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Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two
"Readers who choose the book for the attraction of Navajo code talking and the heat of battle will come away with more than they ever expected to find."—Booklist, starred review Throughout World War II, in the conflict fought against Japan, Navajo code talkers were a crucial part of the U.S. effort, sending messages back and forth in an unbreakable code that used their native language. They braved some of the heaviest fighting of the war, and with their code, they saved countless American lives. Yet their story remained classified for more than twenty years. But now Joseph Bruchac brings their stories to life for young adults through the riveting fictional tale of Ned Begay, a sixteen-year-old Navajo boy who becomes a code talker. His grueling journey is eye-opening and inspiring. This deeply affecting novel honors all of those young men, like Ned, who dared to serve, and it honors the culture and language of the Navajo Indians.An ALA Best Book for Young Adults"Nonsensational and accurate, Bruchac's tale is quietly inspiring..."—School Library Journal
237 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2005
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14364 people want to read
About the author
Joseph Bruchac
277 books594 followersJoseph Bruchac lives with his wife, Carol, in the Adirondack mountain foothills town of Greenfield Center, New York, in the same house where his maternal grandparents raised him. Much of his writing draws on that land and his Abenaki ancestry. Although his American Indian heritage is only one part of an ethnic background that includes Slovak and English blood, those Native roots are the ones by which he has been most nourished. He, his younger sister Margaret, and his two grown sons, James and Jesse, continue to work extensively in projects involving the preservation of Abenaki culture, language and traditional Native skills, including performing traditional and contemporary Abenaki music with the Dawnland Singers.
He holds a B.A. from Cornell University, an M.A. in Literature and Creative Writing from Syracuse and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the Union Institute of Ohio. His work as a educator includes eight years of directing a college program for Skidmore College inside a maximum security prison. With his wife, Carol, he is the founder and Co-Director of the Greenfield Review Literary Center and The Greenfield Review Press. He has edited a number of highly praised anthologies of contemporary poetry and fiction, including Songs from this Earth on Turtle's Back, Breaking Silence (winner of an American Book Award) and Returning the Gift. His poems, articles and stories have appeared in over 500 publications, from American Poetry Review, Cricket and Aboriginal Voices to National Geographic, Parabola and Smithsonian Magazine. He has authored more than 70 books for adults and children, including The First Strawberries, Keepers of the Earth (co-authored with Michael Caduto), Tell Me a Tale, When the Chenoo Howls (co-authored with his son, James), his autobiography Bowman's Store and such novels as Dawn Land, The Waters Between, Arrow Over the Door and The Heart of a Chief. Forthcoming titles include Squanto's Journey (Harcourt), a picture book, Sacajawea (Harcourt), an historical novel, Crazy Horse's Vision (Lee & Low), a picture book, and Pushing Up The Sky (Dial), a collection of plays for children. His honors include a Rockefeller Humanities fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts Writing Fellowship for Poetry, the Cherokee Nation Prose Award, the Knickerbocker Award, the Hope S. Dean Award for Notable Achievement in Children's Literature and both the 1998 Writer of the Year Award and the 1998 Storyteller of the Year Award from the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers. In 1999, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers Circle of the Americas.
As a professional teller of the traditional tales of the Adirondacks and the Native peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Joe Bruchac has performed widely in Europe and throughout the United States from Florida to Hawaii and has been featured at such events as the British Storytelling Festival and the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesboro, Tennessee. He has been a storyteller-in-residence for Native American organizations and schools throughout the continent, including the Institute of Alaska Native Arts and the Onondaga Nation School. He discusses Native culture and his books and does storytelling programs at dozens of elementary and secondary schools each year as a visiting author.
He holds a B.A. from Cornell University, an M.A. in Literature and Creative Writing from Syracuse and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the Union Institute of Ohio. His work as a educator includes eight years of directing a college program for Skidmore College inside a maximum security prison. With his wife, Carol, he is the founder and Co-Director of the Greenfield Review Literary Center and The Greenfield Review Press. He has edited a number of highly praised anthologies of contemporary poetry and fiction, including Songs from this Earth on Turtle's Back, Breaking Silence (winner of an American Book Award) and Returning the Gift. His poems, articles and stories have appeared in over 500 publications, from American Poetry Review, Cricket and Aboriginal Voices to National Geographic, Parabola and Smithsonian Magazine. He has authored more than 70 books for adults and children, including The First Strawberries, Keepers of the Earth (co-authored with Michael Caduto), Tell Me a Tale, When the Chenoo Howls (co-authored with his son, James), his autobiography Bowman's Store and such novels as Dawn Land, The Waters Between, Arrow Over the Door and The Heart of a Chief. Forthcoming titles include Squanto's Journey (Harcourt), a picture book, Sacajawea (Harcourt), an historical novel, Crazy Horse's Vision (Lee & Low), a picture book, and Pushing Up The Sky (Dial), a collection of plays for children. His honors include a Rockefeller Humanities fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts Writing Fellowship for Poetry, the Cherokee Nation Prose Award, the Knickerbocker Award, the Hope S. Dean Award for Notable Achievement in Children's Literature and both the 1998 Writer of the Year Award and the 1998 Storyteller of the Year Award from the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers. In 1999, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers Circle of the Americas.
