Wednesday, January 01, 2020
They Called Us Enemy
by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott, and Harmony Becker
One of the best ways to learn about history is by reading a first person account. Another good way is to read a biography. So an autobiography, therefore, would be a good choice if you wanted to learn about a particular stretch of time. Or so goes my opinion. Now if you had asked my opinion on what you should read to learn about the Japanese Internement during World War II, I would have immediately recommended Nisei Daughter by Monica Sone. Well, until I read this book. Now I'd have to think a moment first.
They Called Us Enemy is a graphic novel telling George Takei's experiences of being interned during the war. In it he not only details his childhood thoughts and feelings of the time, but also the thoughts and feelings of his family and neighbors that he didn't understand at the time. He also mentions some of his post-war experiences and the scars the internment left on his family. The delightful artwork of Harmony Becker adds to the storytelling, conveying the emotions of the tale to a deeper extent than simple text could do.
So now what book would I recommend to someone looking to learn about the Japanese Internement? Well, I'd honestly recommend both. If you limited me to one, I suppose I'd lean toward this one, and hope it would influence you to read the other.
Of course it's on my shelf.
LibraryThing link
One of the best ways to learn about history is by reading a first person account. Another good way is to read a biography. So an autobiography, therefore, would be a good choice if you wanted to learn about a particular stretch of time. Or so goes my opinion. Now if you had asked my opinion on what you should read to learn about the Japanese Internement during World War II, I would have immediately recommended Nisei Daughter by Monica Sone. Well, until I read this book. Now I'd have to think a moment first.
They Called Us Enemy is a graphic novel telling George Takei's experiences of being interned during the war. In it he not only details his childhood thoughts and feelings of the time, but also the thoughts and feelings of his family and neighbors that he didn't understand at the time. He also mentions some of his post-war experiences and the scars the internment left on his family. The delightful artwork of Harmony Becker adds to the storytelling, conveying the emotions of the tale to a deeper extent than simple text could do.
So now what book would I recommend to someone looking to learn about the Japanese Internement? Well, I'd honestly recommend both. If you limited me to one, I suppose I'd lean toward this one, and hope it would influence you to read the other.
Of course it's on my shelf.
LibraryThing link
Labels: OnMyShelf
// posted by John @ 2:15 PM 
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