396 College & Research Libraries July 2010 ethnic background. The use of classical (that is to say, Roman or Greek) or literary names for enslaved people was common and distinct from the traditional English or Biblical names of those of European descent. However, using names alone as an indicator of race was problematic. For example, a source lists Africa Hamlin of Pembroke, Massachusetts, as a possible African American soldier; later research revealed that he was of European descent and had siblings named Asia, Europe, and America. The book concentrates on groups defined as African American, American Indian, or “mixed descent” with descrip- tors such as “mulatto” or “mustee.” Oth- ers with African, Spanish, Portuguese, Azorean, Latin American, or mixed ancestry are also included because their names are indicators of African ancestry. The book provides additional terms, such as “Negro,” “free,” or “black com- plexion,” to illustrate how an individual was described in eighteenth-century records. American Indian nations are included when specified. The editor states that a major challenge was that “while there are copious examples where a written description suggests a possible minority patriot when in fact subsequent research proves otherwise, it is much more difficult to identify a minority patriot whose description is devoid of any mention of color and whose name suggests European decadency.… It is well documented that by 1700, individu- als of African descent had a presence in virtually every European country, often with names reflective of the local popu- lace” (iv). This complexity is illustrated with the records of Massachusetts, the most comprehensive state in identifying Af- rican American and American Indian soldiers, due to naming conventions and the 17-volume series Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War. Even with this comprehensive information, the Massachusetts chapter provides a sepa- rate section for men listed with “brown complexions” who were found to be white after further research. The editor explains, “The use of specific colors to describe an individual is usually the observation of a ‘white’ man describing another man and trying to create distinctions between individuals. Because specific and designated terms such as ‘Negro,’ ‘mulatto,’ ‘mustee,’ ‘black man,’ etc., were used to describe individuals of African descent or partial African descent, the use of terms such as ‘ruddy,’ ‘sandy,’ ‘light,’ ‘dark,’ etc. usually refers to someone of European descent in an attempt to describe better [than] variations in skin tone lumped together by some as ‘white’” (138). The biggest drawback of the book is its lack of copyediting. Its formatting and spelling errors make one wonder if the list of patriots could be filled with inac- curacies as well. Despite this, Forgotten Patriots: African American and American Indian Patriots in the Revolutionary War: A Guide to Service, Sources and Studies offers comprehensive information unmatched by other publi- cations. It is recommended for libraries that serve genealogists, especially those interested in the contributions of African Americans and American Indians in the fight for independence. The book’s low price, especially for a colossal hardcover, also allows family historians to purchase the volume for personal use and a starting point for research.—Margot Note, World Monuments Fund, New York, N.Y. Robert Allan. Virtual Research Environ- ments: From Portals to Science Gateways. Oxford: Chandos Publishing, 2009. 266p. $85 (ISBN 9787843345626). This is a book that covers the develop- ment of a system for doing research and e-science in all academic disciplines. Using the term “virtual research envi- ronments” (VREs), the author explains how Web-based services should be loosely combined into portals to provide a comprehensive infrastructure for the support of research across all academic disciplines. The author feels that such Book Reviews 397 portals should not only provide an en- vironment for housing, indexing, and retrieving large data sets but should also leverage Web 2.0 technologies and social networking solutions to give researchers a comprehensive environment for col- laboration and resource discovery. The first three chapters of the book give an introduction to virtual research environments and their requirements and design methodologies. These chap- ters also include example projects that fit into the author’s definition of e-research, provide a brief description of how data is produced and how data is analyzed by researches. Chapters 4, 5, and 6 discuss managing digital information, tools for collaboration and authentication, a survey of researchers and usability. Much of the rest of the book is devoted to systems ar- chitecture, grid computing, and creating a holistic virtual research environment using Sakai as a base. The book ends with examples of current systems, a research infrastructure for social science research, and a research infrastructure for an ex- perimental facility. The book includes references, an index, and a list of existing e-research portals and tools. Much like the discussion of cyber- infrastructure, of particular interest to librarians is how the library fits into this developing e-research realm. The two functions that currently come to mind are working with the metadata that are used to make the system usable and the maintaining of the institutional repository where large data sets can be housed, indexed, and made available to the research community. Beyond that, I can also see a role for librarians in collect- ing research materials and making sure that those materials are available to any of the researchers no matter where they are geographically located or what type of device they are using to interface with the virtual research environment. The author, Robert Allan, is a re- searcher in the Computational Science and Engineering Group at the Science and Technology Facilities Council in the United Kingdom. Most of his examples and interest lean toward U.K. resources, which might make it hard for some read- ers to apply this idea to the types of tech- nologies they encounter on a daily basis. Overall, Virtual Research Environments: From Portals to Science Gateways is an excellent work; however, the book does not go into enough technical detail for anyone developing a VRE. For those new to technology, there is enough definition of many of the current topics to give the reader a general overview without being overwhelming. This work will prove to be of great use to anyone looking to gain insight into what VREs are and what types of technologies might be used to create them.—Tim Daniels, Georgia Public Library Service.