Brothers In Arms

Mr. Abdul-Jabbar talked about the book he co-authored, Brothers in Arms: The Epic Story of the 761st Tank Battalion, WWII's Forgotten Heroes, published by Broadway. The book chronicles the all-black tank battalion of Patton's Third Army in intimate detail. The battalion spent 183 days on the front lines of the Battle of the Bulge, with casualty rates of almost 50 percent, an almost impossible supply situation, sometimes inept leadership and chronic racism that affected nearly every move they made. The story includes the liberation of a concentration camp. Mr. Abdul-Jabbar read from the book and talked about how he came to write the book. Then he responded to questions from members of the audience.