出版社周刊评论
In this well-researched, revealing book, journalist Cox ( Undying Glory ) tells the story of the all-black units of the 9th and 10th Cavalry, also known as the Buffalo Soldiers. The book focuses on the years between 1866 and 1891, when the Buffalo Soldiers rode hundreds of thousands of miles on the western frontier, mapping uncharted territory and laying the groundwork for the creation of eight states. They achieved these goals despite consistently being treated as inferiors, receiving the poorest horses and equipment, and being assigned tasks considered too dangerous for white soldiers. Of equal interest is the role the Buffalo Soldiers played in removing Native Americans from their homelands; the author effectively argues that the American government--George Armstrong Custer and Theodore Roosevelt in particular--used one oppressed group to systematically destroy another in order to win land for white settlers under the guise of patriotism. Cox eloquently articulates the dilemma many soldiers faced as they were forced to choose between their jobs and their consciences. Although the narrative sometimes falls into a cataloguing of expeditions and battles, it provides new insights into a fascinating piece of American history and challenges traditional visions of westward expansion. Ages 8-14. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
《儿童读物杂志》(Horn Book)书评
The story of the Ninth and Tenth United States Cavalry Regiments -- African-American troops organized in 1867 to protect Western settlers -- is an intricate account of racism against the hardworking soldiers and the Native Americans against whom they were often pitted. The volume relates a sorry and important chapter in this country's history. Bib., ind. From HORN BOOK 1993, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus评论
In a follow-up to Undying Glory: The Story of the Massachusetts 54th Regiment (1991), Cox celebrates the essential role played by the 9th and 10th US Cavalry in the Indian Wars. Writing dramatically (and emotionally), he lays irony upon irony: recruits signed up to escape the dangers of post-Civil War civilian life but, made to do menial labor and sent on hundreds of dangerous missions, they received only poor quality mounts and supplies; they were despised by many of the settlers they protected, and by some of their own officers; most poignantly, having just won their own freedom, they were sent to subjugate a free minority. The author doesn't tell the whole story--he's nearly silent on the activities of the two regiments of black infantry created at the same time, as well as on the history of the Buffalo Soldiers after Wounded Knee; but his narrative is rich in carefully reconstructed episodes and acts of heroism. Send readers who want to know more to Reef's wider ranging if less detailed Buffalo Soldiers (p. 727). Index; large bibliography; several dozen b&w illustrations, mostly contemporary photos. (Nonfiction. 11-15)
《书目》(Booklist)书评
Gr. 7-12. After the Civil War, two U.S. Cavalry regiments of African American soldiers were assigned to the frontier to uphold law and order, protect settlers, carry the mail, and solve "the Indian problem." The irony of black soldiers in search of new lives helping to destroy Native Americans who wanted to keep their way of life intact is not lost on Cox. It colors his narration of the tragic and heroic events that occurred and is even apparent in his chapter titles. To keep his perspective intimate, Cox makes it a point to talk about specific men (white, African American, and Native American) by name, give their personal stories, and place them in our national history. Illustrated with black-and-white photographs and enlivened by quotes from primary sources, this is history as epic tragedy--the story of a people released from slavery but not free, and of a free people destroyed in the name of Manifest Destiny. ~--Janice Del Negro