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dougsasser's review against another edition
4.0
Campbell explores the stories of African American service men during WWII. Many of the soldiers suffered due to attacks from angry groups of white soldiers who harassed the African American men when they went off base on leave. They had to do dirty tasks that white service men did not want to do. The book climaxes with a trial which resulted from African American Navy men refusing to work under very dangerous conditions. Thurgood Marshal is among those who come to their defense. This is a little known and tragic portion of our history. If I had not won this through goodreads it may have slipped my notice.
abookishaffair's review
4.0
This book is really made up of two stories. The first story is that of the Battle of Saipan, a very decisive battle in the Pacific theater during World War II. It was a hard fought battle that really turned around how the Americans were doing in the war against Japan. The second story is that of the Port Chicago explosion, a much lesser known event that happened during World War II that happened at a Naval munition shipping port of sorts. I actually had never heard of this event (at least that I can recall) and I really enjoy reading about World War II history.
In the battle of Saipan, most of the military personnel that fought were white. While at the Port Chicago explosion, many of the military personnel were black. The military was still really working (working might not be the best word; perhaps grudgingly and exceedingly slowly are more fitting) on trying to fully integrate the military. Even though all branches of the military desperately needed men (remember women were only in the military in a small, very specialized capacity), all branches of the military had serious misgivings about moving forward. It was stunning to see how bull-headed the military leaders were even though opening up the military to other races would have alleviated or at least helped to alleviate the dearth of personnel. It's amazing to look at how things have changed between then and the present. This is not to say that the military is perfectly equal now but man, we've come a long way.
What I liked about this book is that the two stories are told through the people that were there. You get to know the people that were there and what they were seeing and feeling and where they were coming from. I love history books that are told from the view of people. They seem more tangible and seem to touch you a little bit more. I think using stories of people that we, the readers, may be able to see a little bit of ourselves in the men in this book.
I really wish that there had been even more discussion on what was going on as far as integration and segregation in the military. You get a flavor but there isn't really that connective story between what was happening in Saipan and what happened at Port Chicago. The comparisons on how the different troops were treated is really left up to the reader, which is fine but I really wanted a little bit more.
That being said, history lovers are still going to find a lot to love about this book. One of the things that I love most about non-fiction history is seeing where we've been. It's been said that those who don't remember the past are doomed to repeat it. This is why we all should read history books!
In the battle of Saipan, most of the military personnel that fought were white. While at the Port Chicago explosion, many of the military personnel were black. The military was still really working (working might not be the best word; perhaps grudgingly and exceedingly slowly are more fitting) on trying to fully integrate the military. Even though all branches of the military desperately needed men (remember women were only in the military in a small, very specialized capacity), all branches of the military had serious misgivings about moving forward. It was stunning to see how bull-headed the military leaders were even though opening up the military to other races would have alleviated or at least helped to alleviate the dearth of personnel. It's amazing to look at how things have changed between then and the present. This is not to say that the military is perfectly equal now but man, we've come a long way.
What I liked about this book is that the two stories are told through the people that were there. You get to know the people that were there and what they were seeing and feeling and where they were coming from. I love history books that are told from the view of people. They seem more tangible and seem to touch you a little bit more. I think using stories of people that we, the readers, may be able to see a little bit of ourselves in the men in this book.
I really wish that there had been even more discussion on what was going on as far as integration and segregation in the military. You get a flavor but there isn't really that connective story between what was happening in Saipan and what happened at Port Chicago. The comparisons on how the different troops were treated is really left up to the reader, which is fine but I really wanted a little bit more.
That being said, history lovers are still going to find a lot to love about this book. One of the things that I love most about non-fiction history is seeing where we've been. It's been said that those who don't remember the past are doomed to repeat it. This is why we all should read history books!
kathleenitpdx's review
3.0
This book is written the way I like history to be written—while giving the overall picture, it gives us the stories of the regular people who lived the history. I very much like to know what it was like to be there (without being shot at, blown up, or being hungry and dehydrated myself). James Campbell does an excellent job of this. But I am still unconvinced that these two incidents belong together. The book centers on the invasion of Saipan and the explosion at Port Chicago, California during ammunition loading of ships bound for the Pacific theater. I understand that the build up of pressure for speed of loading at Port Chicago was due to the build up of munitions for the invasion of Saipan and that Saipan proved to be a critical piece to the victory over Japan. But to me the overall theme of the book was the treatment of African-Americans by the military during WWII. And the Saipan story did not add to that. Maybe this should have been two books. Both parts are well worth reading and there is certainly more material mentioned in the telling of both stories to fill two books.
The book that I read is an uncorrected proof. It appears the published final edition includes a map and photos (and hopefully an index) that should add much to the book.
The book that I read is an uncorrected proof. It appears the published final edition includes a map and photos (and hopefully an index) that should add much to the book.
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