As a professional teller of the traditional tales of the Adirondacks and the Native peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Joe Bruchac has performed widely in Europe and throughout the United States from Florida to Hawaii and has been featured at such events as the British Storytelling Festival and the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesboro, Tennessee. He has been a storyteller-in-residence for Native American organizations and schools throughout the continent, including the Institute of Alaska Native Arts and the Onondaga Nation School. He discusses Native culture and his books and does storytelling programs at dozens of elementary and secondary schools each year as a visiting author.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,357 reviews
April 9, 2015
I read this book back in 2008, before I was online or doing reviews, but I had started keeping lists. Reviewed spring/summer 2014
What I remember is the humiliation of the Indians as children before the opportunity to become the code talkers of WWII and serve in the Marines vindicated them. The language for which their mouths had been washed out with soap in boarding schools became a way of saving lives and a source of pride. Also, I remembered the healing ritual the protagonist went through once he finally arrived back home to clear away the residual poison from his war experiences.
It is a children's or young adult novel, but didn't necessarily strike me that way.
I think of it every now and then. Today I was reminded of it by the obituary of Chester Nez, the last of the code talkers. I don't see it in the obituary, but he wrote a memoir. Actually, I'd been remembering this book that I read as though it were a memoir.
I had taped the following news clipping from 4/30/09 onto the inside of the front cover of the paperback.
Did any apology or compensation ever happen in the USA?
Not Navaho, but Cherokee: AP story of 3/25/15
http://www.washingtonpost.com/nationa...
Today, April 8, 2015, I read a long article in The New Yorker on the loss of languages, the treatment of their speakers within larger cultures, and, in some quarters, the resuscitation of lost languages. While reading it I remembered that I'd learned that in our modern societies there is pressure toward one main or "high" culture and language. That is needed so social mobility within the society can occur. In older feudal empires a number of different languages and cultures could coexist. Also there could be one system of measurement in one town and another in the next town over. It didn't matter because there didn't need to be allowance for social change. Those were static societies: a place for everyone and everyone in their place. Serfs didn't rise to the top nor did people leave their class or "assimilate" into the majority. But these things do happen in modern societies, where people move around.
So, in modern nation-states, a tension is going to exist between the prerogatives of that majority culture and language, on one hand, and the needs/rights of minorities, on the other. The legal system will have to undergo development in order to find justice.
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/201...
What I remember is the humiliation of the Indians as children before the opportunity to become the code talkers of WWII and serve in the Marines vindicated them. The language for which their mouths had been washed out with soap in boarding schools became a way of saving lives and a source of pride. Also, I remembered the healing ritual the protagonist went through once he finally arrived back home to clear away the residual poison from his war experiences.
It is a children's or young adult novel, but didn't necessarily strike me that way.
I think of it every now and then. Today I was reminded of it by the obituary of Chester Nez, the last of the code talkers. I don't see it in the obituary, but he wrote a memoir. Actually, I'd been remembering this book that I read as though it were a memoir.
I had taped the following news clipping from 4/30/09 onto the inside of the front cover of the paperback.
Pope Benedict XVI, meeting with native Canadians, apologized Wednesday for abuses at Christian schools that Indian children were forced to attend from the 19th century until the 1970s to assimilate them into American society. Canada has admitted physical and sexual abuse were rampant in the schools, and has apologized and offered compensation. Students say they were beaten for speaking their native languages and lost touch with their parents and customs.
Did any apology or compensation ever happen in the USA?
Not Navaho, but Cherokee: AP story of 3/25/15
http://www.washingtonpost.com/nationa...
Today, April 8, 2015, I read a long article in The New Yorker on the loss of languages, the treatment of their speakers within larger cultures, and, in some quarters, the resuscitation of lost languages. While reading it I remembered that I'd learned that in our modern societies there is pressure toward one main or "high" culture and language. That is needed so social mobility within the society can occur. In older feudal empires a number of different languages and cultures could coexist. Also there could be one system of measurement in one town and another in the next town over. It didn't matter because there didn't need to be allowance for social change. Those were static societies: a place for everyone and everyone in their place. Serfs didn't rise to the top nor did people leave their class or "assimilate" into the majority. But these things do happen in modern societies, where people move around.
So, in modern nation-states, a tension is going to exist between the prerogatives of that majority culture and language, on one hand, and the needs/rights of minorities, on the other. The legal system will have to undergo development in order to find justice.
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/201...
April 14, 2025
The winds of battle never broke our web.
I’m giving this middle grades historical fiction a 3 star rating, which feels a little low to me, but my youngest child is the intended audience and that’s our deal; she gets to give the ratings. When I asked her “Why 3 stars?” She didn’t hesitate. She said, “Too many details about battles and military equipment and not enough character development for the main guy.”
Well, she’s right. This definitely felt, in several ways, like it was written for a boy in mind and a Navajo boy, primarily. (The author, who is both white and a person of Native ancestry, does in fact address the readers as “We Navajos.”) And, yes, the main character, who was renamed “Ned Begay” is a pretty one-dimensional young man.
However, we did learn QUITE a bit about the Navajo culture, the enlistment and training of Navajo Indians as Code talkers in WWII and the Japanese theater of the war.
