A Time To ChooseBy Edward Blight2001, 309 pages, paperback. |
ORDER -- Item #3050, Price $15.95
When Japanese bombs destroyed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the world for Japanese Americans
was changed forever. This fictional account by Edward Blight describes these changes primarily
through two Japanese American families. The Hayakawas, fishermen from Los Angeles, are sent to
the detention camp at Manzanar. Oldest son Ken, diverted from medical school, volunteers for
service with the famous 442nd Regimental Combat Team, composed of Nisei from Hawaii and the US
mainland. He joins the unit at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, for training and then ships out for
Europe, where the regiment participates in some of the bloodiest fighting of the war in Italy
and France.
Meanwhile, the Nakamura family, raised in Seattle, but having moved to Tokyo for their girls' college education, are caught by the war. For Aileen and her sister, they are aliens in a foreign land, a land at war with their homeland.
As the war progresses, Blight leads these two families and others through both the European and the Pacific theaters of war and the home fronts in the United States and Japan, until Ken and Aileen meet during the Occupation. Against a historically authentic background, Blight explores the issues of racial prejudice, assimilation, discrimination by their government, and loyalty to country faced by Japanese Americans during World War II and its aftermath.
A TIME TO CHOOSE ensures these Americans of Japanese ancestry will not remain faceless
statistics by giving them life, and providing an intimate portrait of individuals whose
heritage and patriotismm sustained and guided them through difficult times."
"Amarvelous account of Japanese Americans in World War II, torn from their homes to
internment camps, to wars in Italy, Germany, and in the Pacific Islands and to find
meaning in their lives in desolated Japan."
"Edward Blight writes insightfully and accurately about the infamous incident in our U.S.
history that most authorities shun - the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. If
you're a 'History isn't my thing' person, his moving story of two families caught in webs that
wars inevitably weave into our lives, is for you. And if you're a 'history excites me!' person, Blight's historically and culturally accurate book will provide you with hours of reading enjoyment."
"The story of Japanese Americans and their relationship to their new homeland during World War II
is unlike that of any other immigrant group in our nation's history. In 'A Time to Choose,' Edward Blight presents that sotry with compassion and sympathy, but - more importantly - with unflinching candor and honesty as well. Without either mawkishness or condescension, he examines the harsh, historical forces which first made pariahs of the Pacific Coast Japanese settlers, and then asked of them the greatest sacrifices that patriotism can produce. How they responded is the basis for an inspiring, very human tale of valor, self-sacrifice and vidication."
This is the first novel for Edward Blight. Born in Santa Barbara, California and educated at
the Citadel and the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, he served as
a physician in the US Army for twenty years. Following eighteen more years in academic medicine,
he retired in the summer of 2000. A chance encounter with a Japanese American patient led to the
research that brought forth this novel. Blight currently lives with his wife in Pacific Grove, California.
Book Description from Front Cover Flap
Comments from Back Cover
"During World War II, 30,000 Japanese Americans served in the U.S. military, 21 were
awarded the Medal of Honor, over 9,000 earned Purple Heart medals, 120,000 were interned,
and thousands were visiting Japan and caugtht by war. While these figures are remarkable,
they fail to radiate the heart and soul of Japanese Americans.
-Daniel K. Inouye, United States Senator, Hawaii, Medal of Honor, 442nd Regimental Team
-Shigeya Kihara, Instructor, Military Intelligence Service Language School (Ret)
-Aretta Loving, Speaker and author of Slices of Life (publ. in English & Russian)
-C. Wyly Watson, Lieutenant Colonel, US Army (Ret), Military Intelligence branch
Background on Edward Blight
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Copyright © 2002 by AACP, Inc.
Most recent revision July 24, 2002