Just Americans (Library Edition): How Japanese Americans Won a War at Home and Abroad: The Story of the 100th Battalion/442d Regimental Combat Team in World War II [AUDIOBOOK] [CD] [UNABRIDGED] (Audio CD)

by Robert Asahina (Author), Patrick Girard Lawlor (Reader), Patrick Lawlor (Narrator)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
This excellent volume on Japanese Americans' participation in World War II focuses on the combat units. The independent 100th Battalion was raised in Hawaii, the 442d Regimental Combat Team on the mainland and largely from the detention camps, and the two units' different backgrounds and experiences made for a good deal of rivalry and ill feeling at first. In time they merged and, exhibiting formidable mastery of infantry combat, compiled a combat record in Italy and France that it would be an understatement to call distinguished. Although Asahina doesn't cover the intelligence work of Japanese Americans in the Pacific, that is compensated for by detailed description of the behind-the-scenes politics involved in organizing the units and procuring amnesty for their members' relatives, and of the pro-Japanese stand of soldier-journalist S. L. A. Marshall. A valuable volume of new material on Japanese Americans in WWII that is likely, unfortunately, to be one of the last published while many Japanese American veterans are still alive. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
Asahina (writes) with a welcome degree of detachment and honesty. There is no sermonizing or breast-beating here, just clear facts. Just Americans is a thought- provoking book that says a great deal about the ambiguities of America’s democratic legacy and the complex issues of American national identity. -- The Washington Post

Timely, thoughtful, and meticulously researched. . . . Asahina re-creates the battles in impressively painstaking detail. -- The New York Times Book Review --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Tantor Media; Library ed. edition (August 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400132819
• ISBN-13: 978-1400132812
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,349,718 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great story..., July 3, 2006

By	George Sala (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Just Americans: How Japanese Americans Won a War at Home and Abroad (Hardcover)

I wouldn't have thought there was much new to say about the Japanese-American experience in WWII -- the internment at home, ad in particular incredible heroism of the soldiers in the famous "Go For Broke" 442d Regimental Combat Team and the "Lost Batallion". But Asahina fills out the story with interviews, maps, and pictures that brought it to life for me and made it relevant to modern issues about "racial profiling." I'm not of Japanese-American ancestry but I found this a terrific read.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best on the AJA battalions., June 7, 2007

By	Walter (Honolulu, HI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Just Americans: How Japanese Americans Won a War at Home and Abroad (Paperback)

Robert Asahina's book on the 100th Battalion and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team is one of the best I've ever read on these brave men and their families. It has very compelling and personal descriptions of the battles these men fought, but what makes it stand out is the linking to the exile of Japanese Americans to internment camps, the political environment and decision-making regarding the treatment of Japanese Americans, and the huge personal, social, and economic costs borne by these loyal Americans during this period.

It is also well-researched, thoroughly sourced and cited, and brings the history up to current levels, including the awarding of the long overdue Medals of Honor to the AJA soldiers. It also discusses the analogies drawn with the post 9/11 environment in the US.

It doesn't cover all of the AJA experience in detail, primarily focusing on the European Theater and the US mainland, but I'd recommend it highly as a first book for anyone interested in this subject. It cites many books and reference materials for interested readers that you can follow up.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great piece of writing and great history, March 10, 2008

By	G. Taylor - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Just Americans: How Japanese Americans Won a War at Home and Abroad (Hardcover)

As a long time WWII history buff I can recommend this book without reservation. The author has researched this book very well and presents the facts in a compelling fashion. I was expecting certain passages to regarding how the Japanese-American population at home was treated to be one of finger-pointing, over-sentimentalization and playing the victim to gain sympathy. Boy was I wrong. Negative aspects of "exclusion", internment, and racism, are on the page but so are the bravery and resolve of these people to overcome them. The removal of the Japanese-American population from the west coast of the mainland while leaving the population of Japanese-Americans in Hawaii intact is spelled out in a way for the reader to discover the idiocy in it. For instance the reason given to the "evacuation" was the proximity of Japanese-Americans to military bases and facilities. Yet one of the future members of the 442d worked at Pearl Harbor helping to repair the facilities in the weeks and months after the attack! This book brings to light a story that should be read.