Uprooted : The Japanese American Experience During World War II by Albert Martin - ADVISABLE

Marrin, Albert Uprooted : The Japanese American Experience During World War II, NON-FICTION 256 pgs. Alfred A. Knopf (Random House), 2016. $$17.99  Language: PG (8 swears, 0’f’); Mature Content: PG; Violence: R. 

Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese 75 years ago, this set in motion one of the most troubling executive orders in the history of America.  Fearing that the west coast Japanese Americans and their parents may turn traitorous - or finding an excuse to let racial bias free up jobs and farms - over 100,000 patriotic law abiding American citizens of Japanese ancestry were rounded up and forced into concentration camps. No trial, no proof of any wrongdoing, just hysteria and hatred. Even the Supreme Court ruled on the side of the government.  After all, this is war!   Beginning with the story of Pearl Harbor, Uprooted chronicles a brief history of ancient Japan, and the rise of industrialism, a new kind of warrior, and the beginning of Japanese immigration to America. Continuing through the early 20th century, including the Bataan Death March, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and Japanese contributions to the war in Europe, this is a very well written account.  Although their families were prisoners, living in terrible circumstances, with barbed wire, guards and no privacy, these proud and educated people continued to support the United States through World War II, even fighting overseas as soldiers and intelligence personnel.  

Well documented, this history includes first person accounts, photographs (with credits), notes, a bibliography, internet sources and an index.  The descriptions (and some of the pictures) of the brutality of war are quite graphic.  This is a history I didn’t learn in school. Too much disturbing content to rate this essential, but a necessary consideration for the reader to see all sides. 

HS - ADVISABLE  Lisa Librarian