for additional reading are a bit pedestrian.A map showing all of the Cooper family postings would be most helpful, although Wilson offers a comprehensive list of historic sites to visit.The photo illustrations are first rate and the captions are detailed.I just wish there were more of both (I like captions to be extensions, not brief supplements, to a text).In short, Hooker's memoirs deserve a fully edited and annotated presentation.

To come clean, I did not have to buy my copy of this book, but I gladly would have.Hooker's voice is now part of the Old Army on the frontier "mix", and this is a very good thing.

Tom Phillips

PS According to a detailed count made by historian Frank Schubert, a fellow who has written more about black regulars than anyone else, the 9th Cavalry did more fighting than the "Fighting Tenth": between 1866 and 1897 elements of the 9th participated in eighty-one engagements; the score for the 10th is sixty-six. ... Read more

Product Description
This is the lively story of the only bicycle corps theU.S. Army ever authorized.Using buffalo soldiers, this 1890sAfrican-American unit conducted drills and exercises on wheels.Theyrode into Northern Montana on muddy trails and toured Yellowstone ontheir 100-pound iron bicycles.As proof of their capabilities, theseIron Riders pedaled 1,900 miles from Ft.Missoula, across thesnow-dusted Rocky Mountains and steamy Great Plains, to St. Louis.Asthey approached the city over 1,000 civilian bicyclists rode out toescort them into town in a great parade.Learn more about theadventures of this little known buffalo soldier unit and fascinatingdetails about this era in America.Well researched and a good read.Full of rare pictures and drawings. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Iron riders:story of the Buffalo Soldiers Bicyle Corps
Nice book.REMINDS me of the under ground rail road.

Good Start
This is a very interesting and neglected subject for a book.I'm interested in anything about bicycling and a bit about the turn of the century, so this was a must-read.Because this is the only book of it's kind I've found, I would recommend reading it.

However, be aware of a few annoyances.The book is poorly edited and proof-read.There are many hyphens separating words that are not at the ends of lines, and a few paragraphs end mid-sentence.There are quite a few repeated passages and it tends to wander a bit from the main subject.One gets the feeling it would not have filled a book of more normal format and was padded a bit.It would be nice to see this one re-published and improved.

Again, I don't mean to disparage it too much - just pointing out some personal annoyances.

Hope it helps...

Great but little known story brought to light
In 1897 a contingent of twenty black soldiers, a white West Point officer, a military surgeon and a young newspaper reporter rode bicycles from Fort Missoula, Montana to St. Louis, Missouri, following the Burlington Northern railroad.The groups' leader, Lt. Moss, was trying to prove to the army that bicycles could be a valuable asset.I first became acquainted with this little known gem of history through the children's magazine Highlights in the early 90s.I have been fascinated with it ever since.George Niels Sorenson's Iron Riders presents this story and the broader context of those "Buffalo Soldiers-on-wheels". He tells us of the practice trip the bicycle corp made to Yellowstone Park before their epic St. Louis run and the lives of the riders after their trip.This 8 x 10 book has many primary source pictures, documents and maps which illuminate the text.It's the only informational book I know of devoted to a story which deserves a wider audience.If you are a middle school history teacher, like me, do yourself a favor and pick up this book.It would make a fantastic unit.But I agree with the other reviewer:anybody who likes black history, social history, military history, bicycle touring, the west and/or unsung heroes will find a lot to enjoy in this book.And, if you like this book you'll want to check out the PBS video The Bicycle Corps: America's Black Army on Wheels and the children's book Black Wheels.

Unique book about a unique corps of soldiers
The subtitle, "Story of the 1890s Fort Missoula Buffalo Soldiers Bicycle Corps" is a good general description of the book's contents.I had never heard of Ft. Missoula, much less known that they had a bicycle corps, before stumbling across this book in the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial's bookstore.It's not a long book, but it covers its topic well.Of course I was interested in the horrendous ride from Missoula, Montana to St. Louis, but the account of the Ninth and Tenth Cavalry saving the Rough Riders at San Juan Hill was enlightening.Also (all too) informative was the account of the "discharge without honor" by order of President Theodore Roosevelt of 167 soldiers, many of them formerly of the bicycle corps.The book also includes numerous photos, a number of which are wonderful shots (and very well-printed) of the soldiers in Yellowstone National Park.I highly recommend this book as an entertaining account of a dedicated group of American soldiers who happened to have been of African descent.(Incidently, having read this book I was able to feel incredibly smug with recognition when the Bicycle Corps turned up as an integral part of Peter Heck's "Tom's Lawyer", the most recent installment of his Mark Twain mystery series.)

