Divided Destiny: A History of Japanese Americans in Seattle

by David A. Takami

This vivid and concise history traces more than a hundred years of Japanese Americans in Seattle, before and after the tumultuous events of the early 1940s, when World War II and the incarceration of Japanese Americans divided the community from its past and forced tens of thousands of people to uproot and start anew. Concentration camps at Minidoka, Idaho, and nine other inland locations were the crucible for postwar change and accomplishment, but at the same time shattered the dreams and spirits of many of the older immigrant Issei. The story is local, but it is representative of the Japanese American experience on the U.S. West Coast. Poignant photographs from family albums and historical archives illustrate the book, giving faces and names to history.

94 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Darcy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The absolutely best book for contextual understanding of the experience of Japanese immigrants and Americans with Japanese ancestry in Western Washington from the 19th century up through the 1990's. Based on one of the most nationally respected exhibits about the domestic internment during WWII from Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience, affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution. I would definitely make this a " first read" about interment, and accessible even to the Middle School reader. Fantastic photos.