Set against the backdrop of twentieth-century America; against the social fabric of segregation and the broad canvas of foreign war; Benjamin O. Davis; Jr.: American tells a compelling story of personal achievement against formidable odds. Born into an era when potential was measured according to race; Davis was determined to be judged by his character and deeds—to succeed as an American; and not to fail because of color. With twelve million citizens —the black population of the United States—pulling for him; Davis entered West Point in 1932; resolved to become an officer even though official military directives stated that blacks were decidedly inferior; lacking in courage; superstitious; and dominated by moral and character weaknesses. “Silenced†by his peers; for four years spoken to only in the line of duty; David did not falter. He graduated 35th in a class of 276 and requested assignment to the Army Air Corps; then closed to blacks. He went on to lead the 99th Pursuit Squadron and the 332nd Fighter Group—units known today as the Tuskegee Airmen—into air combat over North Africa and Italy during World War II. His performance; and that of his men; enabled the Air Force to integrate years before civilian society confronted segregation. Thereafter; in a distinguished career in the Far East; Europe; and the United States; Davis commanded both black and white units. Davis’s story is interwoven with often painful accounts of the discrimination he and his wife; Agatha; endured as a fact of American military and civilian life. Traveling across the country; unable to find food and lodging; they were often forced to make their way nonstop. Once on base; they were denied use of clubs and; in the early days; were never allowed to attend social activities. Though on-base problems were solved by President Truman’s integration of the military in 1949; conditions in the civilian community continued; eased but not erased by enactment of President Johnson’s legislative program in the 1960s. Overseas; however; where relations were unfettered by racism; the Davises enjoyed numerous friendships within the military and with such foreign dignitaries as President and Madame Chiang Kai-shek. Benjamin O. Davis; Jr.; retired in 1970 as a three-star general. His autobiography; capturing the fortitude and spirit with which he and his wife met the pettiness of segregation; bears out Davis’s conviction that discrimination—both within the military and in American society—reflects neither this nation’s ideals nor the best use of its human resources.
#1287219 in Books Markus Wiener Pub 2009-12-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.02 x .38 x 5.98l; .59 #File Name: 1558763406164 pages
Review
16 of 25 people found the following review helpful. Interesting; but...By events3Osterhammel's book may well have been intended to provide "a theoretical and historical overview of colonialism with a minimum of value judgments" which; according to the JOURNAL OF WORLD HISTORY; is "[a] concise conceptual framework of the fundamental phenomenon of colonialism"; but I am far from certain he succeeded.There are; of course; a number of good things about this book:(1) it provides a clear definition (and distinction) of the terms colony; colonization and colonialism as those words are generally understood by that branch of academia most concerned with such concepts; (2) it provides a simple; easy-to-understand outline for each of these concepts; and (3) it is comprehensive (as regards colonialism and its related concepts).Unfortunately; the system seems to suffer from some problems:(1) by attempting to create a simple; comprehensive system which takes into account the 3 basic concepts of "colony"; colonization" ["a process of territorial acquisition"] and "colonialism" as generally used by political sociologists; Osterhammel is forced to link them together by stipulating that all three involve "the notion of expansion of a society beyond its original habitat." Unfortunately; of these only colonization is; strictly speaking; a process by the definitions he provides; yet he then gives us various FORMS OF (the processes of) EXPANSIONS. The first two ["total migration" and "individual mass migration"] do not even involve "expansion"; except as provided within certain specific limits; whereas the category of "Empire-building wars of conquest" is generally "colonial rule" without "colonization" [the only "process" with which he provides us].(2) Osterhammel's distinction between "border colonization" and "overseas settlement colonization" leaves no room for the possibility of subservient overland settlement colonization which is not merely a frontier extension of the border.(3) In his distinction between the 3 sub-types of settlement colonies / colonization he provides the "NEW ENGLAND" type as "displacement and even annihilation of the economically dispensable indigenious population" and; of course associates this with colonial New England. Unfortunately; had the author read James Drake's KING PHILIP'S WAR; Jill Lepore's THE NAME OF WAR or Yasuhide Kawashima's IGNITING KING PHILIP'S WAR; Osterhammel might have been aware of the involvement of "Christian Indians"; such as Sassamon; in the early colonies as well as of the use of Native Americans as servants and slaves. Indeed; it was only after King Philip's War that the colonists became convinced that they had to move natives out of the areas surrounding the colonial towns.(4)The rather superfluous mention of "informal empires" (which in no way deals with colonialism - the title of the book; colonies or colonization). Indeed; the only apparent reason for the inclusion of this term is to pay homage to the idea of the United States as an "empire."(5) the work is highly Eurocentric. Periodically; we see the word "white" used for colonial masters regardless of the use of specific examples. Similarly; only rarely (and almost never in considering "modern" examples) do non-European actions come under examination. Therefore such actions as the Vietnamese expansions into Champa- and Khymer-controlled territories [indeed; "foreign" - i.e.; European - "encroachment on continental Southeast Asia"; as our author tells us; began after about 1820]; total migrations of sub-branches of the Dene peoples (in this case; the apaches and the apaches de Navajo); Mandan migrations eastward; the Dahomey conquest of Whydah (as well as other African conquests) never get mentioned. Of course; by the careful (but often imprecise and subjective) usage of definitions (e.g.; "a minority of foreign invaders"; "in a distant metropolis" or "alien rulers" each of which put limitations on the possible characteristics of the "invaders"); the author may have decided he could safely ignore such non-European examples.All in all; then; if one wants a clear and precise introduction to modern thought on colonialism; this is an ideal text; however; if one wants "a theoretical and historical overview of colonialism with a minimum of value judgments" then this book is not the best choice.
