The Harlem Hellfighters

Library	Collection	Collection	Call Number	Status
Searching... Betty Rodriguez Library (Fresno Co.)	Searching... Unknown	Teen Graphic Novel Area	BROOKS MA Harlem	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Fig Garden Branch (Fresno Co.)	Searching... Unknown	Teen Graphic Novel Area	BROOKS MA Harlem	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Tipton Library (Tulare Co.)	Searching... Unknown	Young Adult Graphic Novel Area	YA GN BROOKS MAX	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Tulare Public Library	Searching... Unknown	Adult Graphic Novel Display	Brooks	Searching... Unknown

From bestselling author Max Brooks, the riveting story of the highly decorated, barrier-breaking, historic black regiment--the Harlem Hellfighters

In 1919, the 369th infantry regiment marched home triumphantly from World War I. They had spent more time in combat than any other American unit, never losing a foot of ground to the enemy, or a man to capture, and winning countless decorations. Though they returned as heroes, this African American unit faced tremendous discrimination, even from their own government. The Harlem Hellfighters, as the Germans called them, fought courageously on--and off--the battlefield to make Europe, and America, safe for democracy.

In THE HARLEM HELLFIGHTERS , bestselling author Max Brooks and acclaimed illustrator Caanan White bring this history to life. From the enlistment lines in Harlem to the training camp at Spartanburg, South Carolina, to the trenches in France, they tell the heroic story of the 369th in an action-packed and powerful tale of honor and heart.

Author Notes

Max Brooks was born in New York City on May 22, 1972. He received a bachelor's degree in history from Pitzer College. From 2001 to 2003, he was a member of the writing team at Saturday Night Live and won an Emmy for his work. He is the author of The Zombie Survival Guide, World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, and The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks. World War Z was made into a movie starring Brad Pitt. He is also a television and voice-over actor. He has appeared on Roseanne, To Be or Not to Be, Pacific Blue, and 7th Heaven. His voice-over work includes Batman Beyond, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, and Justice League.

(Bowker Author Biography)

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Bestseller Brooks (World War Z) returns with the story of the first African-American regiment sent into combat by the U.S. Army in WW I. The 369th Infantry Regiment was poorly trained and ill equipped, and its soldiers were treated unfairly by command. Still, they had the single longest deployment of any American unit and achieved stunning military successes. Brooks's text seethes with rage at the soldiers' mistreatment, but he insists that even the racists who saw them in action would have respected their accomplishments. Like the text, White's b&w art is intensely furious, emphasizing the war's chaotic horror. Reading the book is a painful, memorable experience. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Booklist Review

Brooks (World War Z, 2006) makes a U-turn from zombies with this fictionalized account of the famous all-black 369th Infantry. The opening scene of a trench bomb sets the stage for the whole book: endless, grimacing faces and buckets of gore, mostly in the form of exploded bodies splattering across the page. This intro also betrays the book's chief concern: simply telling the story of WWI combat, albeit from an unusual point of view. As a result, the plot is fuzzy and the characters suitably enjoyable placeholders. We follow our diverse bunch from enlistment to training to the hell of France, where they fight through inhumane conditions with the utmost valor, and for what? Prejudice and humiliation at every turn. They would rather see white Germans, says one soldier, instead of black Americans march in triumph up Fifth Avenue. White's appropriately cluttered art has the horrific shock value of EC Comics classics like Frontline Combat and Two-Fisted Tales, and the whole thing comes off as resolutely Tarantinoesque. The movie version should be along any second now.--Kraus, Daniel Copyright 2014 Booklist

Library Journal Review

They ended up fighting for France because the American Expeditionary Forces -refused to use them. After training in South -Carolina, the first African American troops to fight in World War I were sent to Europe only to be put to work as stevedores and day laborers. Only when the overwhelmed French army begged for help did the United States release the all-"colored" 369th regiment for combat-under the oversight of the French command, which treated them fairly. Ultimately one of the fiercest and most decorated units of the war, the 369th earned the "Harlem Hellfighters" nickname from the Germans, not the Allies, and spent more time in combat than any other American unit. Brooks (World War Z; The Zombie Survival Guide) based the lightly fictionalized account on true events and people. VERDICT The centenary of World War I beginning this year begs for a graphic novel display; include this compelling account as well as titles by Jacque Tardi and Joe Sacco. Stark black-and-white art from White (Uber) gives the body-shredding violence the immediacy of a newsreel, and the absence of gray scale highlights the racial divide. For high school age and up.-M.C. (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Available:*

Bound With These Titles