Book Description

Flyboys is the true story of young American airmen who were shot down over Chichi Jima. Eight of these young men were captured by Japanese troops and taken prisoner. Another was rescued by an American submarine and went on to become president. The reality of what happened to the eight prisoners has remained a secret for almost 60 years. After the war, the American and Japanese governments conspired to cover up the shocking truth. Not even the families of the airmen were informed what had happened to their sons. It has remained a mystery—until now. Critics called James Bradley's last book "the best book on battle ever written." Flyboys is even better: more ambitious, more powerful, and more moving. On the island of Chichi Jima those young men would face the ultimate test. Their story—a tale of courage and daring, of war and of death, of men and of hope—will make you proud, and it will break your heart. ... Read more

Reviews (141)

Thought Provoking Book About War.
If you are looking for a feel good American heroes book this is not it. "Flyboys" is a very worthwhile and thought provoking book. There are times when it causes the reader to feel uncomfortable as it describes large scale and individual atrocities including cannibalism and mass murder performed by the Japanese that are very distressing to read about. Many of the previous patriotic reviewers I believe found it difficult to face the descriptions of the small and large scale violent and destructive American behavior even though it was dwarfed by the Japanese behavior.

The author remained remarkably non judgmental in his descriptions. He tries to put in context the violent behavior, although not to excuse it, by supplying relevant cutural and historic background.

The book invites us to examine the contrast between war time and peacetime humanity. Which is really us? Is war time meanness just kept below the surface during times of peace? It reminds us that when hundreds of thousands of lives are lost, that these are the lives of valuable individuals whether American or others. It emphasizes the remarkable heroism and perhaps the naivete of our servicemen particularly our "Flyboys." They were heroes especially because they completely understood the risks they were taking and proceeded out of choice because they were needed. George Bush Sr., as one of them , is featured as a sensitive and lucky(to be alive)hero.

The Japanese soldiers were brutalized by their officers and were required to follow orders without question. One gets concerned about group think and herd mentality. How independent are human beliefs and actions? Do we actually choose them or are we mostly a product of the society in which we were raised? We must intuitively know that it is wrong to bayonet a restrained man with a sharpened bamboo pole with the purpose of of causing pain, prior to beheading him while still alive, The officers who ordered this behavior earn our contempt. They force soldiers to carry out their orders as if they were slaves.

The Japanese "Spirit Warrier" believed that all orders originated with their Emperor who they believed descended from the Sun Goddess. In a way they were following their faith. Is it right to unquestioningly follow a religious leader or a religious belief ie Jihad,or perhaps to believe that followers of our culture are more worthwhile than the followers of other cultures. We must have known as Americans in the 19th century that slavery was wrong and that women should have the right to vote but it took us a long time to correct these injustices. Were we not deserving of contempt for thoughtlessly following the group think?

This is a history of WWII in the Pacific told mainly through a small group of people involved with the battle for the island of Chichi Jima by an author who is a truth seeking patriotic American whose father was incidentally a flag raiser at Iwo Jima. It raises our awareness of the horrors of war. It ends with some optimism and descriptions of forgiveness or at least understanding by memebers of both sides. There is even some real humanity displayed as Private Iwatake, who developed a personal relationshop with a subsequently beheaded cannibalized "Flyboy" named Warren Earl Vaughn, when phoned by the author, doing his research, answers the phone with, "Hello, this is Warren." He had changed his name to honor his dead prisoner.

Has its faults, but important nevertheless...
I read about 20 of the earlier reviews of "Flyboys" as I struggled through the book this past week. Some of the negative comments are deserved, such as referring to the late Gen. Curtis LeMay as "Curtis" in half or more of the references to him. This is bizarre and distracting. Whether a result of careless editing or author-torial stubborness, it does not work. Also, I agree that the term "Flyboys" as a collective description of pilots, gunners and radiomen is over-used. I also agree that the book perhaps tries to cover too much history and abandons its cover story for too many pages at a time. Some condensing and reorganization would have enhanced its power. That said, many of the other negative comments seem to be unfair. Yes, Mr. Bradley dwells on America's mistreatment of Indians and Filipinos at length, including prisoners of war. Yes, he gives disgusting details of how our napalm drops on Japanese cities destroyed civilians indiscriminately. But he is not making up those facts. And to emphasize how easily combat and its stresses can make soldiers willing to do horrible deeds is not exactly the same thing as excusing the acts. I have read my share of WW II books, as I near 60 years of age, and "Flyboys" is the first one which sensibly explains how the Japanese fighter rationalized not only his willingness to die in already-lost battles, but his contempt for those from other cultures who chose to be prisoners of war instead. To explain the Japanese viewpoint, again, is not to excuse the acts. Nor is it unpatriotic.

"Flyboys" describes disgusting acts of brutality and cannibalism, and is ultimately a very sad tale. It is not a work that should be tackled by readers who are emotionally fragile. As most people reading this review will already know, Mr. Bradley's dad was one of the Iwo Jima flag-raisers, wounded physically by Japanese soldiers in that fight, and wounded in some ways psychologically by the whole of his wartime service. The fact that his son went off to study in Japan, and developed much respect for the residents there, must have been painful and puzzling for the father. But I don't think any intelligent reader of Bradley's earlier book, "Flags of Our Fathers" or of "Flyboys" can question the younger Bradley's respect for our troops or our country. One of our strengths as a representative democracy is that we can love our nation for having humane ideals even if we are imperfect in living up to them every minute. And we can learn from injustices committed in our names by our government or military agents, and change our ways.

I stuck with "Flyboys" right to the end, flaws and all, and I'm glad I did. It gets more powerful as it goes on, and it does finish the story of the eight Chichi Jima American POW's as much as it could be completed, so long after their 1945 deaths. We live in a time when we may be facing 30 years or more of sporadic war with terrorists and the countries which fund and hide them. To read a book which makes war and its (initially) unintended horrors seem like a step to be accepted only with the greatest caution is not a bad thing right now. While Mr. Bradley is not the smoothest historian/writer on the block, he shows promise. In some ways this book is better than "Flags of Our Fathers" despite its problems of style, language and organization. For sure, it is more important than the previous book, because the Iwo Jima battle story had already been well-covered in earlier works. Former President George Bush came close to being a prisoner on Chichi Jima, and plays a small part in this book. If he cooperated, and if he thinks Jim Bradley has done a service to the country with his research into the horrors of war in the Pacific from both sides, I won't argue with him. He was there, I was not. I'm glad I read "Flyboys" but unlike "Flags of Our Fathers" which I've read three times since it was first published, I won't be reading it twice. Its medicine is too strong for a second dose.

