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thomasr417's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
megantheeflamingo's review against another edition
3.0
I listened to the audio version of this book and I was pleasantly surprised at how interesting it was. "America's First Black Paratroopers" is an area of African American history that was not familiar with at all. I had never heard of the Triple Nickels, and the book gives insight into so many other areas of history where this troop was forgotten or conveniently left out the history books. The stories are fascinating, and the narrator conveyed a lot of emotion throughout the book to keep me involved.
aoosterwyk's review against another edition
4.0
The triple nickles were the Jackie Robinson of the army (or Ginger Rogers, backwards and with heels). They proved themselves over and over to a racist culture that treated them badly and in this way, gradually began the integration of our armed forces during WWII. This unit was not permitted to engage the enemy although they were highly trained, but ended up using their elite paratrooper skills to put out forest fires in the west.
A highly readable book with great photos, appropriate for middle grades and up. A great addition to any WWII collection to provide perspective.
A highly readable book with great photos, appropriate for middle grades and up. A great addition to any WWII collection to provide perspective.
brandypainter's review against another edition
4.0
This book is full of interesting information and I learned a lot. It does jump around a lot and feels a bit disorganized.
prowse's review against another edition
3.0
As a pretty quick read, the story of the Triple Nickels is beautifully written and peppered with powerful images. Stone's work highlights an often overlooked aspect of American history. It is so disheartening to read the account of how African American soldiers were treated by their fellow soldiers, even in comparison with German and Italians captured by Americans as prisoners of war. Despite the huge inroads this group started towards integration of the military, the conclusion of their story is beyond as frustrating as it is inspiring. Stone says it best in the when she says, "What is courage? What is strength? Perhaps it is being ready to fight for your nation even when your nation isn't ready to fight for you."
nsusdorf's review against another edition
4.0
This is a previously untold story of a black paratrooper unit during WWII. My students had much to talk about in regards to the themes of this book, and seemed to both enjoy it and learn a great deal.
readwithpassion's review against another edition
4.0
What a fascinating part of our history! Full review to come!
beatniksafari's review against another edition
4.0
The compelling, little-known story of America's first black paratrooper unit, trained during World War II.
saidtheraina's review against another edition
4.0
This had been sitting in my maybe-read-to-booktalk pile for years, and I'm so glad I finally cracked it!
It's full of primary source material, including interviews with some of the actual people involved and photos from their family photo albums. The information is presented well, like a coffee-table book, and Stone writes engagingly.
Since this book is by a white author and was written a handful of years ago, I was looking for examples of problematic lens stuff (granted, I know I'm not the best person to do that), and only found a few instances of things that I feel like would have been written differently now or by an author not holding white privilege.
I took this out (virtually) to both high school and middle school class visits in 2020-2021. It's an amazing story that deserves to be told.
It's full of primary source material, including interviews with some of the actual people involved and photos from their family photo albums. The information is presented well, like a coffee-table book, and Stone writes engagingly.
Since this book is by a white author and was written a handful of years ago, I was looking for examples of problematic lens stuff (granted, I know I'm not the best person to do that), and only found a few instances of things that I feel like would have been written differently now or by an author not holding white privilege.
I took this out (virtually) to both high school and middle school class visits in 2020-2021. It's an amazing story that deserves to be told.
jesscinco's review against another edition
4.0
A well done account of a part of history that has been mostly overlooked or ignored. I liked the use of pictures, it really helped me connect with the history. I'd have liked it if more maps were included.