We learned so much, in fact, I found myself reading passages aloud and texting several of them to friends who I think of as history buffs.
Despite a rather unformed (and possibly over sentimentalized) main character, I felt, all along, like I was learning and expanding my awareness of this time period and this unique aspect to the war that had been long unknown by too many of us.
During the war some 400+ young Navajo men were intentionally recruited for the specific contribution of their Native language. Navajo is considered a distinctly unique language, one that is almost impossible for non-Natives to learn, and its patterning is different enough from all other languages to make it desirable as a code. It became a way for the American military to send top-secret messages on their radio transmissions.
This resulted in many Navajo men being “seduced” to enlist by sharp dressed Marines who offered them glory and appealed to their protective and territorial ways.
I do believe that these Navajo soldiers were a unique addition to the military and many of them made their mark. It was upsetting to learn that “not one Navajo code talker was ever raised above the rank of corporal” nor were they “ever given any kind of official recognition of honor” from the time of enlistment to the surrender of Japan. The Navajo men were also denied the use of the G.I. Bill to build or buy their own homes, as other white ex-servicemen were. Infuriating!
Please don’t take our three stars as a low bar. If you’re interested in this subject, I think I can promise you that you will come away from this read with a greater understanding of the topic.
Something was missing from the narrative, though. It was challenging to connect with any of the characters and feel that “rousing” sense of participation that we have had with other war novels.
I’m giving this middle grades historical fiction a 3 star rating, which feels a little low to me, but my youngest child is the intended audience and that’s our deal; she gets to give the ratings. When I asked her “Why 3 stars?” She didn’t hesitate. She said, “Too many details about battles and military equipment and not enough character development for the main guy.”
Well, she’s right. This definitely felt, in several ways, like it was written for a boy in mind and a Navajo boy, primarily. (The author, who is both white and a person of Native ancestry, does in fact address the readers as “We Navajos.”) And, yes, the main character, who was renamed “Ned Begay” is a pretty one-dimensional young man.
However, we did learn QUITE a bit about the Navajo culture, the enlistment and training of Navajo Indians as Code talkers in WWII and the Japanese theater of the war.
We learned so much, in fact, I found myself reading passages aloud and texting several of them to friends who I think of as history buffs.
Despite a rather unformed (and possibly over sentimentalized) main character, I felt, all along, like I was learning and expanding my awareness of this time period and this unique aspect to the war that had been long unknown by too many of us.
During the war some 400+ young Navajo men were intentionally recruited for the specific contribution of their Native language. Navajo is considered a distinctly unique language, one that is almost impossible for non-Natives to learn, and its patterning is different enough from all other languages to make it desirable as a code. It became a way for the American military to send top-secret messages on their radio transmissions.
This resulted in many Navajo men being “seduced” to enlist by sharp dressed Marines who offered them glory and appealed to their protective and territorial ways.
I do believe that these Navajo soldiers were a unique addition to the military and many of them made their mark. It was upsetting to learn that “not one Navajo code talker was ever raised above the rank of corporal” nor were they “ever given any kind of official recognition of honor” from the time of enlistment to the surrender of Japan. The Navajo men were also denied the use of the G.I. Bill to build or buy their own homes, as other white ex-servicemen were. Infuriating!
Please don’t take our three stars as a low bar. If you’re interested in this subject, I think I can promise you that you will come away from this read with a greater understanding of the topic.
Something was missing from the narrative, though. It was challenging to connect with any of the characters and feel that “rousing” sense of participation that we have had with other war novels.
July 14, 2014
Sometimes fiction is better for revealing truth. This novel enables Bruchac to tell much of the story of the pacific theater during WWII through the eyes of one character, now retelling the events to his grandchildren. I'm rather grateful for the framing device, it helps mute the horror somewhat. It's heartbreaking, the discrimination and abuse before the war, the horrors of the war which had to be kept secret until 1969, and the discrimination after the war. But the author manages to distill something clear and valuable and even lovely out of that.
And there is a useful bibliography and back matter explaining the genesis of the book.
Library copy
And there is a useful bibliography and back matter explaining the genesis of the book.
Library copy
March 5, 2018
Fascinating look at World War II from a totally unique perspective. Without the proud, brave and capable Navajo code talkers, effective communication among all of the various U.S. military branches would have been for more difficult, if not impossible. The Navajos and their code were crucial to the hard-fought victory in the Pacific theater.
January 5, 2022
Truly exceptional book. It gives a realistic view of the native Americans in WWII.
October 1, 2022
The subject was interesting and I was grateful for the narration, so I could hear what Navajo sounds like.
The writing was a little meh.
The writing was a little meh.
June 12, 2007
All his life Ned Begay has been told that being Navajo is bad. At the mission school, all the Navajos are told to forget their language, to forget everything about being Navajo. Speaking English and emulating the white man is the only way to get ahead, or so they are told. However, when World War II breaks out, Ned learns that the Marines are actively recruiting Navajos. For the first time, Americans are in need of Navajos and their language. An unbreakable code is being developed using the Navajo language and the Marines are recruiting men fluent in Navajo and English to come and fight the Japanese. Ned Begay is one of these men. Although he is only 16, he enlists in the Marines and starts a journey both wonderful and terrible.