Strays way off course
I am very offended in the tone that book takes in regard to comparing Japan's Chinese campaign with our final offensives in Germany and Japan. With all of the well written reviews I do not have much to add except to say that Japan was dead in the water and would have fought to the last man, woman and child. I also think that the nuclear bombs definately did create a new level of war and by doing so expedited the surrender. I am tired of people trying to apologize for America, the fact remains if they did not engage us then they would not have faced our wrath. The Chinese on the other hand recieved the barbaric wrath of Japan without so much as provoking them. I suppose we are supposed to draw a parallel in our manifest destiny or turn of the century Phillipine campaigns that were both in a very different era. By taking away all of Japans budget to make war America gave them a head start on creating a modern economy unparalleled in the world.

This book gets three stars for having some nice solid sections when it stays on task and does not get to preachy. If it wasn't for that I would have flunked it. The author has talent though and the read is pretty good being that is so severly flawed.

Not sure what to make of this book
First off, I find it surprising that this story was not told sooner, as it involved a future U.S. president (I suppose much of the information was not available until recently). I give Bradley credit for telling the story of the airmen who gave their lives in service to our country, but I'm not sure what to make of Bradley's commentary on U.S. policy before and during World War II. It's true that atrocities happen in war, and the actions of our military should not be whitewashed. It seems wrong to me, however, to try to draw moral equivalency between the aggressors, and those who fight that aggression at great cost to themselves so that others may enjoy freedom. I also reject Bradley's suggestions that all atrocities committed by the Japanese were a direct result of earlier U.S. actions, however wrong those actions may have been (Bradley's description of the Japanese corruption of the Samauri code seems to contradict his own assertions regarding this point). I rate "Flyboys" 3 stars for telling a story that should have been told earlier, but I have reservations about the revisionist history in the book.

Very disappointing, misleading title
A few months ago, I overheard an argument by two people over this book, so I figured I would read it myself to see what it was really like. I must say I was very disappointed. The first few chapters are not even about World War II. The title is misleading, for it is not really about "Flyboys", and the author uses it as a platform to condemn the use of airpower. Unfortunately, civilians were killed in bombing raids, but it should be remembered that it was the Germans and the Japanese who started this war. The author also sees very little, if any, difference, between the Americans and Japanese, yet he overlooks who rebuilt Japan. If Japan had defeated the US, would they have rebuilt our cities? I highly doubt. There are better books about World War II in the Pacific, and certainly better books that portray the courage of the American Fighting Man. ... Read more

Book Description

The best-selling classic of the power of love and forgiveness in a Japanese prisoner of war camp. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A Dramatic, Powerful, and Shocking Book!
I could not put this book down! If you have any interest in the treatment of Allied soldiers during their stay in Japanese internment camps, just read this book. From the introduction to the final page, this book will shock you, horrify you, but amazingly, it will inspire you and leave you with a good feeling about what Ernest Gordon did and became before he died in 2002. Bless his memory and may this book live on forever!

Inspiring Account of Perservence over Adversity
This account of how a young Scot, captured by the Japanese in April, 1942, managed to survive the brutal treatment accorded POWs under Japan's control has endured long after Ernest Gordon's imprisonment ended, and will continue to endure and influence readers for more years to come. This book, originally published over 40 years ago, was one of the sources for the highly popular movie of that era, "Bridge Over the River Kwai," and the more recent "To End All Wars."

Some parts of this book are very difficult to read as Gordon, a Captain in a Scottish regiment, spares no detail as he relates the physical trauma, the diseases, the wretched conditions imposed by their captors and the senseless, sometimes unbelievable treatment by the guards of their captives . How to survive this vertiable hell hole? As he notes, without some sort of discipline and some moral compass for guidance, many men gave up hope and died. But Gordon found within the prison camp two people who selflessly gave of themselves when Gordon was literally at death's door to help restore him to physical health, of people who washed his sores, encouraged, prodded, and inspired. Through the faith of these two, one a Methodist, the other a Roman Catholic, Gordon reinvestigated the New Testament and from that learned and acted out the commandment to "love others", even including the brutal Japanese guards, as he would love himself. Using these simple teachings of love, encouragement, and selfless help to your neighbor, Gordon and others in the various camps were able to overcome the horrific conditions under which they existed. The melding of the spiritual and the discipline of order, neatness, and cooperation saw the POWs triumph over the evil of the system under which they existed.

The first part of the book describing Gordon's efforts to escape--he and others bought a sailing vessel that managed to get them half way to Ceylon--is an exciting read in itself. The second half, the journey into hell and return, is thought provoking and inspiring. It is also difficult for those who served in the Pacific theater, as I did, as to how and if I would have survived if I had had to bail out over Japan and was imprisoned. A sobering thought that one does not want to revisit for long.

Gordon came home to Scotland, entered the ministry, and served for many years as Dean of the Chapel, Princeton University. May he Rest in Peace. ... Read more

Book Description

The fierce, bloody battles of Bataan and Corregidor in the Philippines are legendary inthe annals of World War II. Those who survived faced the horrors of life as prisoners ofthe Japanese.

In Conduct Under Fire, John A. Glusman chronicles these events through theeyes of his father, Murray, and three fellow navy doctors captured on Corregidor in May1942. Here are the dramatic stories of the fall of Bataan, the siege of "the Rock," and thedaily struggles to tend the sick, wounded, and dying during some of the heaviestbombardments of World War II. Here also is the desperate war doctors and corpsmenwaged against disease and starvation amid an enemy that viewed surrender as a disgrace.To survive, the POWs functioned as a family. But the ties that bind couldn’t protect themfrom a ruthless counteroffensive waged by American submarines or from the B-29 raidsthat burned Japan’s major cities to the ground. Based on extensive interviews withAmerican, British, Australian, and Japanese veterans, as well as diaries, letters, and warcrimes testimony, this is a harrowing account of a brutal clash of cultures, of a race warthat escalated into total war.

Like Flags of Our Fathers and Ghost Soldiers, Conduct UnderFire is a story of bravery on the battlefield and ingenuity behind barbed wire, onethat reveals the long shadow the war cast on the lives of those who fought it. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

POWERFUL HISTORY
This book, about a subject that many Americans are unaware, is both a personal journey and taut war history. America in the early Forties was still dealing with the depression, and how it would conduct itself, while much of the world was already at war.

This story, not about generals or admirals, is instead a tribute to dedicated, unassuming men caught in the throes of the terrible war that finally found America in 1941.

John Glusman actually writes about four different things: the allure of Asia to these young men, the defeat in the Philippines, their struggles to survive, and finally to recover their lives.

His style is easily readible and compelling.

I have read many books on this topic, and the only one that compares is John Toland's, But Not In Shame.

