Named one of the twentieth century's 100 best nonfiction books from west of the Rockies by the San Francisco Chronicle.

Jeanne delivers a powerful first-person account that reveals her search for the meaning of Manzanar.įarewell to Manzanar has become a staple of curriculum in schools and on campuses across the country. She tells of her fear, confusion, and bewilderment as well as the dignity and great resourcefulness of people in oppressive and demeaning circumstances. In Farewell to Manzanar, Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston recalls life at Manzanar through the eyes of the child she was. For her father it was essentially the end of his life. For Jeanne Wakatsuki, a seven-year-old child, Manzanar became a way of life in which she struggled and adapted, observed and grew. One of the first families to arrive was the Wakatsukis, who were ordered to leave their fishing business in Long Beach and take with them only the belongings they could carry. Its purpose was to house thousands of Japanese American internees. A sober and moving personal account.The powerful true story of life in a Japanese American internment camp.ĭuring World War II the community called Manzanar was hastily created in the high mountain desert country of California, east of the Sierras. ' describes vividly the life in the camp and the humiliations suffered by the detainees.

Told without bitterness, her story reflects the triumph of the human spirit during an extraordinary episode in American history.' - Library Journal Farewell to Manzanar : a True Story of Japanese American Experience during and after the World War II Internment. 'A poignant memoir from a Japanese American. Named one of the twentieth century’s 100 best nonfiction books from west of the Rockies by the San Francisco Chronicle.

The powerful true story of life in a Japanese American internment camp.ĭuring World War II the community called Manzanar was hastily created in the high mountain desert country of California, east of the Sierras.

In the book farewell to manzanar