Now, I must confess that I don't like war books. I can see how this novel would be appealing to some. There is a lot of action, many descriptions of battle scenes in the Pacific. I think I might have liked it better if the novel had had a different format. The first person didn't do it for me and I felt like it read more like dry non-fiction than the riveting novel it could have been. Bruchac himself confesses in the author's note that he crammed a lot of facts into the book. I did find it enlightening. But I think it could have been more entertaining.
That said, Bruchac is one of the most reliable authors I know for fiction about Native Americans. He includes a length author's note talking about his research and the real Navajo code talkers. He also includes a fairly extensive bibliography.
It's an important book, for sure, but to me it read more like a book that would be assigned in school rather than one I would ever pick up for pleasure.
Now, I must confess that I don't like war books. I can see how this novel would be appealing to some. There is a lot of action, many descriptions of battle scenes in the Pacific. I think I might have liked it better if the novel had had a different format. The first person didn't do it for me and I felt like it read more like dry non-fiction than the riveting novel it could have been. Bruchac himself confesses in the author's note that he crammed a lot of facts into the book. I did find it enlightening. But I think it could have been more entertaining.
That said, Bruchac is one of the most reliable authors I know for fiction about Native Americans. He includes a length author's note talking about his research and the real Navajo code talkers. He also includes a fairly extensive bibliography.
It's an important book, for sure, but to me it read more like a book that would be assigned in school rather than one I would ever pick up for pleasure.
September 16, 2016
While this is fiction, it is based around historical facts, and that's a big plus for this reviewer. The depressing treatment of Navajo (and many other Native Americans) starts this tale off and acts as a wonderful counterpoint to their work as Code Talkers during World War II. Tales of island hopping are accurate, even if the main character's two friends are caricatures. Especially well told is the accurate tale of the two flag raisings on Mt. Suribachi (Iwo Jima).
Also spot on though depressing is the main character's return to civilian life, where he is thrown out of a bar that doesn't serve Indians. While this young adult tale wasn't as good as the same author's Jim Thorpe, it was pretty darn good. Recommended!
Also spot on though depressing is the main character's return to civilian life, where he is thrown out of a bar that doesn't serve Indians. While this young adult tale wasn't as good as the same author's Jim Thorpe, it was pretty darn good. Recommended!
November 25, 2022
COMENTÁRIO
⭐⭐⭐⭐
"Code Talker: a novel about the Navajo Marines of World War Two
Joseph Bruchac"
Um livro juvenil. Não sendo uma leitura frequente para mim, este prendeu-me numa livraria de aeroporto.
Lido entre o compasso de espera no Logan Boston Airport, e as 06 horas da viagem para Lisboa. Engatilhado na leitura não consegui largar o livro.
Um história contada de um modo muito simples - é, como disse, um livro juvenil - em torno da participação de membros das comunidades indígena Navajo na II Guerra Mundial.
Os membros desta comunidade indígena foram silenciosos heróis de um processo importante no teatro de guerra do Pacífico: a criação de um modelo de comunicação que usava a língua nativa Navajo, o que impedia os japoneses de compreender as comunicações norte americanas.
Estes militares foram os chamados "code talker", expressão que dá título ao livro. Um dos elementos mais interessantes do livro é a vontade expressa do autor de recuperar a memória destes heróis esquecidos e o seu papel essencial nessa frente de batalha.
Sendo o texto celebratório da acção destes militares, reproduz igualmente um tom militarista em torno da importância das Forças Armadas, na cultura nacionalista do EUA. Gostava de ter sentido por parte do autor/narrador uma perspectiva crítica sobre o militarismo que não se faz presente no livro.
#livro #literatura #leitor #leitores #leitura #literaturanorteamericana
#book #bookstagram #bookclub #bookstagramportugal #bookworm #booknerd #bookaddict #booklover
⭐⭐⭐⭐
"Code Talker: a novel about the Navajo Marines of World War Two
Joseph Bruchac"
Um livro juvenil. Não sendo uma leitura frequente para mim, este prendeu-me numa livraria de aeroporto.
Lido entre o compasso de espera no Logan Boston Airport, e as 06 horas da viagem para Lisboa. Engatilhado na leitura não consegui largar o livro.
Um história contada de um modo muito simples - é, como disse, um livro juvenil - em torno da participação de membros das comunidades indígena Navajo na II Guerra Mundial.
Os membros desta comunidade indígena foram silenciosos heróis de um processo importante no teatro de guerra do Pacífico: a criação de um modelo de comunicação que usava a língua nativa Navajo, o que impedia os japoneses de compreender as comunicações norte americanas.
Estes militares foram os chamados "code talker", expressão que dá título ao livro. Um dos elementos mais interessantes do livro é a vontade expressa do autor de recuperar a memória destes heróis esquecidos e o seu papel essencial nessa frente de batalha.
Sendo o texto celebratório da acção destes militares, reproduz igualmente um tom militarista em torno da importância das Forças Armadas, na cultura nacionalista do EUA. Gostava de ter sentido por parte do autor/narrador uma perspectiva crítica sobre o militarismo que não se faz presente no livro.