Excellent Book!
What a great book!It really has something for everybody; military bike history, Black history, the American frontier at the turn of the century and more. Great pictures and illustrations also. Military cycling books are rare and this one fills a much needed niche. You will not be disappointed. ... Read more

Product Description
This picture-book biography tells the story of Cathy Williams, who in 1866 disguised herself as a man in order to join the U.S. Army as a Buffalo soldier and earn good pay. No one found out, until she grew tired of army life and revealed her identity. Young readers will be fascinated by the story of this daring and courageous woman. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Remarkable women in history
This fabulous story opened my eyes to the meaning of being called a buffalo soldier.The main character, Cathy Williams ability to hide her gender from the other male soldiers came with many challenges, not to mention risking her own life as a soldier. Author Sharon Solomon does a marvelous job of opening the readers eyes to life after slavery.Children will love this story involving the Civil War and the lengths a poor black woman would go to in order to make a living.

A Piece of History
I enjoyed reading "Cathy Williams, Buffalo Soldier".Both the story and illustrations are very appealing.I didn't know anything about the Buffalo Soldiers before I read the book.I can't wait to give each of my grandchildren a copy of the book. What a wonderful way to learn a little history and about the courage of one young woman.

Engaging Read-aloud
I read this book aloud to my 5 and 6 year old. They were very interested in the details of the story. They were impressed with the strong woman, Cathy Williams.The book taught us a lesson on history, strength and courage and was a great read! We loved it and will suggest it to friends and fellow teachers.

loved it
4 of my grandchildren ages 9-21 all have read the book and the younger ones loved it. The older one had met the author and justwanted a copy to save because she had heard about it from its "inception". She was thrilled with it also ... Read more

Product Description
This is the life story of Sergeant Thomas Boyne, a native of Prince George's County, Maryland, who joined the 2nd Light Artillery Company "B" of the United States Colored Troops at Point Lookout, Maryland, on February 5, 1864 and went on to receive our nation's highest military award, the Medal of Honor, while serving in the 9th United States Cavalry during the Indian Wars. This is also the story of Boyne's comrades-African-American Buffalo Soldiers and the officers who commanded his various assigned units-who helped to open and preserve the West while performing their military duty for their country. This is a story that needs to be told.

The integration of official government records, historical events, and newspaper articles enhance this comprehensive look at the struggles endured by Sergeant Thomas Boyne, and other African-Americans who served their country during this period. Sergeant Thomas Boyne's entire military career is covered in precise detail. Careful transcriptions of original muster rolls for the period covered include: Muster Roll Records and Returns for Company "B" 2nd Light Artillery United States Colored Troops, Company "K" 40th United States Infantry and Company "F" 25th United States Infantry, Company "C" 9th United States Cavalry, Company "L" 9th United States Cavalry, and Company "H" 25th United States Infantry. Specific details from a variety of pertinent documents, orders, acts, and news articles; as well as an abundance of names, numerous vintage photographs, illustrations, a bibliography, and an every name index make this book a MUST for historians and genealogists. ... Read more

Product Description
Details the role played by African American soldiers, whom Native Americans called Buffalo Soldiers, in the wars of the nineteenth century. ... Read more

Product Description
from Sakofa Books, an imprint of Just Us Books...

Will the Real West Please Stand Up?! The exciting adventures of Black cowboys, pioneers, soldiers, and other frontiersmen join the celebrated folklore of the wild West in the Reflections of a Black Cowboy series. Through colorful, masterfully crafted vignettes that rival the tall tales of the old frontier, author Robert H. Miller shares stories of important real life heroes—men and women whose bravery and adventurous spirits helped make the American West possible.