Please read this book!It is a magnificent work of history, and a moving personal tribute. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

ONE OF THE BETTER ONES I'VE READ
This is an excellent first hand account.It is rather well done, more so than several others I have read.I do wish we had more like this one.Very inspiring.I felt it gave even a greater insight to the war in the Pacific.Recommend you add this one to your collection.

My Grandfather's Story
The author of this book is my grandfather. I found this book to be inspiring as I am also a soldier. I am in the Army and found this book to give me a greater appreciation of my profession as well as bring a greater understanding of my grandfather's life and why he is so proud. I would recommend this book to anyone who wishes to understand what POWs in the Philippines went through. I have lent my copy of his book to several of my friends and they all gave it great reviews as well.

A brief first hand look..........
William Berry has written a well-detailed, although brief, look at his attempted escape and captivity after the fall of Correigdor. While not a scholarly look at these events, the author gives a good account of his capture, escape and trek through the jungle, recapture and liberation by American servicemen from Bilibid prison in Manila. He painfully recounts the agony these men went through as they were crammed, up to 13 men at one time, into a 10 by 10 cell and forced to sit, without flinching, and stare at the wall all day.

As a recaptured prisoner, Berry and his two comrades somehow survive the war, as the usual penalty for escape is execution. They were sent to the maximum security prison in Manila for "special prisoners", and many prisoners stopped here only long enough to be sentenced and shot. Berry, who was a fledgling lawyer before enlisting in the Navy, saw these skills save his life and the lives of his friends when being sentenced, not so much his arguments, of course, but rather how he shaped it to fit his audience(A Japanese tribunal)

This book does not take long to read, but it is an interesting tale, and well worth the time invested. But, if you want greater scope and detail of Americans in Japanese captivity, read"Prisoners of the Japanese" by Gavan Daws, an extremely informative and well-written look at the horrors these men had to endure daily.

Excellent. One of the best POW books I have ever read.
One of the few true to life books written by a WWII POW. As a history buff I find the first hand accounts in this book of the authors experiances andthe others he came in contact a first rate story of America's darkest time.A must for all those who want to know more about POW's of theJapanese.

Having been stationed in the Philippines and traveled to Battanand Corrigidor it brought the meaning of those visits a little sharper infocus. ... Read more

Book Description

This is the true story of a young American missionary woman courage and triump of faith in the jungles of New Guinea and her four years in a notorious Japanese prison camp. Never to see her husband again, she was forced to sign a confession to a crime she did not commit and face the executioner's sword, only to be miraculously spared.

Reviews (13)

Incredible triumph in the face of trials
This heartwarming, inspiring, challenging, well written book quickly shot to the top of the list of our family's favorites! I read it aloud to my family every evening at dinner time (FAR better than watching television!) and we were so gripped by the story that we would often sit around the table long after we were done eating, all other duties forgotten, reading page after page because no one could bear to stop listening!

Darlene Deibler Rose was an amazing young woman with a great talent for writing and a deep love for the Lord. She experienced far more trials in her lifetime than the average American, yet she never became bitter through any of them. She was such a good witness in the way she lived that even the Japanese commander of the prison noticed it. Her relationship with the Lord was living, breathing, alive, and active, not a dead "I go to church on Sundays" relationship. She held on to her faith even when she lost everything else she had. God was her refuge and her security, and sustained her through many events that could have devastated her had it not been for him.

This book is very refreshing and uplifting! It doesn't drag you down into the bleakness of prison or the mire of discouragement, although those things are very real and present in the book. It strengthens and encourages you, letting you know that no matter what trial you are facing, God will work everything for good in the end. I was moved to tears of joy at the end of the book, and now regard it as one of the very best books I have ever read. It reminds you that God never changes. Even when all else fails we can turn to Him for strength and support. I think there are many people whose lives are not right with the Lord even though everything is going well and times are prosperous. Here is a life that was wholly dedicated to God, no matter what He asked of her. She was being refined, as gold in a fire, and she came through pure and bright.

Everyone we have loaned or given this book to has enjoyed it immensely, and I know you will, too.

This book changed my life.
I had always been pretty scared about issues such as war, torture, and prison camp. After reading Darlene's story, I know that God will be with me no matter what circumstances are! A "must" read for anyone and everyone!

A testimony to one woman's faith and walk with God
"I will never leave thee" was the title to the Focus on the Family radio program narrated by Darlene Diebler Rose. In it she tells about her incredible trials and experiences while a prisoner in a Japanese concentration camp. After listening to the program, and buying the CD, I wanted to know and learn more from this tremendous woman, so I bought the book.

Darlene was a young missionary bride when she arrived in Dutch New Guinea to win untouched tribes to Christ. She and her husband had around one year in the field, winning a few converts but ended up imprisoned in separate prison camps. Darlene endured tremendous hardships yet kept her wits about her and walked by faith, always asking God for guidance. Whenever she lost faith and cried to God, He answered her by giving her His peace and assuring her that He would never leave her nor forsake her. He also gave encouragement and answers to her prayers, such as the time she was starving and dying in the dungeon in solitary confinement and she prayed for just one single tiny banana, and God brought the Japanese camp commander to visit her and gift her 92 bananas! [The story of the camp commander Mr. Yamaji is interesting in its own right, and without giving it away, I'll just say Darlene's living right with God had a great effect on him]. While in solitary confinement, Darlene spent her time walking with the Saviour, talking with Him, and playing in her mind the scripture that she had memorized as a girl. She had psalms, hymns, and even entire chapters memorized, and the right line at the right time seemed to pop into her remembrance and give her the answer she needed at that time. God's Hand could be seen protecting her, as there were several circumstances where she could have lost her life had she not followed God's prompting.

What I learned from this book is that no matter what the circumstances, no matter how dismal the situation, those who know Jesus are never alone. I also learned that a Christian's testimony and the way they walk with God is observable by even the hardest and cruelest heart and can allow the Lord to change them.

This book was very hard to put down, and I definitely will want to be rereading it in the future for all of the inspiration and hope it gives. I only wish she had a sequel telling about the rest of her life in New Guinea [yes, she actually went back after the war].

Tremendous Inspiration
This was one of the most interesting, awe-inspiring books that I have ever read. Darlene Deibler Rose was such a wonderful, courageous woman. Her life was such an inspiration to me to trust God, no matter what circumstance that comes to me in life. She was candidly honest, but I appreciated that. It was not offensive but encouraging. I would recommend this book to anyone. In fact, my copy of this book is now in the hands of my mother. After she reads it, she is going to give it to my sister. The book stressed upon me also the importance of scripture memorization, and I am going to encourage my daughter to encourage her little girls while they are young to memorize scripture. I would love to sit down in person and thank Mrs. Rose for her wonderful book!

