During WWI, American minority soldiers fought in segregated units under white American officers. Some of these units fell under American command and others under French command. There was a marked difference in the way that these soldiers were treated, often French commanders extended a level of respect to their minority troops that American commanders did not. The difference in soldiers’ experiences was symptomatic of the racism minorities faced on the home front. This book looks at the valor of minority soldiers, what life was like before and after the war, and the way cultural shifts began when minority soldiers fought alongside Europeans.

本書は、第一次世界大戦という極限の戦場で、人種差別という厚い壁に抗いながらも魂の尊厳を懸けて戦った兵士たちの「静かなる叫び」を捉えた傑作です。デレク・ミラーは、米軍と仏軍における待遇の残酷なまでの対比を通じて、自由のために命を懸けながらも自国で自由を奪われていた彼らの痛切な二重性を、緻密かつ情熱的な筆致で描き出しています。 特筆すべきは、単なる戦史を超え、欧州での経験が彼らの内面に引き起こした「意識の革命」に肉薄している点です。異国で初めて受けた敬意が、帰還後の彼らの眼差しをどう変えたのか。歴史の深淵に埋もれかけた名もなき勇者たちの鼓動を、これほどまでに鮮烈に蘇らせた作品は他にありません。人種を超えた普遍的な人間愛と勇気を問う、魂を揺さぶる一冊です。