Customer Reviews

We Look Like Men of War

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I had the pleasure of obtaining a review copy of this book and simply could not put it down. "We Look Like Men of War," works os so many different levels and that is what I found so fascinating. It stares as a simple, almost gentle tale, but then inexorably builds to the climax, the Battle of the Crater, one of the most tragic battles of the Civil War. Forstchen has managed to avoid so many of the stereotypes that are out there when it comes to fiction about the Civil War, and especially fiction related to slavery, race relations, and the deployment of black troops with the Union Army. I understand that this work is actually based on research he did while working on his doctoral dissertation, and the research in so many fine nuances and details that are slipped into the story. I, as a reader, got a glimpse of what it was really like, not just for African-Americans soldiers but for any soldier who fought in our nation's greatest struggle. This would make an excellent textbook for teachers wanting their students to learn about slaves and free men who served in the United States Colored Troops.
Anyone intetrested in American History, Black History, or just wants a great, stimulating book should give this one a try.

This is a wonderful book that I have really enjoyed reading. Though it is the kind of book that can really only be read once, that one time is killer! It is really hard to put down and is a great read!

Really enjoyed it. The style seems to be aimed at the young adult market and, thus, is different from some of his other books. The chapters involving the Battle of the Crater were especially interesting - and damning to the officers who decided to send in untrained troops instead of the colored regiments that had been training for days.

This is just a fantastic history book for it describes the plight, the actions, and the feelings of the black soldiers in the civil war, not merely a recitation of dates, places and unit designations. History is made up of people. Too often the study of "history" is boring--memory stuff--but this book tells of the history of that time, place and people the way it should be told, through the eyes, brain and body of a person who could well have been there.
One can not be too enthusiastic about the book and the talent of its author. I hope more historians learn to write history the way he does. I hope he and other historians are able to teach the subject in the same way--fantastically interesting stories by people who could be there.

No one today would argue that allowing blacks to fight for their freedom during the Civil War was an idea born of both necessity and reason. However, those brave black men who joined the army found themselves between opposing sets of white opinion. There were those who treated them fairly and believed a soldier was a solder and then there were those who wanted to use them as cannon fodder. To their credit, black regiments like the 28th Indiana described in this book, proved themselves to be men of valor against southern troups or northern predjudice. Forstechen's work is captivating and impossible to put down. Although it is the fictionalized account of one black soldier's experience during the Civil War, it is based on enormous research and is in truth an account of pretty much every black soldier's tour of duty. There can be no doubt that slaves contributed a significant effort towards keeping this nation together and ending slavery. The book also clearly shows that in numerous ways, many blacks in our present time are still not truely free. I highly recommend this book along with Forstchen's science fiction series about the "Lost Regiment."

I was fortunate enough to read an advance copy of this novel by Bill Forstchen relating the Civil War experiences of a teenage Black soldier. Based in historical fact, this is the best work by Forstchen I have read. His expertise as a historian and his ability as a storyteller come together in this novel. He has a clear understanding of the tragedies of slavery and war and brings them together in an uplifting story of a struggle for freedom. If you have followed his Lost Regiment series you won't want to miss a story that's equally compelling but set closer to home.