The Book
Braided in Fire is the stirring account of the author’s search to understand the drama that unfolded between the Italian peasants and African-American infantrymen of the 366th Infantry Regiment — attached to the celebrated “Buffalo Division” 92nd Infantry — whose lives were lost, or changed irrevocably by a village battle in Tuscany during the Battle of Garfagnana in December of 1944. Read more ⟶
thoroughly researched and dramatically retold
““Braided in Fire” vividly recounts the intertwined histories of the small Italian town of Sommocolonia and the black 366th Infantry Regiment, which intersected during the German Winter Storm Offensive in December 1944. . . . Thoroughly researched and dramatically retold, “Braided in Fire” adds a valuable new page to our understanding of the Second World War.”
“A moving meditation on the cost of war and a tribute to the African Americans who fought for a country that treated them like second-class citizens.”
“Solace Wales contributes a remarkable, unique account which is not available anywhere else . . . Because of her gracious literary style, she vividly captures the ways in which the African American soldiers and the Italians of Sommocolonia’s lives became intertwined. The book breaks new ground.
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THE AUTHOR
Solace Wales is the former director of the International Child Art Center in San Francisco. Solace and her artist husband have lived part of the year in Sommocolonia since 1975. She has interviewed both the Italian villagers and the surviving Buffalo Soldier African-American veterans and their families across the United States. Wales has conducted extensive research, culminating in the book Braided in Fire: Black GIs and Tuscan Villagers on the Gothic Line. Read more ⟶
Read an Excerpt
Read an excerpt from Solace Wales’ Braided in Fire online, or download a PDF.
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Where to Purchase
Braided in Fire is available for order where all fine books are sold.
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