Uprooted: The Japanese American Experience During World War II

Reviewed by: Brooke Faulkner - McArthur Library, Biddeford, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: February 8, 2017

Review

This thorough and broadly focused examination of the detention and internment by the United States of over 100,000 Japanese immigrants (called "Issei" meaning "first-generation") and their second generation Japanese-American children (or "Nisei") during World War II is both searing and informative. Marrin takes his time exploring socio-political forces at play during the era, providing readers with an expansive understanding of how this shameful event in U.S. history came to be. He unflinchingly examines military conquests, governmental policies, war atrocities and propaganda across various cultures, including those of Japan, while still making it clear that the camps were a crime committed by the U.S. government against those imprisoned within them, the majority of whom were U.S citizens. Woven throughout this historical presentation are the personal narratives of survivors of the camps and their relatives, some of whom served in the U.S. military during the war even as their loved ones were imprisoned. A concluding chapter that touches on Muslim Americans in the wake of the September 11th, 2001 attacks does not shy away from drawing parallels and ends with the hope that our democracy can keep an injustice like this from happening again. Featuring plentiful black and white photographs, this is an engrossing and well-researched non-fiction offering that could be paired with fiction titles like Cynthia Kadohata's "Weedflower" and Matt Faulkner's graphic novel "Gaijin." Backmatter includes source notes, a list of suggested reading, and an index.

Overall Book Score: excellent