Buffalo Soldiers introduces men who served in the Ninth and Tenth Calvaries (whom Native Americans named "Buffalo Soldiers"), including Emmanuel Stance, the first Black soldier to be awarded the medal of honor; and Lieutenant Henry O. Flipper, the first Black officer to graduate from West Point. ... Read more

Product Description
Rescued from slavery by Buffalo Bill Cody, Samuel Sharps excels as a soldier, rising to the rank of Sergeant Major and seeing action from Arakara to Rattlesnake Springs to San Juan Hill, in the first of a multivolume story of the role of the African-American soldier. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Don't read it!!
The topic seems good: the story of black soldiers fighting bravely during a time of racism, but the story is terribly written.It is full of cliches and weak description.It is very long and filled with event after event, so that you are confused and bored rather than excited and intrigued.It is probably the worst book I have ever read, and I read about a book a week.

Building a Legacy
BUFFALO SOLDIERS begins by featuring excerpts from a speech given by Colin Powell in 1992 at the dedication of a monument to honor Buffalo Soldiers at Fort Leavenworth.Immediately, readers become aware of the significance of this monument as well as the important role that these soldiers played in defending our nation and in helping to establish the American West.

As the story begins, we are introduced to Augustus Talbot, later known as Augustus Sharps and the 10th United States Calvary (Colored) and we follow them through more than 30 years of history in the making.Throughout the book readers are constantly reminded of the paradox of African American soldiers.These soldiers faced prejudice and injustice on a daily basis, were provided with hand me down, and in most cases poor quality equipment, yet they defended the United States with unyielding bravery and honor.When Augustus marries and starts a family, readers become privy to the sacrifice, frustrations and hardship that the families of the soldiers had to endure in order to "make a way out of no way."We are also introduced to some Whites who were willing to stand alone to defend and show respect for the African American soldiers and their families.

From the first page, BUFFALO SOLDIERS draws readers into a different time in history where African American men were fighting for a nation that barely recognized them as men, no mind the heroes that they were.While this is a work of historical fiction, readers will learn a great deal about the history through this wonderful book.I found myself searching the Internet to learn more about Buffalo Soldiers in general and some of the specific things, like the types of rifles, mentioned in the book.Willard has written a book that not only educates, but also touches the hearts of the readers.You feel for the characters as they experience hardships, lengthy separations and even death.I gained a deeper respect not only for the Buffalo Soldiers, their wives and families, but also for the brave men and women that have followed in their footsteps through military service.While the Buffalo Soldiers were struggling to build a legacy and gain respect from Whites, they indeed proved themselves to be the greatest of heroes.

Reviewed by Stacey Seay
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

mild recommendation
Tom Willard is in the midst of a series of novels focussing on the role of black soldiers in American military history.The first of these, Buffalo Soldiers, begins with Congress creating the first black peacetime units in 1866.Augustus Sharps is a black man who, despite the Civil War, has been held as a virtual slave by a white hunter who purchased him from Indians.Freed by men of the 10th Calvary, Augustus, who is already an expert shot, joins up and spends most his life in the U.S. Army, then joins Buffalo Bill's Wild West show after fighting with the Rough Riders at San Juan Hill.The novel closes with America's entry into WWI, Augustus is too old to serve by then, but as his two sons head off to war, he presents them with his battle saber.

While one admires Willard's effort to recover the memory of the black heroes who served America so ably and with so little reward in the years before the nation desegregated, the story is ultimately more earnest than interesting.I'd give it a mild recommendation.A formulaic rehash of classic Western themes, redeemed only by the reminder that blacks played an important and underappreciated role in creating the American West.

GRADE: C

Courage and Valor and Duty
Some up this remarkable book about Colored soldiers after the Civil War taking up arms to help tame the newly expanding American Western frontier.This book tackles the expanding never ceasing politics of race betweenthose with power, and those without, those with weapons, and those withnone, those who formerly wore chains, and those who fight to keep them off. Willard's portrayal of the harsh environs of the expanding frontier matchand may surpass those of Larry MacMurty's "Dead Man's Walk".Thestregnth, valor, bravory, courage, and duty Willard gives his coloredsodiers through adversity gives the reader a better understanding andapprciation of those who came before us, those who died for us, and thosewho were forgotten.