#livro #literatura #leitor #leitores #leitura #literaturanorteamericana
#book #bookstagram #bookclub #bookstagramportugal #bookworm #booknerd #bookaddict #booklover
February 20, 2018
This writing is so real.
Multiple times, I felt like I needed to double check that this was really fiction - it felt so much like a transcript of an interview with a real person. I have to give credit to the quality of the writing for that.
I've saved reading Code Talker for years. It's been quite a few years since I booktalked a book that came out more than 10 years ago. But I always try to include an ownvoices book by a Native American, and this was Code Talkers year.
I loved that he went into detail about being raised Navajo, basic training, how they figured out the codes. There were multiple anecdotes I was tempted to use for my booktalk (ended up focusing on the swimming test).
Great cover (which I don't think looks dated at all) - the middle schoolers asked for this frequently.
Multiple times, I felt like I needed to double check that this was really fiction - it felt so much like a transcript of an interview with a real person. I have to give credit to the quality of the writing for that.
I've saved reading Code Talker for years. It's been quite a few years since I booktalked a book that came out more than 10 years ago. But I always try to include an ownvoices book by a Native American, and this was Code Talkers year.
I loved that he went into detail about being raised Navajo, basic training, how they figured out the codes. There were multiple anecdotes I was tempted to use for my booktalk (ended up focusing on the swimming test).
Great cover (which I don't think looks dated at all) - the middle schoolers asked for this frequently.
December 19, 2012
Read this about four years ago in seventh grade. I was starting to get into military history back then, and this book was actually really good for a YA novel about war.
Bruchac has created a terrific historic novel that has enough action for young male adults and enough history and research to appeal to an adult audience. Bruchac does a wonderful job of giving a sense of the complexities of growing up on a Navajo reservation in the first half of the book. The irony of a nation trying to wipe out the Navajo language but using it as a crucial means of communication during 20th century wars should not be lost on the reader while reading the second half of the book. Bruchac's narrator tells this tale in an even-keeled, even-tempered manner. The reader is allowed to gain his own sense of injustice our nation has inflicted upon its Native American population. Bruchac's description of the progression of America's involvement in World War II's Pacific campaign is well laid-out and dramatically presented. Highly recommended.
This book is brilliant. It is non-fiction, but the author turned the story into a masterpiece. This book is about a native American named Ned Begay , who is taken from his family when he was young, and put in a boarding school. He grows up, learns English, and joins the army. He is a special person; a Navajo. The Navajo language was used as a code in World War Two. The Japanese enemies could figure out any code in less than a week, so the U.S. Marines needed a language that had never been studied or known of. The earlier unbreakable code was the white code, but it took four hours to send a message that the Navajo code could send in 2.5 minutes.
Every part of this book is in complete detail, and is very specific. Joseph Bruchac is the award-winning author of more than 100 books, most of which draw upon aspects of his Native American heritage. Among other honors, he has won the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers Circle of the Americas, and the Virginia Hamilton Literary Award for his enduring contribution to the field of multicultural literature for children. He lives in Greenfield Center, New York. I would have given this book three stars, but I remembered a really creepy and funny part of the book: when a dead soldier comes back to life... on his own! The author didn't make the story boring, or tweak it up to make it sound more modern, he just wrote a true breath-taking, action-packed, amazing novel about the World War Two Navajos. Ned Begay has a ton of adventures throughout the book. He makes some friends, some of them die, some get seriously injured, some just manage to stay alive. He actually meets John F. Kennedy! He doesn't kill anyone (which in my opinion isn't very cool) but he does encounter some rotting corpses.
This book may get boring in some places, but as soon as you want to put it down, it starts to get good again. I recommend this book to people who like historical non-fiction (AKA history), and everybody who enjoys reading. I really loved this book because it's so hooking. I love the way Joseph Bruchac describes everything with such detail. I don't know how he found out so much about World War Two, but I like it. It took me several weeks to read Code Talker, but it was as satisfying as the blurb said it would be. It is one of the best books I have ever read. The Navajos were really important people during the war, so I think you'll be impressed when you read a story written just about them.
Bruchac has created a terrific historic novel that has enough action for young male adults and enough history and research to appeal to an adult audience. Bruchac does a wonderful job of giving a sense of the complexities of growing up on a Navajo reservation in the first half of the book. The irony of a nation trying to wipe out the Navajo language but using it as a crucial means of communication during 20th century wars should not be lost on the reader while reading the second half of the book. Bruchac's narrator tells this tale in an even-keeled, even-tempered manner. The reader is allowed to gain his own sense of injustice our nation has inflicted upon its Native American population. Bruchac's description of the progression of America's involvement in World War II's Pacific campaign is well laid-out and dramatically presented. Highly recommended.
This book is brilliant. It is non-fiction, but the author turned the story into a masterpiece. This book is about a native American named Ned Begay , who is taken from his family when he was young, and put in a boarding school. He grows up, learns English, and joins the army. He is a special person; a Navajo. The Navajo language was used as a code in World War Two. The Japanese enemies could figure out any code in less than a week, so the U.S. Marines needed a language that had never been studied or known of. The earlier unbreakable code was the white code, but it took four hours to send a message that the Navajo code could send in 2.5 minutes.
