Miracle at St. Anna [Paperback]

The Buffalo Soldiers were the black American troopers of the 92nd Division who fought and died in Italy in World War II. In Miracle at Sant'Anna their remarkable story has been "novelised" by James McBride, bestselling author of The Color of Water. To get at the emotional and metaphorical heart of the fate of the so-called "Negro Division", McBride has invented a number of black soldier heroes and antiheroes; Sam Train, Stamps, Bishop, Hector, etc. Using the eyes, ears and voices of these and other soldiers McBride tells how the Buffalo Soldiers fought, loved, cursed, cooked, stole, whored, wept, suffered, killed, and mule-trained their way up the war-torn Italian peninsula. It's in many ways the standard war story, told in McBride's admirably calm, judiciously lyrical prose: this is an author unafraid of saying things the simple way, nor of utilising slang or cliché: "he fell asleep and slept like a dead man", "the big galoo was sitting in the path of twelve thousand Germans, and he couldn't even read a map".

And yet, and yet. This isn't just your average bit of combat fiction. These are black American soldiers, two generations from Africa and slavery, fighting in the cradle of Christendom, the birthplace of the Renaissance. With cleverness and subtly McBride makes great play with the perceived and supposed distinction between the savage uncouthness of the "jitterbugging negroes" and the refined and elegant beauties of Tuscany and Rome. And it's when these distinctions are truly disproved, or even upended, that this skilful, intelligent, deeply felt novel carries frank emotional power--earning it comparisons with the likes of Charles Frazier's Cold Mountain. --Sean Thomas --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

'Stunning...Incandescent prose which at once marks up a new voice and calls up Tennessee Williams, Isaac Bashevis Singer and streetwise black America rolled into one' - Financial Times on The Color of Water; 'An extraordinary story, beautifully told' - Jewish Chronicle on The Color of Water; 'A wonderfully evocative, moving book' - Literary Review --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

'exellent first novel' --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

'War, cruelty, passion, heroism and race crammed into one lyrical tale' --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

'A mesmerising read that counterpoints the horror of war with man's capacity for love' --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

'War, cruelty, passion, heroism and race crammed into one lyrical tale' --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

'A powerful and emotional novel' --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

‘A brutal and moving first novel…McBride's heart is on its sleeve, but these days it looks just right' --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Based on the historical incident of an unspeakable massacre at the site of Sant'Anna Di Stazzema, a small village in Tuscany, and on the experiences of the famed Buffalo soldiers from the 92nd Division in Italy during World War II, Miracle at Sant'Anna is a singular evocation of war, cruelty, passion, and heroism. It is the story of four American Negro soldiers, a band of partisans, and an Italian boy who encounter a miracle - though perhaps the true miracle lies in themselves. Traversing class, race, and geography, Miracle at Sant'Anna is above all a hymn to the brotherhood of man and the power to do good that lives in each of us. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

James McBride has been a staff writer for the Washington Post, People magazine, and the Boston Globe. His memoir and tribute to his mother, The Color of Water, spent more than two years on the New York Times bestseller list. As a composer, he won the American Music Theater Festival's Stephen Sondheim Award for his jazz/pop musical Bobos, and has composed songs for Anita Baker, Grover Washington Jr., and Gary Burton. A jazz saxophonist, he has performed with Rachelle Farrell and with legendary jazz performer Little Jimmy Scott. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.