Tokyo Rose / An American Patriot: A Dual Biography
Tokyo Rose / An American Patriot explores the parallel lives of World War II legend Tokyo Rose and a Japanese American woman named Iva Toguri. Trapped in Tokyo during the war and forced to broadcast on Japanese radio, Toguri nonetheless refused to renounce her U.S. citizenship and surreptitiously aided Allied POWs. Despite these patriotic actions, she foolishly identified herself to the press after the war as Tokyo Rose. An examination of U.S.-monitored English language radio transcripts from...
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Tokyo Rose / An American Patriot explores the parallel lives of World War II legend Tokyo Rose and a Japanese American woman named Iva Toguri. Trapped in Tokyo during the war and forced to broadcast on Japanese radio, Toguri steadfastly refused to renounce her U.S. citizenship and surreptitiously aided Allied POWs. Despite these patriotic actions, she foolishly identified herself to the press after the war as Tokyo Rose. This book assembles a collection of images from American pre-war popular culture that provided impetus for the legend of Tokyo Rose and analyzes the wartime situation of servicemen, which caused their imaginations to create the mythical femme fatale even though no Japanese announcer ever used the name Tokyo Rose. Publishers Weekly Starred Review. One of WWII's most sensational stories was that of Tokyo Rose: a Japanese radio propagandist who demoralized American soldiers with stories of their wives' infidelity and impossibly accurate knowledge of U.S. troop movements. The Tokyo Rose story thrilled and horrified Americans, especially when an American citizen, Iva Toguri, was arrested for being the nefarious broadcaster-the problem, the U.S. government soon realized, was that Toguri was forced into the position of propagandist, had not actually broken any laws, and had even helped American POWs. Still, public opinion demanded that they prosecute, and she was ultimately convicted of treason. By treating Tokyo Rose, the Pacific legend, and Iva Toguri, the American citizen trapped by circumstance, as separate people, Close reaches into the heart of Cold War tension. Meticulously researched, Close's case explains not only why Toguri was not a traitor, but also why the American people, in a time of desperation, needed to believe she was. The result will prove compelling and readable for those interested in the Pacific theater, propaganda studies, or the history of the Cold War; though lengthy, Close makes his 500-plus pages worthwhile with a rich sense of context and detailed notes.
Editor's ForewordAcknowledgments xiIntroduction xiii1 Baseball Paths and Two-Lane Blacktops: Youth at Full Speed (1916-1940) 12 A Fateful Letter in Failing Light (1940-1941) 273 Tokyo Rose: Origins of the Legend (Prewar) 414 Collision with Japan: Before Pearl Harbor (1941) 675 At War and on Her Own (1942) 836 The Toguris Back Home: Internment (1942-1945) 1077 Barely Surviving: A Typist at Radio Tokyo (1943) 1338 A New Career in Broadcasting: Zero Hour (1943-1944) 1559 Tokyo Rose: The Legend of the Radio Siren (Wartime) 18110 Black Marketeer: The Destruction of Imperial Japan (1944) 21511 War's End (1945) 24112 The Scoop (1945) 25513 CIC and FBI Investigations: Exoneration and Release (1946-1947) 27514 Into the Cold War: A Furor Grows (1947-1948) 29715 The Perjurors: The FBI at Work (1948-1949) 32116 The Prosecution: United States v. Tokyo Rose (1949) 35717 The Defense: Iva Toguri v. Tokyo Rose (1949) 39118 The Verdict: United States v. Iva Toguri (1949) 43719 Alderson Federal Reformatory: Failed Appeals (1950-1959) 44720 The Quest for a Pardon (1960-2006) 479Epilogue 505Appendix: The Indictment 509Bibliography 511Index 515About the Author 521
\ Nichi Bei WeeklyClose's skill as a storyteller compels one to keep reading.\ \ \ \ \ BooklistDubbed a dual biography, this personal history parallels the legend of the infamous—and largely fictitious—Tokyo Rose with the true story of American patriot Iva Toguri. Tried and wrongly convicted of treason, Toguri, an unfortunate victim of time and circumstances, deserves another day in the court of public opinion. Close gives his subject her due by interweaving the straightforward facts of her life with the fanciful mythology of Tokyo Rose. World War II buffs will appreciate this attempt to set the record straight.\ \ \ ChoiceClose sets out to tell a 'dual biography' that compares and combines the 'lives' of Iva Toguri, a Japanese American who found herself trapped in Japan after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and eventually became a broadcaster for the Zero Hour program produced by Radio Tokyo, and Tokyo Rose, the fictive temptress whose radio propaganda aimed to undermine US soldiers' morale in the Pacific. Presenting a thorough accounting of both Toguri and Tokyo Rose from their respective 'births' on, Close explores how a variety of forces—including racial hostilities exacerbated by the war, curiosity about the 'true' identity of Tokyo Rose, increasing Cold War tensions, and even Toguri's ambition and nalveté—all helped to forever connect Toguri, no matter how unfairly, to the treasonous (though fictional) broadcaster. Close covers his subject in exacting...detail....Though Tokyo Rose has received a good deal of scholarly attention, Close's very accessible book provides a meticulous history that presents intriguing insights and raises new questions through its novel approach. Summing Up: Recommended.\ \ \ \ \ Publishers WeeklyStarred Review. \ One of WWII's most sensational stories was that of Tokyo Rose: a Japanese radio propagandist who demoralized American soldiers with stories of their wives' infidelity and impossibly accurate knowledge of U.S. troop movements. The Tokyo Rose story thrilled and horrified Americans, especially when an American citizen, Iva Toguri, was arrested for being the nefarious broadcaster-the problem, the U.S. government soon realized, was that Toguri was forced into the position of propagandist, had not actually broken any laws, and had even helped American POWs. Still, public opinion demanded that they prosecute, and she was ultimately convicted of treason. By treating Tokyo Rose, the Pacific legend, and Iva Toguri, the American citizen trapped by circumstance, as separate people, Close reaches into the heart of Cold War tension. Meticulously researched, Close's case explains not only why Toguri was not a traitor, but also why the American people, in a time of desperation, needed to believe she was. The result will prove compelling and readable for those interested in the Pacific theater, propaganda studies, or the history of the Cold War; though lengthy, Close makes his 500-plus pages worthwhile with a rich sense of context and detailed notes.\ \ \
