In a concise and outraged voice, Takaki (Journey to Gold Mountain, p. 637, etc.) uses plenty of quotations and specific instances—even poetry—to describe both the physical and emotional effects of the anti-Japanese sentiment that swept the US in the wake of Pearl Harbor. In Hawaii the hysteria was contained, but on the West Coast Americans of Filipino, Korean, and Chinese descent battled rabid prejudice, and over 100,000 Japanese-Americans were forcibly removed to concentration camps—from which, ironically, many were subsequently drafted. All of these minorities formed units in the armed forces, and most saw heavy fighting overseas. Except for those sent to Europe, the author does not describe their exploits in much detail, preferring here to focus on the domestic scene. This is a condensation of Takaki's much longer Strangers From a Different Shore (1989), and the seams show; interviewees are named once or twice, then dropped (and not indexed), and except for Asian Indians, none of the smaller minority groups puts in an appearance. Still, readers will get a clear picture of how Asian- Americans contributed vigorously to the war effort even as their constitutional rights were being ignored. Sturdy, readable, disturbing. (Chronology; bibliography; index; b&w photos) (Nonfiction. 11-15)
Pub Date: Dec. 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-7910-2184-X
Page Count: 128
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1994
paper 0-395-97499-2 Introducing this overview of everyday life in a Plains Indian village circa 1868 is a map locating tribal lands of the Plains Indians. Contemporary Native Americans pose as models depicting the full regalia of the Cheyenne, Lakota Sioux, Crow, and Blackfeet. In re-enactment style, reminiscent of a visit to a living history village, each “actor” then personifies a member in the family of Real Bird, a northern Cheyenne warrior from the plains of southeastern Montana. A staged full-color photograph of family members engaged in role-specific work, leisure, food preparation, warfare, trade, and ritual is at the center of each spread, surrounded by additional text and captions that expand each topic. Sees the Berries Woman and Pretty Plume Woman demonstrate the construction of a tipi in a frame-by-frame, five-step procedure; warriors and chiefs hold council in a pre-battle ceremony; Timber Leader shows off a bearskin that gives him healing powers. Artifacts such as beadwork, weapons, tools, toys, and medicine objects lend authenticity to this informative survey and history of the culture. (chronology, glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: Aug. 23, 1999
ISBN: 0-395-94542-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1999
A busy page design—artily superimposed text and photos, tinted portraits, and break-out boxes—and occasionally infelicitous writing (“Trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie became . . . bandleader of the quintet at the Onyx Club, from which bebop got its name”) give this quick history of jazz a slapdash air, but Lee delves relatively deeply into the music’s direct and indirect African roots, then goes beyond the usual tedious tally of names to present a coherent picture of specific influences and innovations associated with the biggest names in jazz. A highly selective discography will give readers who want to become listeners a jump start; those seeking more background will want to follow this up with James Lincoln Collier’s Jazz (1997). (glossary, further reading, index) (Nonfiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-8239-1852-1
Page Count: 64
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1999
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