Japanese American Internment during World War II: A History and Reference Guide / Edition 1

by Wendy Ng

Overview

The internment of thousands of Japanese Americans during World War II is one of the most shameful episodes in American history. This history and reference guide will help students and other interested readers to understand the history of this action and its reinterpretation in recent years, but it will also help readers to understand the Japanese American wartime experience through the words of those who were interned. Why did the U.S. government take this extraordinary action? How was the evacuation and resettlement handled? How did Japanese Americans feel on being asked to leave their homes and live in what amounted to concentration camps? How did they respond, and did they resist? What developments have taken place in the last twenty years that have reevaluated this wartime action?

A variety of materials is provided to assist readers in understanding the internment experience. Six interpretive essays examine key aspects of the event and provide new interpretations based on the most recent scholarship. Essays include:
- A short narrative history of the Japanese in America before World War II
- The evacuation
- Life within barbed wire-the assembly and relocation centers
- The question of loyalty-Japanese Americans in the military and draft resisters
- Legal challenges to the evacuation and internment
- After the war-resettlement and redress
A chronology of events, 26 biographical profiles of important figures, the text of 10 key primary documents—from Executive Order 9066, which authorized the internment camps, to first-person accounts of the internment experience—a glossary of terms, and an annotative bibliography of recommended print sources and web sites provide ready reference value. Every library should update its resources on World War II with this history and reference guide.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313313752
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	12/30/2001
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.56(d)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

WENDY NG is Associate Professor of Sociology at San Jose State University. /e

Table of Contents

Preface
Abbreviations
Chronology of Events
Japanese American Internment During World War II
The Japanese in America Before World War II
Evacuation
Life within Barbed Wire
The Question of Loyalty: Japanese Americans in the Military and Draft Resisters
Legal Challenges to the Evacuation and Internment
After the War: Resettlement and Redress
Biographies: The Personalities Behind the Japanese American Internment Program
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Among the several books about the Japanese American internment published in the past year (e.g., Last Witnesses, By Order of the President), this book is the most general. Ng (sociology, San Jose State Univ.), herself a Japanese American, has written six thematic essays: "The Japanese in America Before World War II," "Evacuation," "Life Within Barbed Wire," "The Question of Loyalty: Japanese Americans in the Military and Draft Resisters," "Legal Challenges to the Evacuation and Internment," and "After the War: Resettlement and Redress." She also offers a brief photographic essay, short biographies of major personalities in the internment, and a selection of primary documents. Using first-person accounts and government reports, Ng presents a concise overview of events relating to Japanese Americans from the late 19th century through 2000. While the coverage in so few pages cannot be very in depth, the book does give the reader a good sense of the effects of the racial discrimination, incarceration, and shame so many Japanese Americans have experienced. Ng's approachable writing style makes this book accessible to all readers and would be valuable in high school, public, and academic libraries. Katharine L. Kan, Allen Cty. P.L., Fort Wayne, IN Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal