Lost Battalions: The Great War and the Crisis of American Nationality

By Richard Slotkin

Book Overview

"A work of stunning density and penetrating analysis . . . Lost Battalions deploys a narrative symmetry of gratifying complexity."-David Levering Lewis, The Nation ? During the bloodiest days of World War I, no soldiers served more valiantly than the African American troops of the 369th Infantry-the fabled Harlem Hellfighters-and the legendary 77th "lost battalion" composed of New York City immigrants. Though these men had lived up to their side of the bargain as loyal American soldiers, the country to which they returned solidified laws and patterns of social behavior that had stigmatized them as second-class citizens. Richard Slotkin takes the pulse of a nation struggling with social inequality during a decisive historical moment, juxtaposing social commentary with battle scenes that display the bravery and solidarity of these men. Enduring grueling maneuvers, and the loss of so many of their brethren, the soldiers in the lost battalions were forever bound by their wartime experience. Both a riveting combat narrative and a brilliant social history, Lost Battalions delivers a richly detailed account of the fierce fight for equality in the shadow of a foreign war.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0805041249
• ISBN13: 9780805041248
• Release Date: November 2005
• Publisher: Henry Holt & Company
• Length: 639 Pages
• Weight: 2.31 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.9" x 6.6" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

An amazing book!

Slotkin has once again written an amazing book. It is based on immense research and understanding of the horrors of war and why men (in this case during World War I) have fought (and still do). Must reading for all interested in history!

Precise

This is the way popular history is supposed to be. It is careful and synthesizing. It never indulges in obscure historiographical controversies, which are easy to discuss. Professor Slotkin's book is remarkably fluid and graceful, yet heavy-duty in its consideration of the major issues.

Good, but should have been shorter

Nicely done story of two WWI units of "minorities," or racial others, and how they served in the Great War. Slotkin is a good writer (although anyone who has been forced to read his earlier book, Regeneration through Violence, may be surprised.) Unfort., he does not seem to have been willing to leave out anything he found, and as a result he has come forth with a massive tome the size of which may scare off many readers.

A great work of social and military history

Richard Slotkin is the author of one of my favorite works of historical fiction "Abe: A Novel of the Young Lincoln" now he has produced one of the finest works of American history I've had the pleasure of reading with "Lost Battalions." Slotkin tells the story of two U.S. battalions made famous in battle during World War I -- the African-American 369th Infantry and the 77th Division famed as a broad mixture of recent immigrant cultures. But Slotkin's is more than just a tale of men in battle. This is look at American society in the early 20th century. Many will be shocked at the virulent racism that was as much a part of our popular culture as our political reality. It was in this context that African-Americans (patriotic to the core never mind their second tier place in society) along with Jews, Italians and other immigrants, sought to prove their mettle in the Armed Forces. With a war requiring so many soldiers, they would get their chance. Along with them we meet some of the Teddy Roosevelt disciples, those young educated men of the privileged class whose belief in the vigorous life and pre war training led to their comprising a significant portion of the officer corps. Slotkin provides the political backdrop to events as we meet such notables as TR, President Wilson, W.E.B. DuBois and others and how they shaped American response and entry into the war and the manner in which it was executed. The battle portion of the story is appropriately gut wrenching featuring as it must the inevitable deaths and maiming that are a sad reality of warfare. At the heart of the book is the horrific battle in the Argonne that earned the 369th the nickname, Lost Battalion. The surrounded men of the battalion held of the Germans for days at a terrible and grisly loss of life. Their story forged the seminal American myth of the war and a true blue hero, the battalion's commander, Charles Whittlesey. Slotkin also follows some of the soldiers upon their to return to America after the war. Most notable here are the sad stories of Whittlesey and the African American battle hero, Henry Johnson. "Lost Battalions" is an important book in capturing a crucial time in American history and how it was emblamatic of the struggles for equality and justice that are so integral to American history. Slotkin is an excellent writer providing mountains of information and thought-provoking insights at a brisk and readable pace. My only possible quibble is the mysterious lack of photographs. Weighed against the impressive achievement that this fantastic book represents, that is indeed a minor detail.