Best Selling Books by Charles Johnson

A twenty-fifth anniversary edition of Charles Johnson’s National Book Award-winning masterpiece—"a novel in the tradition of Billy Budd and Moby-Dick…heroic in proportion…fiction that hooks the mind" (The New York Times Book Review)—now with a new introduction from Stanley Crouch. Rutherford Calhoun, a newly freed slave and irrepressible rogue, is lost in the underworld of 1830s New Orleans. Desperate to escape the city’s unscrupulous bill collectors and the pawing hands of a schoolteacher hellbent on marrying him, he jumps aboard the Republic, a slave ship en route to collect members of a legendary African tribe, the Allmuseri. Thus begins a voyage of metaphysical horror and human atrocity, a journey which challenges our notions of freedom, fate and how we live together. Peopled with vivid and unforgettable characters, nimble in its interplay of comedy and serious ideas, this dazzling modern classic is a perfect blend of the picaresque tale, historical romance, sea yarn, slave narrative and philosophical allegory. Now with a new introduction from renowned writer and critic Stanley Crouch, this twenty-fifth anniversary edition of Middle Passage celebrates a cornerstone of the American canon and the masterwork of one of its most important writers. "Long after we’d stopped believe in the great American novel, along comes a spellbinding adventure story that may be just that" (Chicago Tribune).

Little is known about the many achievements of African American guardsmen in U.S. history from the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries. This detailed account thus fills an important gap in our knowledge about the establishment of African American militias in 1877 and their service in wartime and peacetime until the integration of the National Guard in 1950. This careful study of extensive primary and secondary sources is intended for military historians and for all who want to know more about African American contributions to the defense of our nation. Following a short introduction providing some historical background, the study launches into a description of the establishment of African American militia organizations in and about 1877 and their involvement in the Spanish American War and in quelling civil disturbances and disasters up to 1914. The history deals next with the service of African American guardsmen units in World War I, their work in the years between the wars, and their involvement in World War II. The story ends with a description of the initial reorganization of these units and their integration into the National Guard in 1949 and 1950. A lengthy bibliography of primary and secondary sources is useful as well in pointing to the role of African American militias and guardsmen in the history of this important period.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1883. The Antigonos publishing house specialises in the publication of reprints of historical books. We make sure that these works are made available to the public in good condition in order to preserve their cultural heritage.

It was in Panama-the old Panama-and in front of the faded and blistered hotel that I met him again. A bare-footed, soft-voiced mozo had announced that a person, a somebody, was awaiting me below. Down in the broken-tiled 14 lobby a soured, saffron clerk pointed scornfully to the outside. Silhouetted against the hot shimmer that boiled up from the street was a jaunty figure in a native, flapping muslin jacket, native rope-soled shoes, and dungaree breeches, carefully rolling a cigarette from a little bag of army Durham. It turned and, from beneath the frayed brim of a native hat, there beamed upon me the genial assurance of Bert, one time of the Fifth Army Corps, Santiago de Cuba, and occasionally of New York; and within my heart I rejoiced. Without, I made a signal that secured a bottle of green, bilious, luke-warm native beer and settled myself placidly for entertainment.