A Rare Gem
I agree with the saying, "So many books, so little time" and rarely have re-read any book, let alone re-read a book immediately upon finishing it. THIS IS THE EXCEPTION. Upon reaching the last page I started over immediately, moved and enthralled and inspired by Mrs. Deibler Rose's story. I cannot recommend it more highly, and am already stocking up on copies to give out with Christmas gifts for friends, family and neighbors. Thank you Mrs. Rose for your faithfulness to our Savior and your candidness in writing this part of your history. Pat D. ... Read more

Book Description

On August 2, 1940, as on every other morning for weeks before, a long line of Jewish refugees waited outside the Japanese consulate in Kaunas, Lithuania. Many had already witnessed Nazi atrocities in Poland and other Axis-occupied lands, and they were desperate to escape. To leave Europe they needed foreign transit visas. And at the window, the smiling Japanese consul was issuing them. Before his government closed down the consulate and reassigned him to Berlin, he would issue thousands of such visas.

This is the story of Chiune Sugihara, a diplomat and spy who saved as many as 10,000 Jews from deportation to concentration camps and almost certain death, Because of his extreme modesty, Sugihara's tremendous act of moral courage is only now beginning to become widely known.

Unlike Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat whose government sent him to Hungary with the express purpose of saving Jews, and Oskar Schindler, the German industrialist who at least initially had a vested economic interest in protecting the lives of "his Jews," Sugihara had no apparent reason to perform his acts of rescue. Indeed, he acted in direct violation of official Japanese policy, which directed all government and military personnel to cooperate with the murderous policies of their Nazi allies. Examining Sugihara's education and background -- a background shared with the colonial administrators and military men who committed "the rape of Nanjing" -- author Hillel Levine finds nothing that explains his extraordinary behavior.

Levine's search has taken him from the old Japanese consul building in Kaunas (now Kovno), Lithuania, to the Australian outback; across Japan from the rice fields of Sugihara's native town to the boardrooms of conglomerates where his younger schoolmates still hold power. But the more Levine sought answers to Sugihara's puzzling behavior, the more he encountered questions. Remarkably, Chiune Sugihara was not the only Japanese official to save Jews. Yet none was ever punished for insubordination. Was there a secret Japanese plan to save Jews from Nazi genocide?

Much Holocaust scholarship focuses on the perpetrators of evil, trying to illuminate what drove ordinary men and women to commit horrifying and murderous acts. But perhaps as difficult to understand is the phenomenon of rescue: what inspired courageous individuals to swim against the tide of cruelty and indifference. This sensitive and nuanced biography concludes that there is no link between a person's background and his moral inclinations. Mercy remains a divine mystery despite our human craving to reduce it to behavioristic formulas.

This book does not attempt to explain "man's humanity to man." Instead Levine has woven a fascinating narrative of one man's heroic efforts to save lives, in the midst of so many seeking to destroy them. ... Read more

Book Description

This acclaimed bestseller brilliantly illuminates a hidden piece of World War II history as it tells the harrowing truestory of nine American airmen shot down in the Pacific. One of them, George H. W. Bush, was miraculously rescued. The fate of the others-an explosive 60-year-old secret-is revealed for the first time in FLYBOYS. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Outstanding!
Every military officer should read this book. He details how other officers and enlisted acted as POWs...very revealing. He stood by the values of the Army under extreme personal hardship showing it can be done!

Excellent revealing prisoner of war autobiographical account
If you want to get a good idea of what it's like to be on Corregidor and have the Japanese strafe and bomb and attack you, Bunker's account is excellent. It is down to earth and very revealing in day to day activity in trying to copy with a very frustrating situation.....

Great!!!!
Colonel Bunker tried to tell it all....The Fall of Corregidor, as told by the then Seaward Defense Commander of the Harbor Defenses of Manila and Subic Bays. Although from a personal standpoint, there were operational activities cited in his diary such as the "Geary Shoot to Bataan", "Ballistic testing of Sea Rifles and ammunition", "Counter Battery Operations vs the Japanese", to name a few.....The later half of the book describes Colonel Bunker's life as a POW..Again the book has it's share of wrong dates (credit the editor of the diary, Barlow) for stating that Battery Geary blew up on the 18th of April. Correction: it was May 2, '42. I'm sorry that I had to point this out because I do my "homework" when it comes to Corregidor, but nevertheless, it's still a great book... ... Read more

Book Description

During World War II a community called Manzanar was hastily created in the high mountain desert country of California, east of the Sierras. Its purpose was to house thousands of Japanese American internees. One of the first families to arrive was the Wakatsukis, who were ordered to leave their fishing business in Long Beach and take with them only the belongings they could carry. For Jeanne Wakatsuki, a seven-year-old child, Manzanar became a way of life in which she struggled and adapted, observed and grew. For her father it was essentially the end of his life.

At age thirty-seven, Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston recalls life at Manzanar through the eyes of the child she was. She tells of her fear, confusion, and bewilderment as well as the dignity and great resourcefulness of people in oppressive and demeaning circumstances. Written with her husband, Jeanne delivers a powerful first-person account that reveals her search for the meaning of Manzanar.

Farewell to Manzanar has become a staple of curriculum in schools and on campuses across the country. Last year the San Francisco Chronicle named it one of the twentieth century"s 100 best nonfiction books from west of the Rockies. ... Read more

Reviews (112)

A beautiful and heartfelt book
Farewell to Manzanar is an autobiography by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston,who was a little girl when she and her family were placed in a Japanese internment camp during World War II. The book begins when Pearl Harbor is bombed. She is seven years old. About a month after, Jeanne and her family are moved to Manzanar, where the government has set up camps for Japanese-Americans, who they fear won't be loyal to America. Jeanne writes about Manzanar as the place where her life began. She describes her life there as a child. As the book continues and her family leaves Manzanar, she writes about the impact of Manzanar on her and the other members of her family.
Throughout the rest of her childhood, Jeanne tries to find herself and understand how to live in the world given her race and heritage. She struggles living up to her father's expectations. She does not find total peace with her own identity until she returns to Manzanar thirty years after she first went there.
The book not only focuses on Jeanne's life, but also tunes into the rest of her family's. It shows how her mother feels disgusted by the camp, the way her brother is transforming from a boy to a man, and about her fathers mental and physical downfall.

