Out of the Frying Pan [Paperback]

Bill Hosokawa (Author), Tom Noel (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1998

This is a fresh, personal account of one of the greatest injustices in 20th-century US history. Bill Hosokawa, this country's leading Japanese American journalist, tells how he, his wife, and their infant child were herded into a US World War II relocation camp in Wyoming. After graduating from the University of Washington, the young Bill Hosokawa gained prominence as a reporter for the "Singapore Herald", the "Shanghai Times", and the "Far Eastern Review". However, his interment during World War II abruptly put his budding journalism career on indefinite hold. To his good fortune, he found work at "The Denver Post" after the war, where he rose through the ranks from copy desk chief to associate editor and editor of the editorial page. Despite his temporary imprisonment, Hosokawa managed to begin publishing his popular 'From the Frying Pan' column in the Pacific Citizen in the early days of World War II, a column he wrote without interruption for over fifty years.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Being an American of Japanese ancestry is somewhat different from being an American of English, German, Italian or Scandinavian descent," writes Hosokawa. Indeed, this difference is what his book "is all about." One of his major concerns is that Americans hardly know, or remember, FDR's 1942 executive order stripping Japanese-Americans of their constitutional rights and incarcerating them in detention camps. The first half of the book is autobiographical: Hosokawa writes of growing up in Seattle, the jarring disruption of being forced to leave home for an internment camp and his subsequent "comeback" from the camps to become a successful reporter and editor at the Denver Post (he is now retired). In a rather abrupt change of direction, the second half is a collection of columns, written since 1978 for the Pacific Citizen. (Hosokawa published Thirty-Five Years in the Frying Pan, his first collection of columns, in 1978.) Hosokawa writes in an openhearted, down-to-earth fashion, and his columns include both further explorations of what it means to be Japanese-American and commentaries on watershed moments of parenthood and family life. Neither a definitive portrait of life as a Japanese-American nor a searchingly personal memoir, Hosokawa's book offers glimpses, from various angles and without bitterness, of an American life touched by both injustice and fulfillment.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Hosokawa tells his story in clear, concise sentences and without the bombast that might be expected from someone treated so badly. . . . There's a dignity in Hosokawa's writing that allows no hatred, no self-pity. It's straight down the line journalism and a remarkable story." -- THE DENVER POST

"Hosokawa writes in an openhearted, down-to-earth fashion, and his columns include both further explorations of what it means to be Japanese-American and commentaries on watershed moments of parenthood and family life. . . . Hosokawa's book offers glimpses, from various angles and without bitterness, of an American life touched by both injustice and fulfillment." -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

"There are many lessons to be learned from Bill Hosokawa's bittersweet personal account of the unconstitutional incarceration of Japanese-Americans during World War II. OUT OF THE FRYING PAN is a poignant reminder of an event in our nation's history which must never be forgotten, lest we cease to appreciate the hardships endured and adversities overcome to secure the riches and privileges which are now ours through this great democracy. This story illustrates the Japanese-American struggle to overcome prejudice and restore ethnic pride. It comprises one of the many threads woven in the colorful, yet not always bright, tapestry of American history. It is a story that needs to be read and understood by all of our citizens to ensure that the next generation may go forward in peace, freedom and harmony." -- U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: University Press of Colorado (November 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 087081513X
• ISBN-13: 978-0870815133
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,470,824 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fabulous Book With A Great Dialogue!, April 6, 2000

By 

Arthur Onna - See all my reviews

This review is from: Out of the Frying Pan (Paperback)

Bill Hosokawa remind us that history must not repeat itself nor be forgotten; that is, placing Japanese Americans in concentration camps during the out break of World War II. "Out of the Frying Pan" explains and exemplifies the true meaning of being an American of Japanese descent, while overcoming racial discrimination in the land of the free. This book must be read by those who believe in the true colors of red, white and blue.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Biased Review, August 5, 2005

By 

Michael C. Hosokawa (Columbia, Missouri USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Out of the Frying Pan (Paperback)

As the son of the author, it is impossible to write an objective review. The author is a retired editor with the Denver Post and a member of the Journalism Hall of Fame. He has written several books on the history of the Japanese Americans in the U.S. This book brings together his stories, perceptions and insights around his experiences prior to and after World War II. It is a "quick read" written in the concise style of a journalist. It is not a victim's story nor a hero's story. It is reporting of little-known events with the personal insights of the author.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An ugly chapter of US history reviewed, July 21, 2010

By 

Julia F. Speer (Tennessee) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Out of the Frying Pan (Paperback)

Mr. Hosokawa is a brilliant writer who had every reason to present a bitter portrayal of his forced internment experience at a relocation center where US citizens of Japanese ancestry were relocated away from the west coast following the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the entry of the US into WWII. Instead Mr. Hosokawa chose to take the "high road" and stick to an honest and unbiased appraisal of the situation. His is a very interesting and readable autobiography that tells of his advancement in the field of journalism and the effect his internment had on his colorful and successful career. The second half of the book includes excerpt from some of his editorials.