Every part of this book is in complete detail, and is very specific. Joseph Bruchac is the award-winning author of more than 100 books, most of which draw upon aspects of his Native American heritage. Among other honors, he has won the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers Circle of the Americas, and the Virginia Hamilton Literary Award for his enduring contribution to the field of multicultural literature for children. He lives in Greenfield Center, New York. I would have given this book three stars, but I remembered a really creepy and funny part of the book: when a dead soldier comes back to life... on his own! The author didn't make the story boring, or tweak it up to make it sound more modern, he just wrote a true breath-taking, action-packed, amazing novel about the World War Two Navajos. Ned Begay has a ton of adventures throughout the book. He makes some friends, some of them die, some get seriously injured, some just manage to stay alive. He actually meets John F. Kennedy! He doesn't kill anyone (which in my opinion isn't very cool) but he does encounter some rotting corpses.
This book may get boring in some places, but as soon as you want to put it down, it starts to get good again. I recommend this book to people who like historical non-fiction (AKA history), and everybody who enjoys reading. I really loved this book because it's so hooking. I love the way Joseph Bruchac describes everything with such detail. I don't know how he found out so much about World War Two, but I like it. It took me several weeks to read Code Talker, but it was as satisfying as the blurb said it would be. It is one of the best books I have ever read. The Navajos were really important people during the war, so I think you'll be impressed when you read a story written just about them.
April 9, 2022
For this review, I decided to borrow an idea from one of my favorite movie bloggers, Nathaniel Rogers. When new trailers debut, he groups his thoughts into three kinds of responses: yes, no, and maybe so. Now, the book that I am reviewing, Joseph Bruchac's Code Talkers, is not a movie, and I am not just now encountering it for the first time. But I am going to apply the yes/no/maybe so format anyway because it gives me something reasonably interesting to say about a book I respected but didn't really enjoy.
YES
- The author. I read a Bruchac story earlier this year, in the Dover anthology Great Short Stories by Contemporary Native American Writers, and loved it. I picked Code Talkers up partly because I wanted to read one of his novels.
- The subtitle, "A Novel about the Navajo Marines of World War Two." In my thirty-some years of life I have read/been forced to read so many accounts of WW2. But I have read few that describe the Pacific Theater, and none that I can think of that foreground the participation of Native Americans.
- The framing. Bruchac's narrator is an old man who tells his story to the grandchildren who have circled around him, the same way that indigenous elders have shared knowledge for generations. On the one hand, we know from the get-go that the narrator is going to survive the war, no matter how bloodied he gets in the process. On the other hand, we also learn that there is an even greater mystery to uncover in the novel -- the reason this wise grandfather could not tell his story about being a Navajo code talker for so many years after the war had ended. It's a fabulous hook.
MAYBE SO
- The narrator. Bruchac depicts Kii Yáhzí as a Steve Rogers/Captain America character who joins a top-secret war-time experiment that imbues him with a special power -- the ability to transfer life-saving knowledge while escaping Japanese detection. I am not sure the author intentionally based his protagonist on the Marvel superhero, but both characters share similar flaws, including being not terribly interesting in themselves. As a young man, Yáhzí is a scrawny "everyman," while as an old man, he is a wise, old storyteller. We've all seen these characters before.
- The length. At about 225 pages, the book is a fairly breezy read, though it took me two weeks to work my way through it all. Since it is intended for a middle school/high school audience, I think the length is appropriate. However, as an adult reader longing for character development and maybe a touch of philosophy, it left me wanting more. Is 225 pages both "teachable" and "superficial"? In this case, maybe yes.
NO
- The pacing. Like I said, it took me two weeks to read.
- The laundry list of military engagements. War novels turn monotonous when their authors start to detail every battle their protagonists are involved in. Obviously, Bruchac has a desire to indicate how large a contribution the Navajo Marines made to the war, but I think he could have taken a lesson from Crane's Red Badge of Courage and dug deeply into just a few representative battles. As it is, the hundred pages in the middle of Code Talker read like a Wikipedia article.
- The revelation. One reason I kept turning pages was to learn, at last, why Kii Yáhzí had to keep his important work to himself for decades after the war's end. However, when this moment arrived, it was, well, anti-climactic. Did he agree with the decision to keep the code a secret? Did he ever almost reveal the secret to someone close to him? Did keeping his wartime employment have a deleterious effect on his adult life? These questions are addressed, to an extent, but only in a few glossy sentences.
Overall, I lean more toward yes than no, chiefly because I think the novel addresses a historical circumstance that is fascinating and should be better known. I can easily imagine teaching the text in a middle school English class while my social studies partner is teaching about US involvement in WW2. But would I buy the book for a teenager or an adult friend to read in their spare time? Almost certainly no. So... Three stars for an insightful but not singular book.
YES
- The author. I read a Bruchac story earlier this year, in the Dover anthology Great Short Stories by Contemporary Native American Writers, and loved it. I picked Code Talkers up partly because I wanted to read one of his novels.
- The subtitle, "A Novel about the Navajo Marines of World War Two." In my thirty-some years of life I have read/been forced to read so many accounts of WW2. But I have read few that describe the Pacific Theater, and none that I can think of that foreground the participation of Native Americans.
