Exchange ship,

by Max Hill

The author, an Associated press correspondent, relates his experiences as a war prisoner in Japan, and as a passenger on an exchange ship.

312 pages, Hardcover

Reviews

[Daniel Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love WWII history and over 40 years of reading it I never heard of an exchange ship until I stumbled on this title in one of the Time/Life WWII books and I'm glad I did. Published in 1942 but has been out of print for many decades. Fortunately I found an affordable copy. Max Hill was a NYTs correspondent in Japan when the war broke out and was put on an exchange ship with the U.S. ambassador to Japan and many other state department personnel, journalists, and other U.S. and European officials and journalists. The book gives us insight into a world now long gone and the transition the world made between the 1st and 2nd world wars. Even before the Pearl Harbor attack there were shortages of food and fuel in Japan which shows just how big a risk they were willing to take to conquer the Eastern Hemisphere.

[Robert Alexander · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dated (1942) reporting of an American journalist interned in Japan at the outbreak of World War II, his observations on Japanese culture and character, and his experiences on being exchanged via steamer for Japanese citizens likewise interned in the USA. Somewhat superficial and pedestrian writing style, and more than a bit of propagandistic jingoism; nevertheless, kind of an interesting read as it connects you back to another world (place, time, and events) which figured in our nation's history.

[Dana Mees-athuring · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, Nobody Said Not to Go by Emily Hahn, and J.G. Ballard's Empire of the Sun are fascinating documents of the American and British experiences of detention and internment in Asia and the South Pacific during WWII.