New York: Broadway Books, (2004) dj. Hardcover first edition - Based on interviews with survivors and their relatives, this is the extraordinary story of the 761st 'Black Panthers,' the first all-black armored unit to see combat in World War II. "General Patton originally opposed their deployment, claiming African Americans couldnt think quickly enough to operate tanks in combat conditions. But the Allies were so desperate for trained tank personnel in the summer of 1944, following heavy casualties in the fields of France, that the battalion was called up . . the men of the 761st served for more than six months, fighting at the Battle of the Bulge and in the Allies final drive across France and Germany. Despite a casualty rate that approached 50 percent, the 761st would ultimately help liberate some thirty towns and villages, as well as the Gunskirchen Lager concentration camp." Illustrated with photographs; includes endnotes, bibliography and index. xv, 302 pp. ISBN: 0-385503385.