Only What We Could Carry: The Japanese American Internment Experience
Cultural Writing. Asian-American Studies. Shortly after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, more than 100,000 Japanese Americans were uprooted from their homes and communitites and banished to remote internment camps. This collection of haunting reminiscences, letters, stories, poems, and graphic art gives voice to the range of powerful emotions with which these victims of wartime hysteria struggled. ONLY WHAT WE COULD CARRY gathers together the voices of internement — private, personal...
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\ School Library JournalAdult/High School-The editor of this unusual anthology has drawn from a wealth of material: poetry, prose, biography, news accounts, formal government declarations, letters, and autobiography along with photographs, sketches, and cartoons that reflect the tragedy of the internment. Taken as a whole, it conveys the deep anguish felt by Japanese who defined themselves as citizens of the United States and yet lost their rights as citizens during a time of national fear. There are editorials published in both Japanese-American newspapers and local papers of the time. A girl describes the day she voluntarily left her home to gather with hundreds of other Japanese to board trains to unknown destinations. One selection is from the autobiography of George Takei, Star Trek's Mr. Sulu. There are delicate haiku and woodblock prints. The official documents issued by President Roosevelt that instituted the forced internment are also included. Readers will come away from this book with a deep understanding of the times, the sense of betrayal, and the conflicting feelings among the three major groups of Japanese who went through the ordeal.-Cynthia J. Rieben, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.\ \ \ \ \ BooknewsThis collection of reminiscences, letters, stories, poems, graphic art, and propaganda expresses the fear, confusion and anger of the Japanese-American experience in internment camps during World War II. Also included are stories of those outside the camps, whose lives were interwoven with those of the internees. Appendixes include historical documents, a chronology, information on assembly centers and internment camps, and a glossary of Japanese words, U.S. military terms, and slang from the period. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)\ \ \ From The CriticsOnly What We Could Carry provides an important account of the Japanese American internment experience after the Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor. Personal documents, art and propaganda are presented in a title which captures the camp experience in a series of personal autobiographical revelations. Highly recommended.\ \