American treatment to Japanese during WWII
this book is written in first person by Jeanne Wakatsuki. It starts out when Japan bombs Pearl Harbor. The FBI then sends all of the Japanese living in the U.S. (or at least that area) to live at a concentration camp, Manzanar. But Jeanne's father is separated from the rest of the family because he's arrested by the FBI. 9 months later, he joins the rest of the family, but has now change, he now drinks a lot, has a bad attitude, and beats his wife. To distract herself, Jeanne tries out baton twirling at camp. Finally, the people at m,anzanar are granted freedom when the United States wins WWII because they bombed Hiroshima. Jeanne's father, mother, and sister don't move out yet, they stay a while longer, until they are forced toleave camp. That is when Jeanne's father decides to move near Long Beach CA, where Jeanne meets her new best friend, Radine, the typical american girl. As Jeanne grows, she realizes how racist people are to her just because she's japanese. Finally, she has her moment of glory, but is then ruined by other's feelings of racism. Years later, Jeanne gets married and goes back to Manzanar to see what's left of it, but it's mostly bad memories. i thought this was a good book because since the authors tells us the story in first person, she can add more feeling and emotions to the book. what i didn't like was that some parts were confusing, i didn't know whether she was telling us what was happening right then or whether she was remebering. overall i say it was a good book. the theme, racism, is very clear throughout the entire book.

A story as relevant today as ever
When I first read this book 2 decades ago, I read it to learn about a history that I hoped our government would atone for. In fact, later, the US government did make reparations, and I had hoped that that would be the end of that story.

But today post 9/11, the same issues have arisen. This time, it is not Japanese-Americans, but Americans of Middle-Eastern descent. Today, the US Supreme Court announced its decision in "Hamdi v. Rumsfeld" in which a US citizen of Middle-Eastern descent was being held prisoner indefinitely by the US government even though there has been no trial and Hamdi has no access to a lawyer. The Supreme Court wisely said that this was unacceptable. In many sections of the opinion, the Court kept referring to the lessons we learned from the Japanese-American internment experience that is described in this book.

When times are stressful and we feel like we are being attacked by the enemy, it is easy to conclude that anyone who looks like the enemy should be detained, even without any evidence that that person did anything wrong. I hope that all people who feel that racial profiling is appropriate (or that all Middle Eastern people are suspect) read this book. Maybe this book will change their minds.

Jeanne Wakatsuki A Japanese American
Farewell to Manzanar was written by a Japanese American named Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and her husband James D. Houston. They wrote this book about how her life was in the Manzanar camp. They wrote the book in memory of her father Ko, her mother Riku, and her brother Woodrow M. Wakatsuki. My favorite character in this book was Jeanne's mom Riku. She was a very strong willed and strong minded person. Riku, the mother, reminds me a lot of me because she does some things that I did for my husband when I was still with him.
I can relate to Riku because she was with an abusive and alcoholic husband. I also was with an abusive husband who used drugs. I don't see how we put up with it, but her husband changed and my husband just got worse; I ended up leaving him. I also don't think I can relate to the other characters in the story because I have never been in a camp that had so many rules and boundaries.
I like this book very much because I like learning and reading about different cultures and how they live their lives. Some stories don't have a happy ending but I think this one has a pretty good ending to it. My favorite part of the book was when Ko Wakatsuki had and interview at Fort Lincoln. The reason I enjoy this part is he was being a smart-alecky person about the whole interview and it made me laugh. Ko is asked questions more than one time, and after a while he began asking the questions and it makes the interviewer very mad. My least favorite part about the book is when Mama is being abused by her husband. I don't see how she stood by him that long.
I don't think I would change any part of the story. This story happened in real life to the Wakatsuki family and we can't change what really took place. The story pretty much has a good ending. They got out of Manzanar camp with their dignity.
I highly recommend people read this book about Japanese Americans because it is very interesting to know what happened. It is not easy to hear, see or read about how the different cultures were treated.

Powerful story of an American family's struggle
"Farewell to Manzanar" is by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston. In a foreword Jeanne Houston notes that this book, which tells about the internment of a Japanese-American family during World War II, is a true story. "Farewell" is a rich and fascinating chronicle. The Houstons follow the lives of the members of the Wakatsuki family before, during, and after the experience of internment.

The narrative is full of compelling details of the family's experiences. It is particularly intriguing to watch how the internment camp evolved into "a world unto itself, with its own logic"--a "desert ghetto." During the course of the book the authors discuss many important topics: religion, education, anti-Asian bigotry, the impact of the Pearl Harbor attack, the military service of Japanese-Americans during the war, and more.

The Houstons write vividly of the dislocation, humiliation, and injustice faced by the Wakatsuki family. Also powerful is the narrator's struggle to come to terms with her own ethnic identity.

For an interesting companion text, I would suggest "Desert Exile," by Yoshiko Uchida; this book also deals with the internment experience, but from a somewhat different perspective which complements that of the Houstons. I was moved by "Farewell." The book is a profound meditation on both the hope and the tragedy of the United States, in which the "American dream" can become intermingled with American nightmares. I consider this book an important addition to Asian-American studies in particular, and to the canon of multiethnic U.S. literature in general. ... Read more

Book Description

Remarkable story of the savage persecuation of Christian in Korea during World War II, Ahn E. Sook stood alone among thousands of kneeling people.Her bold defiance of the tyrannical demand to bow to pagan Japanese shrines condemned her to a living death in the filth and degradation of a Japanese prison.This brave woman remained faithful to Christ in the face of brutality, oppression, and ruthlessness of her captors.The story of how she won many of her fellow prisoners to Christ, in the most deplorable conditions, is an inspirtation to all. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Awe Inspiring Story of an Incredible Woman
Verse 4:16 in the book of Esther provides the backdrop of a modern-day Esther who went to Japan to warn the Japanese against their idol/shrine worship. She had a heart for the Japanese people to bring them to a knowledge of Jesus Christ, but was instead thrown into prison because she refused to worship idols. Like a modern-day Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, she refused to bow to the shrine worship and was fully prepared to die. She lived by faith, prayer and leaning on Jesus during her long ordeal, and even though she was starved and tortured and ill, as it was for Daniel in the lion's den, God stopped the mouths and hands of her worse enemies in miraculous ways. She became a testimony to those in the prison and won many to Christ, from crazed murderers, to cruel prison guards, to a former geisha who became a missionary in the mountains. There were many moments of despair and longing for the deliverance of death, and Esther bemoans her weakness and hunger, and this all shows that she is weak, but that God is strong, with His strength made perfect through our weaknesses. All her trials and tribulations showed her how Jesus is faithful and never left her and finally delivered her when she was freed at the end of the war and escaped the Communists to South Korea. Her mother was a remarkable person, having led Esther to the LORD and kept her faith providing Esther with encouragement and prayer. This book will strengthen your faith and encourage you also when things get tough and you learn to lean on the everlasting arms. It is also hard to put down and my daughter read it all the way through in a day.

the Living Word
Although it has been years since reading the book, several impressions still remain.