OUTSTANDING, Thank You, Tom Willard
i couldn't put this book down, this is an excellent book.I really put myself in SGM Augustus Sharps' shoes.As a decendant of the Buffalo Soldiers, and former US Army soldier, I really wish the story was mandatoryreading at the HS and college level ... Read more

Product Description
While other collections of letters and memoirs from World War II have dealt with upper-class individuals, officers, or college-educated people, Home Front Soldier is the first to explore the life of an ordinary, working-class, first-generation American. This gripping story of a young soldier, Philip L. Aquila, and his Italian American family during the Second World War includes a detailed introduction, providing historical context to the more than 500 letters that this sergeant wrote to his family back home in Buffalo, New York.

Like an epistolary novel, the letters offer an intimate personal history of how a large immigrant family with four sons in the military coped with the daily traumas of World War II. Each of the major and minor plots relates to larger questions in American social history of the 1930s and 1940s, offering fresh insights about family history, gender relations, ethnic and immigration history, and everyday life on the home front. The book also fills a gap in military history by providing detailed information about soldiers stationed in the United States during the war. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

What A Book
I am one of the many cousins ofRichard Aquila, although I don't know him very well. I am one of Francie's daughter's.I have to say that I learned more about my grand parents and uncles from this book than my parents ever told me. I can't even begin to imagine what it had to be like to pack up the family every summer and bring them to the farms to pick crops for the farmers. I never knew how brave my grandmother was as she fought cancer while four of her sons were in the armed services.It seemed that she waited for all of them to come home safe before she let the disease take her. My grandmother died well before I was born, and my grandfather died when I was a small child, so my memeories of him are very faint.I couldn't put this book down after I started it.I wanted it to go on forever to learn more about my family.I think everyone will be taken in by the struggles endured by this family even if you're not a member of the Aquila clan. ... Read more

Product Description
Professional troubleshooter James Stark (The Peacemaker) and his wife, attorney Prudence McKay, are asked by black lawyer, Thaddeus Jenkins, to aid his Uncle Caleb who owns a freight line in the lawless Indian Territory town of Beaver.

Caleb and his two partners, all former Buffalo Soldiers, are under attack from greedy town boss Morg Hagen, who doesn't want an independent business operating in the town he controls. They are also being persecuted by the insidious Ku Klux Klan, with its bloody lynchings and ominous burning crosses.

Stark signs on with the Buffalo Brigade out of admiration for the role the fearless black soldiers played in settling the West.

Once in Beaver, Prudence and Thaddeus begin a legal battle to safeguard the soldiers' civil rights, while Stark and the freighters wage an ongoing gun war to keep the line operating.

Hagen has unlimited resources and an army of gunmen to do his bidding. Will the Peacemaker's fighting skill and resolve to see justice prevail be enough to win over such overwhelming odds? ... Read more

Product Description
High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Buffalo Soldiers originally were members of the U.S. 10th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army, formed on September 21, 1866 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The nickname was given by the Native American tribes they fought; the term eventually came to include six units: 9th Cavalry Regiment, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Regiment, 27th Cavalry Regiment, 28th Cavalry Regiment. Although several African-American regiments were raised during the Civil War to fight alongside the Union Army (including the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry and the many United States Colored Troops Regiments), the "Buffalo Soldiers" were established by Congress as the first peacetime all-black regiments in the regular U.S. Army. On September 6, 2005, Mark Matthews, who was the oldest living Buffalo Soldier, died at the age of 111. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Jet, published by Johnson Publishing Co. on March 14, 2005. The length of the article is 421 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Buffalo Soldiers documentary sponsored by Wal-Mart lauds heroics of nation's Black fighting units.(Black History)
Publication: Jet (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 14, 2005
Publisher: Johnson Publishing Co.
Volume: 107Issue: 11Page: 22(2)

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Customer Reviews (1)

The Last Buffalo - Heartwarming
I have the pleasure of just completing The Last Buffalo by Eva Hogan. It was heartwarming to read the love and admiration the author holds telling her family's story, and of Mr. Walter E. Potts, the author's grandfather. I thoroughly enjoyed the historical notes which spoke of our nation's role during the Great War, and how the author intertwined her grandfather's military career.

As a reader, I was facinated by the Potts' family history as an example of so many others. As an American, I loved the way Ms. Hogan educated me on parts of our history of which I knew little.

Ms. Hogan inspires us to research our own family histories, to uncover our own personal stories. I feel that I have grown to know Mr. Potts personally, and am amazed by his dedication and love for his country, people and family. Thank you for sharing his story. ... Read more