Half American: The Epic Story of African Americans Fighting World War II at Home and Abroad

Civil rights expert Delmont (history, Dartmouth; Why Busing Failed) has written what is sure to become the standard text on the experience of Black U.S. soldiers—enrolled in segregated units of all the military branches—who fought in World War II. He also touches on the vital contributions of Black industrial workers during the war. Many readers will be struck by how difficult it was for Black people to gain the right to fight for a country that treated them badly. While books have been written on the experiences of individual units and soldiers, this one takes a unique approach, making it one of the best and first truly comprehensive books on the subject. This is long overdue. Delmont relied heavily on newspaper accounts from Black newspapers of the period and shows how this history was written out of official “white” histories of the war.