One Thousand Days in Siberia: The Odyssey of a Japanese-American POW [Paperback]

Iwao Peter Sano (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1999

Iwao Peter Sano, a California Nisei, sailed to Japan in 1939 to become an adopted son to his childless aunt and uncle. He was fifteen and knew no Japanese. In the spring of 1945, loyal to his new country, Sano was drafted in the last levy raised in the war. Sent through Korea to join the Kwantung Army in Manchuria, Sano arrived in Hailar, one hundred miles from the Soviet border, as the war was coming to a close. In the confusion that resulted when the war ended, Sano had the bad luck to be in a unit that surrendered to the Russians. It would be nearly three years before he was released to return to Japan.

 

Sano's account of life in the POW and labor camps of Siberia is the story of a little-known part of the great conflagration that was World War II. It is also the poignant memoir of a man who was always an outsider, both as an American youth of Japanese ancestry and then as a young Japanese man whose loyalties were suspect to his new compatriots.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Born in Brawley, California, Sano went to Japan in 1939 to become the adopted son ("yoshi") of his childless aunt and uncle. In March, 1945, he was drafted into the Japanese army and sent to join the Kwantung Army in Manchuria. Five months later, when Japanese forces had surrendered to the Soviet army, Sano became a prisoner of war. For nearly three years he labored in a Soviet munitions factory, on a collective farm, and in a Siberian coal mine. . . . [This] is a unique and fascinating account of mixed and divided loyalties, dismay and confusion, sacrifice and salvation-clearly told with an understated mixture of fatalism and hope. . . . A vivid, revealing memoir."-"Japanese-American Veterans Newsletter,"

About the Author

Iwao Peter Sano was returned to Japan in 1948 and worked for the U.S. occupation forces before coming back to the United States in 1952. He is now a retired architect living in Palo Alto.

Product Details

• Paperback: 214 pages
• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press (April 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803292600
• ISBN-13: 978-0803292604
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #395,156 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A powerful story of an incredible man!, August 18, 1997

By 

Craig L Wiesner - See all my reviews

This review is from: One Thousand Days in Siberia: The Odyssey of a Japanese-American POW (Hardcover)

About eight years ago, I read Peter Sano's story when it was in its earliest form. I knew then that he should have it published - and finally, he did. Peter was born in America but at the age of 15, in 1939, he was sent to Japan to become the adopted son of his childless aunt and uncle. Drafted into the Japanese army in 1945, Peter was sent to war. By being in the wrong place at the wrong time, Peter ended up in Siberian POW and labor camps for three years before finally being released. During those years, Peter made life bearable for many of his fellow prisoners, often at his own expense - and though he downplays his heroism, he kept some people alive who would otherwise have perished. His is a tale both humorous and tragic and in the end, inspiring. Today, Peter is back in America, an accomplished architect, husband, father, and one of the kindest and gentlest souls I have ever met. It was impossible to put down his manuscript once I started it until I had devoured every page. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys tales of triumph over adversity, love beating hate, and quick wits winning out over the harshest odds.