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 Culling information from extensive, previously unpublished interviews and oral histories with Japanese American survivors of internment camps, Martin W. Sandler gives an in-depth account of their lives before, during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:	9781547604692
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	02/18/2020
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	176
Sales rank:	663,190
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 10.40(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	10 - 12 Years

About the Author

Martin W. Sandler is the author of Lincoln Through the Lens, The Dust Bowl Through the Lens, and Kennedy Through the Lens. He has won five Emmy Awards for his writing for television and is the author of more than sixty books, two of which have been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Among Sandler's other books are the six volumes in his award-winning Library of Congress American History Series for Young People, a series which has sold more than 500,000 copies. Other books by Mr. Sandler include: Island of Hope: The Story of Ellis Island, Trapped in Ice, The Story of American Photography, The Vaqueros, America: A Celebration, and This Was America. Mr. Sandler has taught American history and American studies at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and at Smith College, and lives in Massachusetts.

Editorial 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

Gr 7 Up—Sandler expertly crafts a narrative that manages to explain the horror and incomprehensibility of locking up American citizens in prison camps simply because of their ethnic ancestry. Japanese American relocation has long been expurgated from school history texts about World War II, and here this delicate topic is handled with sensitivity and insight, providing an in-depth look at the full story, from anti-Japanese sentiments during the first wave of immigration through more current issues such as redress. A close examination of both the nation's feelings after the attack on Pearl Harbor and the political conversations that followed is an important part of the story that leads up to the actual relocation of hundreds of thousands of people. There is also a lengthy and moving section about the young Japanese Americans who served in the military in a variety of capacities, from actual combat to intelligence and translation services. Sandler makes it clear that these brave folks were battling prejudice and tyranny overseas while their families and friends were suffering under it back at home. The irony was not lost on them. Photographs help to further the narrative and yet tell their own story, offering rich detail and putting a human face on this tragic episode. A must-have for any library collection.—Jody Kopple, Shady Hill School, Cambridge, MA

School Library Journal

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