Imprisoned: The Betrayal of Japanese Americans during World War II

by Martin W. Sandler

Overview

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 Culling information from extensive, previously unpublished interviews and oral histories with Japanese American survivors of internment camps, Martin W. Sandler gives an in-depth account of their lives before, during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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802722775
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	08/27/2013
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	8.70(w) x 10.60(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Martin W. Sandler is an award-winning author of many books for young readers, including The Story of Photography, a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honor Book, and Vaqueros. He is also a television producer. A five-time Emmy winner and a two-time Pulitzer Prize nominee, he lives in Massachusetts with his wife.

Editorial 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)

Kirkus Reviews

PRAISE FOR IMPRISONED” —:

“YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults finalist” —:

“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.” —Booklist, starred review

“PRAISE FOR LINCOLN THROUGH THE LENS” —:

“*"Although it's the pictures that provide the 'wow factor,' Sandler's perceptive words have their own elegance."” —Booklist, starred review

“*"This appealing, accessible title will be savored from beginning to end."” —School Library Journal, starred review

“PRAISE FOR THE DUST BOWL THROUGH THE LENS” —:

“*"Seldom has the connection between the arts and the general quality of life been made so clear."” —School Library Journal, starred review

“Inspiring and involving.” —VOYA

“PRAISE FOR KENNEDY THROUGH THE LENS

” —:

“An accessible, insightful perspective on one of America's most famous presidents.” —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher