Book Passage presents author Solace Wales in conversation with Paula Farmer. They will be discussing Wale’s memoir Braided in Fire: Black GIs and Tuscan Villagers on the Gothic Line on Wednesday, February 10, 2022 at 5:30pm PT • Corte Madera Store.
This stirring memoir follows one woman’s search to understand the drama that unfolded between Italian peasants and African American soldiers of the 366th Infantry Regiment—a regiment attached to the 92nd Infantry “Buffalo Division” for four tumultuous months.
Cultures and relationships are intertwined to become braided in fire in Sommocolonia, a medieval Tuscan village in the Apennines directly on the highly fortified Third Reich’s ‘Gothic Line’ stretching across northern Italy. Only at Sommocolonia did attacking German troops break through that formidable line, with dire consequences to the inhabitants and their defenders—a handful of black GIs—who were outnumbered three to one by Axis troops. In the desperate fight, Lt. John Fox sacrificed himself with supreme heroism. (He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor fifty-two years later.) Although the military action (and tragic inaction of certain senior white officers) is described in detail, Braided in Fire is not just military history, but tells of the human toll of war: the drama, the folly, the heartache—all present in grand measure for two peoples marginalized over the years for reasons of race and economic circumstances.
Wednesday, February 10, 20212• 5:30pm PT • Corte Madera Store
Book Passage Corte Madera
51 Tamal Vista Blvd.
Corte Madera, CA 94925
(415) 927-0960
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