Book Review: NG173

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February 12

NG173: A Brand of Racism

by Donald E. English

Genre: Historical Fiction

ISBN: 9781387593347

Print Length: 199 pages

Reviewed by Toni Woodruff

Samuel Freeman has goals. Ambitions. Big dreams. Despite being one of the most skilled & ambitious recruits in the military, he's relegated to the tasks of an assistant. To his superiors, being a Black man is cause enough to treat him as lesser, even if he is more than willing to fight for his country.

So when a German girl shows romantic interest in him, it's all he needs to get swept up in hope again. Samuel and Ingrid embark on a swift, passionate affair in Ingrid's yard and basement, filling them both with giddiness and excitement toward seeing one another each and every day.

But Samuel is soon to learn that interracial relationships are dangerous even thousands of miles away from his American South home. He is shot and killed by people in his own outfit for sleeping with a white girl, and the white girl is left to take care of his child all on her own. Heartbroken and lonely, Ingrid seeks solace in the hands of another Black soldier, but even she finds it difficult to call it love.