Fighting For Honor: Japanese Americans and World War II
Gr 6-10-This explanation of the unfair circumstances and incredible heroism of first- and second-generation Japanese Americans during World War II is similar in tone and format to Jerry Stanley's I Am an American (Crown, 1994). What distinguishes Cooper's effort is the more extensive, descriptive, and sometimes grisly attention given to these soldiers' contributions to the military conflict in Europe. As an example, the Japanese Americans who served in the 100th/442nd battalion became "the most highly decorated unit in U.S. military history" at a time when most of their families had been forcibly removed from their homes and businesses in Washington, Oregon, and California. Cooper begins with a strong first chapter that establishes the extent of the American prejudice against these citizens and the post-Pearl Harbor hysteria that led to the establishment of the War Relocation Authority. The author then questions why this happened and responds with solid cause and effect examples, utilizing relevant archival photographs of these "barbed wire communities." On the war front, the descriptions of individual acts of bravery in Europe are drawn from first-person accounts and other sources, and while the geography is not introduced well, the battles' objectives, actions, and results are clear.-Andrew Medlar, Chicago Public Library, ILCopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.