One was the way scripture constantly came out in Esther Ahn's life. It was very real. Some readers, in their reading of fiction, may seek adventure and plot--this book has it in its recounting of imprisonment and persecution of a Christian in Korea--but seeing how the Word comes to her mind all the time, seeing how her life was built on this, is what made me love the book.

And the thing that hit me the most was: when I finished reading the book, I felt strongly: I WANT TO MEET HER MOTHER! Her mother wasn't one of the main characters in the book, but it was the mother who instilled in Esther Ahn her unshakable confidence in the Word and lifestyle of constant reference to it.

"I have never seen anything like this before," the senior officer, who was a Korean, said. "The daughter is great. The mother is greater."

What A Mighty God We Serve !
What a well written an awesome testimony of God Almighty. As on e reads this biographical collection one can clearly see the Hand of God in this faithful woman's life. We,in this current age, especially in the USA, can not really imagine what it means to stand for one's faith and be persecuted for it. After reading this account one can truly see that our God is the 'God of the Impossible' and His ways are so above ours. What an encouraging book. I can't wait to meet Esther Kim at heaven's gate!

Faith and forgiveness in action
In the face of the most brutal treatment and systematic persecution by her Japanese captors during WWII, Esther Kim puts into action the love of God that overcomes anguish, fear and incomprehensible evil. This is one of the most moving books I've ever read and was instrumental in my own personal search for a God who is real and who makes a difference.

It's inspiring. Esther is a true, honorable servant of God.
Some may think that reading a book about persecution is depressing, showing them a side of life that they hope to avoid. This book, though it describes hardships, leaves the reader feeling inspired. Esther describes her struggle to submit to God's will, and through her humility, the love God is clearly shining through her life.

This book is also a good source to learn about the history and therefore present relations between Korea and Japan. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (5)

A very good book
The Malaysia theater of WWII has often been neglected, especially after the capitulation of the commonwealth at Singapore. This book was written by one the the operatives the Brits sent in to hassle the Japanese forces behind their lines. It is an interesting story that leads to many adventures and insite into a complex number of peoples fighting the Japanese.

Unbelievable but true
There are so many interesting pieces of information in this book that they make the read worth it. The literary quality is not high but the text does not get in the way of the contents. It begins with day-by-day accounts of guerilla warfare in the jungle but the at the end gives more of an overview of events. Read and be baffled by a man that lived through disease and dangers beyond your imagination.

The WWII tactical equivalent of "Seven Pillars of Wisdom"
This book was used as a primer for jungle operations by the Ex-Nazi units of the French Foreign Legion during their involvement in Indochina from 1947 - 1950.

Although it lacks the literary quality of Lawrence's "Seven Pillars of Wisdom," it is without a doubt the tactical equivalent.

A must-read for the professional military officer.

A true story of"saving private ryan" drama in the east.
A diary of an English army officer during world war 2,fighting a guerila warfare attack against the Japanese occupation in Malaya.It reveals Chapman's jungle survival skill , his determination to survive over the years in the jungle and the detail account of his guerila style attack against the enemy.Chapman embrace you deeply into the plot,e.g:his sorrow of losing his fellowmate during the attack,the frustration and thinking of the day when he can go home to England.Truly a must read book for the world war 2 nostalgic.He committed suicide later in his life blaming the pain and suffering he endured during the war did not leave him. A true war hero!

Captivating and inspiring book; informative as well
Mr Chapman's true account of his existence in maylaysia in a stay behind party is captivating. It reads like a diary but also an awsome survival guide for anyone lost in the jungles of the far east; also contains maps and recipes. I understand some soldiers were made to read this as an assignment. But, and this is the beauty of this book, its value is not limited to the poor bloke who has to fight charlie, mosquitoes and dissentary: this is the picture of a real man, nothing to do with the men of leisure that we've become today in the west. Real nerves of steel...I'd have died within three weeks of the ordeal, I can almost guarantee that. ... Read more

Book Description

Chiura Obata was one of more than 100,000 Japanese Americans forcefully relocated in 1942 from their homes and communities to the stark barracks of desert internment camps. As an artist faithfully recording the world around him, Obatas work from this period gives us a view into the camps that is at once honest in the details of austerity and hardship, and strikingly lyrical in its portrayal of hope and beauty even in incarceration.

Topaz Moon presents more than 100 of Obatas sketches, sumi paintings, and watercolors from the internment period. Lovingly collected and edited by his granddaughter, Obatas work gives testament to his artistic genius and a spirit undefeated by adversity. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Great art and great social history
This is a wonderful book. I bought it for the artwork which is fresh, inventive, and very skillful but the social history is equally engrossing. The text is clearly written and generous with quotes.

At 8.25" square it's smaller than your average coffee table book, but the pages are rich with intelligence, beauty and invention.

Great for educating children about Executive Order 9066.
Most of the artwork are done in black ink on white paper. It makes for a stark and bleak testament to the difficulties faced and endured by the internees. The book is a great teaching tool for children and adults, not only to learn about the internment, but to study the artwork.

A compelling and fascinating work
Topaz Moon is a testament to the power of art, not simply as a mechanism for creating beauty, but also as a method of documenting history. Faced with the social disruption and indignity of relocation and internment in WWII, Professor Chiura Obata of the University of California at Berkeley chose to use his considerable artistic gifts to create what amounts to a visual diary of his internment experience. Seemingly hundreds of drawings, pen and ink paintings and watercolors (too many to count) document Professor Obata and his families experiences from the start of the war, through relocation to Tanforan, internment at Topaz, and beyond, in stark terms, quiet dignity and haunting beauty.

Unlike photography which can only memorialize the actual events of a moment, painting and sketching allows the artist to document his or her own emotional reaction to those events. Dorothea Lange, herself an admirer of Professor Obata, took photographs of the Tanforan relocation center, including Professor Obata's art classes, some of which are reproduced in Topaz Moon. However, compared to Professor Obata's own first hand sketches of the internment process, Lange's photos appear emotionless. This is because Professor Obata infuses his documentary sketches, which are remeniscent of Van Gogh's figural drawings, with the powerful emotional reactions he felt in witnessing scenes in which he too was a victim.

But Topaz Moon is a text which is more about creating community than casting blame. Kimi Kodani Hill, Professor Obata's granddaughter, has framed her grandfather's art with an insightful, succinct and compelling history of Professor Obata's life and the events of the time. The anectdotes relayed by Ms. Hill emphasize the support, assistance and sympathy given to the Obata's by their many freinds outside of the camps. I was struck by the fact the President of U.C. Berkeley, Robert Gordon Sproul, who himself was vocally opposed to the internment, personally rescued Professor Obata's life's work of art and stored that art in his official U.C. residence for the duration of the war.

