Drawing from interviews and oral histories, chronicles the history of Japanese American survivors of internment camps. - (Baker & Taylor)

While Americans fought for freedom and democracy abroad, fear and suspicion towards Japanese Americans swept the country after Japan's sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. Culling information from extensive, previously unpublished interviews and oral histories with Japanese American survivors of internment camps, Martin W. Sandler gives an in-depth account of their lives before, during their imprisonment, and after their release. Bringing readers inside life in the internment camps and explaining how a country that is built on the ideals of freedom for all could have such a dark mark on its history, this in-depth look at a troubling period of American history sheds light on the prejudices in today's world and provides the historical context we need to prevent similar abuses of power.

Martin Sandler breaks new ground with an in depth look at Japanese internment during WWII

Martin W. Sandler is the author of Lincoln Through the Lens, The Dust Bowl Through the Lens, and Kennedy Through the Lens. He has won five Emmy Awards for his writing for television and is the author of more than sixty books, two of which have been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Among Sandler's other books are the six volumes in his award-winning Library of Congress American History Series for Young People, a series which has sold more than 500,000 copies. Other books by Mr. Sandler include: Island of Hope: The Story of Ellis Island, Trapped in Ice, The Story of American Photography, The Vaqueros, America: A Celebration, and This Was America. Mr. Sandler has taught American history and American studies at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and at Smith College, and lives in Massachusetts. - (McMillan Palgrave)

Booklist Reviews

*Starred Review* Yes, the bombing of Pearl Harbor drew America into WWII. But it also created strong waves of fear and mistrust of Japanese American immigrants in the U.S. and led to their internment in poorly appointed, remote "relocation centers" for the duration of the war. In addition to placing their story within a broader context, Sandler uses apt quotes to introduce readers to individual evacuees and their families, who lost their belongings, yet maintained their dignity during their sometimes humiliating ordeals. The book also documents the loyal service of Japanese Americans in the U.S. military as translators and fighting forces. In the opening scene, Japanese American soldiers, whose families still lived in relocation centers surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards, help liberate prisoners from the Germans' Dachau concentration camp. The well-organized, clearly written text also fills in the broader history of Japanese immigrants in America, from the first generation, who were often excluded from citizenship, to the activists of the 1960s and 1970s, who demanded a public apology and reparations from the U.S. government for the treatment of their elders during the war. Beautifully illustrated with well-chosen photographs and other documents, this handsome book offers a clear view of an episode in American history that still receives too little focus. Copyright 2013 Booklist Reviews.

Booklist Reviews

*Starred Review* Yes, the bombing of Pearl Harbor drew America into WWII. But it also created strong waves of fear and mistrust of Japanese American immigrants in the U.S. and led to their internment in poorly appointed, remote "relocation centers" for the duration of the war. In addition to placing their story within a broader context, Sandler uses apt quotes to introduce readers to individual evacuees and their families, who lost their belongings, yet maintained their dignity during their sometimes humiliating ordeals. The book also documents the loyal service of Japanese Americans in the U.S. military as translators and fighting forces. In the opening scene, Japanese American soldiers, whose families still lived in relocation centers surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards, help liberate prisoners from the Germans' Dachau concentration camp. The well-organized, clearly written text also fills in the broader history of Japanese immigrants in America, from the first generation, who were often excluded from citizenship, to the activists of the 1960s and 1970s, who demanded a public apology and reparations from the U.S. government for the treatment of their elders during the war. Beautifully illustrated with well-chosen photographs and other documents, this handsome book offers a clear view of an episode in American history that still receives too little focus. Copyright 2013 Booklist Reviews.

Horn Book Guide Reviews

Sandler provides a fairly comprehensive overview of the Japanese American experience during WWII, tracing anti-Japanese prejudice back to the earliest stages of immigration. His earnest telling is complemented by well-chosen primary sources, not just the words but also black-and-white photographs that present striking images. Bib., ind.

Horn Book Magazine Reviews

German concentration camp Dachau was liberated by American soldiers -- Japanese American soldiers. "And at the very moment they were setting the Dachau prisoners free, tens of thousands of their relatives and friends back home in the United States were being held against their will in what amounted to American concentration camps." Sandler provides a fairly comprehensive overview of the Japanese American experience during WWII, tracing anti-Japanese prejudice back to the earliest stages of immigration and discussing the effects of Pearl Harbor, the numerous injustices suffered because of relocation, the tremendous amount of patriotism and fortitude exhibited by Japanese Americans both in the camps and in the military, the movement toward redress, and the possibility of a recurrence of that same hysteria-produced prejudice against Arab Americans today. Sandler's earnest telling is complemented by well-chosen primary sources, not just the words (a child, gazing at the guard towers: "Mommy, who are they afraid of?") but also the black-and-white photographs that present striking images: people tagged for relocation -- like baggage; Boy Scouts lowering the camp flag to half-staff in honor of those killed in the fighting; a storefront proclaiming, "I AM AN AMERICAN." These primary sources provoke a visceral response in the reader, while the mix of new and familiar material informs and educates. Bibliography, source notes, and an index are appended. jonathan hunt

Kirkus Reviews

Historian Sandler presents a cogent survey of Executive Order 9066 and its aftermath. The order authorized the U.S. military to relocate over 100,000 Japanese-Americans––many were U.S. citizens––from their homes in Washington, Oregon and California to detention camps. Everything was left behind. Neither the temporary holding centers nor the 10 internment camps were ready to house, feed and care for the evacuees. Whole families were housed in one small room, with meals in mess halls and humiliatingly public sanitary facilities. A few government officials did object to the order, questioning its constitutionality. Still, as the book's subtitle conveys, the disgrace and shame of the U.S. government's treatment of these innocent people remains a smear on the nation. Sandler opens with a history of the Japanese in the U.S. before moving on to a discussion of the people, camps, conditions, Japanese-Americans in U.S. military service and their lives after internment. (Irony of irony, it was the most decorated unit in U.S. Army history--the Japanese-American 442nd––that liberated Dachau.) Many, many photographs add to general knowledge, although captions lack dates--a nicety that would set a time frame. It is a good summary of a bad time, perhaps leading readers to question whether such events can reoccur in theirs. (places to visit, sources, further reading including websites, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14) Copyright Kirkus 2013 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved.

School Library Journal Reviews

Gr 7 Up—Sandler expertly crafts a narrative that manages to explain the horror and incomprehensibility of locking up American citizens in prison camps simply because of their ethnic ancestry. Japanese American relocation has long been expurgated from school history texts about World War II, and here this delicate topic is handled with sensitivity and insight, providing an in-depth look at the full story, from anti-Japanese sentiments during the first wave of immigration through more current issues such as redress. A close examination of both the nation's feelings after the attack on Pearl Harbor and the political conversations that followed is an important part of the story that leads up to the actual relocation of hundreds of thousands of people. There is also a lengthy and moving section about the young Japanese Americans who served in the military in a variety of capacities, from actual combat to intelligence and translation services. Sandler makes it clear that these brave folks were battling prejudice and tyranny overseas while their families and friends were suffering under it back at home. The irony was not lost on them. Photographs help to further the narrative and yet tell their own story, offering rich detail and putting a human face on this tragic episode. A must-have for any library collection.—Jody Kopple, Shady Hill School, Cambridge, MA