- The framing. Bruchac's narrator is an old man who tells his story to the grandchildren who have circled around him, the same way that indigenous elders have shared knowledge for generations. On the one hand, we know from the get-go that the narrator is going to survive the war, no matter how bloodied he gets in the process. On the other hand, we also learn that there is an even greater mystery to uncover in the novel -- the reason this wise grandfather could not tell his story about being a Navajo code talker for so many years after the war had ended. It's a fabulous hook.
MAYBE SO
- The narrator. Bruchac depicts Kii Yáhzí as a Steve Rogers/Captain America character who joins a top-secret war-time experiment that imbues him with a special power -- the ability to transfer life-saving knowledge while escaping Japanese detection. I am not sure the author intentionally based his protagonist on the Marvel superhero, but both characters share similar flaws, including being not terribly interesting in themselves. As a young man, Yáhzí is a scrawny "everyman," while as an old man, he is a wise, old storyteller. We've all seen these characters before.
- The length. At about 225 pages, the book is a fairly breezy read, though it took me two weeks to work my way through it all. Since it is intended for a middle school/high school audience, I think the length is appropriate. However, as an adult reader longing for character development and maybe a touch of philosophy, it left me wanting more. Is 225 pages both "teachable" and "superficial"? In this case, maybe yes.
NO
- The pacing. Like I said, it took me two weeks to read.
- The laundry list of military engagements. War novels turn monotonous when their authors start to detail every battle their protagonists are involved in. Obviously, Bruchac has a desire to indicate how large a contribution the Navajo Marines made to the war, but I think he could have taken a lesson from Crane's Red Badge of Courage and dug deeply into just a few representative battles. As it is, the hundred pages in the middle of Code Talker read like a Wikipedia article.
- The revelation. One reason I kept turning pages was to learn, at last, why Kii Yáhzí had to keep his important work to himself for decades after the war's end. However, when this moment arrived, it was, well, anti-climactic. Did he agree with the decision to keep the code a secret? Did he ever almost reveal the secret to someone close to him? Did keeping his wartime employment have a deleterious effect on his adult life? These questions are addressed, to an extent, but only in a few glossy sentences.
Overall, I lean more toward yes than no, chiefly because I think the novel addresses a historical circumstance that is fascinating and should be better known. I can easily imagine teaching the text in a middle school English class while my social studies partner is teaching about US involvement in WW2. But would I buy the book for a teenager or an adult friend to read in their spare time? Almost certainly no. So... Three stars for an insightful but not singular book.
January 7, 2019
Eeeeh, I hate giving bad reviews. This just read more like a semantic journal of military operations they went on then anything that really explored the critical role of indigenous people during the war, or a substantive history of how this code system was developed. I was so excited to read this because I have forefathers who were themselves code talkers, but I guess I will have to look elsewhere for that. If you’re looking for a book on strategical operations during specific island skirmishes with Japan, I’d recommend this. Otherwise, definitely not what I thought it was advertised as. And one more thing, I know for a fact that these code talkers had a great cultural and spiritual influence on the soldiers around them but nothing was mentioned about that. I felt that that was a great dishonor to history and to the ways in which they served the troops, beyond just transmitting codified language.
September 17, 2020
4.5
OMG I’m so grateful that I accidentally pick up this book. Actually before reading it, I’d had really limited knowledge about what would happen in this book. But it turned out it’s such an excellent work!
I think the beauty of historical fiction, especially these talking about World War II, is that it would help you know certain periods of history. I do think these kinds of books should be provided to students in order to spark their interests instead of force them to learn facts by heart.
Apart from realizing the brutality of the war, this books actually makes me find some peace as the spiritual belief of the Navajo people is so sincere and devout and you could feel their passion and zeal about their own sacred land and language.
“It is not just my story, but a story of our people and of the strength that we gain from holding on to our language.”
OMG I’m so grateful that I accidentally pick up this book. Actually before reading it, I’d had really limited knowledge about what would happen in this book. But it turned out it’s such an excellent work!
I think the beauty of historical fiction, especially these talking about World War II, is that it would help you know certain periods of history. I do think these kinds of books should be provided to students in order to spark their interests instead of force them to learn facts by heart.
Apart from realizing the brutality of the war, this books actually makes me find some peace as the spiritual belief of the Navajo people is so sincere and devout and you could feel their passion and zeal about their own sacred land and language.
“It is not just my story, but a story of our people and of the strength that we gain from holding on to our language.”
October 7, 2012
3 stars for being informative, especially about an aspect of WWII with which I was unfamiliar. However, as a novel, I would probably only give it 2 stars. The way it was written made it seem like non-fiction, and not very riveting non-fiction at that. I have nothing against non-fiction, but a writer of fiction has the opportunity to enhance the dry facts and really connect the reader to what was going on, the feelings, the action, the impact. Bruchac was not as successful at that as he was at just presenting information. How could you take a story of a Navajo on a secret mission and make it dull?
July 15, 2018
Here is another book by an award-winning children's author, that must be considered a book for everyone. Although the book is fully accessible to students who are upper middle school or high school students, this book is also an engaging, informative, and worthwhile book for adults as well. By focusing on one main (fictional) character and following his way through World War II in the Pacific Ocean, the enormity of the conflict is condensed to a size that is manageable for a novel. When considering this book for a classroom, consider reading sections of it or using it with your most accomplished readers.