While Topaz Moon is more than an art book, the art itself is more than merely documentary. Professor Obata's finished paintings and sumi-e works represent some of the best American artwork of the 20th Century. Works such as Moonlight Over Topaz (commissioned by Eleanor Roosevelt while Professor Obata was still interred), Hospital Topaz, and Silent Moonlight at Tanforan Relocation Center would stand out in any museum. In their own way, these images are every bit as beautiful as his earlier Yosemite woodblock prints.

I highly recommend this book. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Song of Survival provides a window into an often overlooked dimension of World War II--the imprisonment of women and children in Southeast Asia. It is Helen Colijn's memoir of the three and a half years she spent in a Japanese prison camp on the island of Java. Colijn and her family were living in the Dutch Indies when the Japanese army invaded. When her family's attempt to flee failed, Colijn ended up in one of the many Japanese internment camps for the duration of the war. The conditions were harsh, food was scarce, and medicine was unavailable, but the women who survived the starvation and disease somehow found the courage to persist. They found faith and resiliency in their comraderie with each other and in their voices. To help sustain them in their captivity, the women created music with lyrics expressing hope and the sentiment that the world has seen too much war. This moving account of extraordinary women inspired the film Paradise Road and should inspire its readers as well. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Song of Survival
I have not yet read the book, certainly plan on reading it. I have however attended aplay this past Friday evening. A local Community Theatre presented it and I was in great awe of their performance. They did great justice to the story line and I am so pleased to have been present. At the end I so wanted to stand up with/for them as they closed with The Captive's Hymn. The message of strength, courage, and spirit were felt by all in attendance. Such strength these women had, makes me proud of my female sisters!

A Moving Message of Faith
It wasn't long ago that America watched "Paradise Road" in movie theaters across the country. Audiences were captivated with the story of a young girl and her family's struggle to survive imprisonment by the Japanese. Like many moviegoers today, the audience may not have read the inspirational work behind the motion picture. Helen Colijn's Song of Survival is a real story. The experiences that Coljin documents in her work are real. The author gives her readers a glimpse of her life, and that of the other women imprisoned in Southeast Asia by the Japanese during World War II. Readers follow Colijn through the experiences of a shipwreck, being captured, and being imprisoned for three-and-a-half years.

Based on her original manuscript written just after her imprisonment, Colijn's story is one of hope and perseverance. Many other books written by soldiers and survivors of World War II are laden with hardship and sadness especially those books detailing the accounts of brutality of the Japanese during their quest to expand their empire westward through Asia such as The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang. Colijn's story is unique in that it details true survival of not just the body of the imprisoned, but the soul as well. The women of the camp in which Colijn was imprisoned used music to life their spirits and "free their souls" from detainment.

Reading a book such as Song of Survival can open up a new door to the way in which we learn about prisoners of war. Colijn describes disease and starvation leading to the deaths of more than one-third of the population of the camp (Colijn 159-169). "Before our internment was over, twenty-six Dutch children lost their mothers," she says (Colijn 162). But all the while, the women kept their spirits from breaking entirely through singing classical songs and even performing vocal concerts among themselves (Colijn129-146). Colijn gives her readers an idea of the sisterhood within her camp among the prisoners. This feeling of family is often discussed within the realm of the formation of a brotherhood-such as is seen in Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose--of soldiers, but is rarely seen in accounts of imprisonment. The work is so poignant because Colijn is able to draw from true personal experiences.

The author teaches her readers that even during imprisonment, with just a little faith and a little music, souls will have the ability to wander free. By using an effective autobiographical format, Colijn tells her story from a very personal perspective. She recalls the events so vividly that it is impossible for readers not to feel the same emotions that the prisoners felt. Colijn's work is so well crafted that even her feelings of optimism shine through the seemingly unpromising situation. As trite as it may seem, Colijn notes that several women even made "liberation dresses" to wear for the day that their camp was liberated by the Allied forces (Colijn 129).

A book such as Colijn's is an important element in any study of World War II as it not only brings to light the idea of hope in spite of hardship, but it also shows what seems to be a neglected area of war accounts-the struggle of women as prisoners of war. A personal account of the struggles of being imprisoned by the Japanese that is so seasoned with hope is rarely seen. Colijn serves the women of her camp well with Song of Survival. With the work of one author, hundreds of women's stories will live on to be read by future generations who will bear witness to the events taking place-the immense struggle-during World War II. Song of Survival will live on long after the last survivor passes away. It will carry a message of faith and perseverance for the women in Colijn's camp who kept hope alive through their immense personal strength.

Men might not have prevailed like this heroines.
When one reads of the hardships that Colijn and her fellow inmates lived through, one expects that they would have focused on survival, and thrown all other concerns to the wind. There were some who did, but not others. Many strove to keep a modicum of loveliness in their lives. Sometimes, all they could do was escape to memories of their past, either through daydreaming or conversation. There were instances, however, of actual impact on their current situation, including a refusal of some inmates to lick their plates(though food was scarce), struggles to live in peace and harmony with fellow inmates, and, most of all, the musical peformances.

You might imagine that if you were living in a filthy prison camp where people were dropping like flies, you would owe it to yourself to fight for your survival tooth and nail, even against the other inmates, and the furthest thing from your mind would be music. You would need to look out for number one, period. Colijn believes that many more of them might have perished, or, at least, might not have come out as well, had there not been a commitment to community and beauty in that abject misery. In a sense, this book tells about war heroines.

What a wonderous thing is woman??
Song of Survival was read, with other texts, as research for a forthcoming production The Shoe-Horn Sonata, by Australian John Misto, and added immeasurably to the background knowledge of director and cast. What remarkable women!! How beautifully Helen tells her own story and that of the thousands of women and children prisoners of the Japanese in what we now call Indonesia. That so many died does not surprise when you learn of the conditions in which they lived; that so many survived is testament to true strength; that they can tell their story is true courage. Thank you Helen.

I also noted from the review by Leslie Terwilliger that there is a play version of Song of Survival and I would be very interested learning more about it. Please contact me at ipiuwi@hotmail.com.

touching and heart rending
While I have never read the book, I am currently portraying one of the people (Dorothy, an Australian nurse) in 'Song of Survival' in the theatrical (play) version. Not once has one of our performance failed to induce tears in our audience. This is not just because of the talents of our cast (though we do have a remarkable cast of wonderful women) but mainly because this is a story of incredible courage, strength, and hope. When my character dies in the play she dies with a heart rid of the fear of dying. She is at peace and she says earlier on that it is because of the beautiful music that helped her know herself. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

One of the best from America's 1st literary foodie
MFK Fisher holds a special place in the hearts of all 'foodie' Americans. She was perhaps the 1st person to see the sense of writing food-based literary books and articles, and of course it's now a genre unto itself. But few have rivaled her beautiful prose, and I recall reading that she once said she considered it a day well-lived if she'd managed to compose one perfect sentence. To consider her just a food writer is to do her an injustice; she is a writer, first and foremost, who happens, sometimes, to write about food.
Long Ago in France is a memoir of her years in Dijon in the 30s, a book full of rich wine, rich ideas, character portraits filled with rich detail. It's about Life, a life filled with joy, experience, food, travel, and memorable people. This book is a paean to a lost era.
Highest recommendation.

A Reader's Feast
Between 1929 and 1932, young M.F.K. Fisher (later a famed chef and memoirist) and her husband Al Fisher lived and studied in Dijon, France. Here she discovered the people and the food of Burgundy, and she describes both with warmth, sensuality, and humor (without becoming overly sentimental: "It was there, I now understand, that I started to grow up, to study, to make love, to eat and drink, to be me and not what I was expected to be."

Her writing is crisp and evocative. "He took the apple slices from the bowl one by one, almost faster than we could see, and shook off the wine and laid them in a great, beautiful whorl, from the outside to the center, as perfect as a snail shell. We said not a word. The music trembled in the room." Fisher helps the reader discover the beauty of our appetites. She writes of an old soldier who offers her chocolate: "The chocolate broke at first like gravel into many separate, disagreeable bits...Then they grew soft, and melted voluptuously." Then a doctor offers her bread, admonishing, "Never eat chocolate without bread, young lady!" There is a delicious denouement: "...in two minutes my mouth was full of fresh bread, and melting chocolate, and as we sat gingerly, the three of us, on the frozen hill...we peered shyly and silently at each other and chewed at one of the most satisfying things I have ever eaten..."

This was a time of great importance for Fisher, and she generously shares her experiences in a richly satisfying book. It's a small treasure.

A ghost is born in Dijon
M.F.K. Fisher wrote some of the best prose in English--and this memoir is interesting because it documents her arrival and stay in Dijon as a student in the 20's. While some of the chapters were published later, in edited form, in other collections by Fisher, this book is valuable because it deals only with Fisher's time in Dijon. There is more detail about her stay with the Ollangniers, the French family who rented a room to Fisher and her husband Al while he worked on his doctorate. Fisher talks more about the students, professors and her daily life as she becomes, as she put it, a ghost. Perhaps by "ghost", Fisher meant that she knew, at that time, she would always leave a bit of her spirit forever in France. Her days in Dijon formed her as the writer she became, so if you are a Fisher fan, this is required reading.

Excellent - 'the art of eating' & how to live one's life
MFK Fisher wrote like an angel about food and wine and people and conversation and just about everything else that could possibly matter. She lived an enviable life, always at ease whether she was in Dijon or Switzerland or Sonoma Valley, and always writing brilliantly about how to live one's life fully. "Long Ago in France" tells of her discovery of voluptuous living in Dijon in the 1930's; "As They Were" is a collection of essays from her travels that rivals Paul Theroux for vivid evocations of place; "With Bold Knife and Fork" is a collection of some 140 recipes all wrapped up in lovely chapters with titles like "Some Ways to Laugh" and "The Trouble With Tripe." (Reviewed in detail by Susannah Indigo for Clean Sheets Magazine ...) ... Read more

Book Description

Growing up in California, Yoshi knew her family looked different from their neighbors. Still, she felt like an American. But everything changed when America went to war against Japan. Along with all the other Japanese-Americans on the West Coast, Yoshi's family were rounded up and imprisoned in a crowded. badly built camp in the desert because they"looked like the enemy." Yoshiko Uchida grew up to be an award-winning author. This memoir of her childhood gives a personal account of a shameful episode in American history.

Reviews (10)

A very good book about a shameful time in history.
Yoshiko Uchida vividly tells about growing up a Japanese American in California and being sent to a concentration camp during World War II. I found this book very interesting and couldn't put it down. It was interesting to read about the Japanese customs and holidays that her family observed and to learn more about something that should not have happened in our history.

Very Intriguing
I am 10, but I found this book incredible. I love reading biographies and autobiographies so "The Invisible Thread" was perfect for me. Yoshiko writes well and I just couldn't believe that people would be so cruel to innocent people that looked like Japanese people. Yoshiko wasn't even really Japanese, just Nisei. This is one great book!!!!!

Walking an invisible thread
The delicate balance that must be maintained in non-fiction children's books is this: While we cannot pretend to ignore or beautify the ugly events that have happened in the past, at the same time we must make these horrendous occurrences palatable to the young reader. In the case of Yoshiko Uchida, the notable Japanese-American children's author has made her career in writing about Japanese, Japanese-Americans, and their place in history. With "The Invisible Thread" the author has decided to write a work that is a little more personal. This autobiography marks a departure for Uchida, leaving behind the fictional past for the real one. In it, kids learn first-hand about a particularly shameful (and shamingly recent) chapter in America's history: the degrading Japanese internment camps.

A good author writing about a catastrophic event leads up to the moment cautiously. If you're showing a difficult moment in a person's (or persons') life, you don't just run headlong into the moment without giving a little background first. In this way, Uchida sets the stage for the reader. Yoshiko grew up as a second generation Japanese-American in California in the 1930s. Born of parents that had both immigrated to the United States separately, Yoshiko was privileged to live in a fairly well-to-do area in Berkley, California. Living with Japanese ancestry in the U.S. at that time was not an easy thing, but Yoshika was hardly about to challenge the system. As we watch the author grows up, goes to college, and makes numerous friends. Her life, such as it was, was fairly uneventful. Then, just about halfway through the book Pearl Harbor is bombed and everything changes. Yoshiko and her family are sent packing from their beloved home (and dog) to temporary quarters in an old racing track. The story picks up as she learns to teach and exist in her new environment, detailing the dehumanizing effect that such living has on human beings.

What I liked about this book was the real sense one got of the difference the America of that time and the American of today. Uchida puts it best herself in a passage found in the chapter, "Prisoner of My Country". In this passage she writes:

"Resistance or confrontation such as we know them today was unthinkable, for the world then was a totally different place. There had been no freedom marches or demonstrations of protest. No one had yet heard of Martin Luture King, Jr. No one knew about ethnic pride. Most Americans were not concerned about civil rights and would not have supported us had we tried to resist the uprooting".

Educators using this book today could easily point out that though we are not interning people of Middle Eastern descent today, we are certainly not making America a place that is much more hospitable today than it was for the Japanese at that time. The book is a useful tool for placing a moment in American history within its context. I was especially thrilled to find that