December 21, 2016
The author, Joseph Bruchac, did an outstanding job with voice. I knew a bit about the Navajo Code Talkers of WWII, but I learned even more fascinating details.
August 8, 2016
I picked this book up on a whim at Barnes & Noble back at the end of June, because a) it sounded interesting (I mean, how often do you find books about First Peoples' experiences during war?!), and b) it was only $7 so I could afford to take the risk.
And I was pleasantly surprised to find this was a comprehensive and fast paced novel about a subject that I've found intriguing since..........okay, fine. Since I was a total X-Phile and there was that whole arc at the start of season 3 where Mulder thinks he's found aliens on Navajo land but really it's just a train car full of weirdly decayed people. Look, I was a dumb, impressionable teenager with a lot of Feelings About The X-Files, and Navajo culture as portrayed in that three episode arc was super interesting to me.
Somewhere down the track, I found out about the Navajo code talkers and was like "HOLY SHIT THAT'S AWESOME, TELL ME MORE". And yet there were no books available - it was more a paragraph or two tacked onto histories of World War II, which didn't provide a sufficient amount of detail.
In this, Bruchac provides a substantial amount of fact set around a fictional character. Sure, the characterisation may not be that great at times. And yes, it's often a little simplistic because it covers so much ground in such a short number of pages.
But as far as a basic overview of Navajo experiences in the 20th century and their experiences during World War II? It's pretty decent. Though be warned - because it's supposed to be a grandfather telling his story to his grandchildren, it does read at times like oral history or non-fiction, and it's lacking in emotion when discussing the war.
And I was pleasantly surprised to find this was a comprehensive and fast paced novel about a subject that I've found intriguing since..........okay, fine. Since I was a total X-Phile and there was that whole arc at the start of season 3 where Mulder thinks he's found aliens on Navajo land but really it's just a train car full of weirdly decayed people. Look, I was a dumb, impressionable teenager with a lot of Feelings About The X-Files, and Navajo culture as portrayed in that three episode arc was super interesting to me.
Somewhere down the track, I found out about the Navajo code talkers and was like "HOLY SHIT THAT'S AWESOME, TELL ME MORE". And yet there were no books available - it was more a paragraph or two tacked onto histories of World War II, which didn't provide a sufficient amount of detail.
In this, Bruchac provides a substantial amount of fact set around a fictional character. Sure, the characterisation may not be that great at times. And yes, it's often a little simplistic because it covers so much ground in such a short number of pages.
But as far as a basic overview of Navajo experiences in the 20th century and their experiences during World War II? It's pretty decent. Though be warned - because it's supposed to be a grandfather telling his story to his grandchildren, it does read at times like oral history or non-fiction, and it's lacking in emotion when discussing the war.
July 26, 2012
Code Talker is a wonderful book, describing the secret role Navajo Marines played in World War 2 by using their native language to send coded messages to allied forces. Although the narrator is fictional, his experiences are representative of actual Navajos as they were taught and then recruited to the Marines for their important task.
I appreciate that the author chose to begin with the white man's education many Navajo children endured. This education served as a retraining; Indians were taught that their native languages, people, and customs were wrong and were to be discarded. Only the white man's way was acceptable. This information is key because, ironically, the United States needed the Navajo language in order to send unbreakable codes during the war.
The protagonist, Ned Begay, goes through some of the Marines' most important, famous, and deadly battles in the Pacific Theater. Most names of other characters were real people, as the author put a lot of work into research of this topic. I believe he did the true-to-life story justice, making it interesting as well as informative.
Code Talker is a strong read with a sixth-grade vocabulary.
I appreciate that the author chose to begin with the white man's education many Navajo children endured. This education served as a retraining; Indians were taught that their native languages, people, and customs were wrong and were to be discarded. Only the white man's way was acceptable. This information is key because, ironically, the United States needed the Navajo language in order to send unbreakable codes during the war.
The protagonist, Ned Begay, goes through some of the Marines' most important, famous, and deadly battles in the Pacific Theater. Most names of other characters were real people, as the author put a lot of work into research of this topic. I believe he did the true-to-life story justice, making it interesting as well as informative.
Code Talker is a strong read with a sixth-grade vocabulary.
November 25, 2013
This story is about a United States Marine Navajo radio operator during the second world war in the south pacific.The main characters were Ben Yahzee and Staff Sargent Anders.The main characters ran into many problems with the Imperial Japanese Army.There were no adventures in the book.My favorite character was Ben Yahzee for all of his heroics and ideas.I myself could not relate to any of the characters in the story.I have never done anything the characters in the story have done.I liked the the book because it is in the time period and is very historically accurate.I would definately recomend this book to a friend.It is best for someone who is interested in the second world war and United States history between 1940-1945.
March 24, 2016
Great story about the Navajo marines and recruiting methods to find men and boys to help w/the war effort.
Read
July 22, 2023i knew about the code talkers from wwii, but i realized just how much i didn’t actually know. from forced assimilation under the guise of boarding schools to telling the navajo that they were the ones best fit to serve our country in keeping military actions secret, this book covered a lot of the tragic history that went into creating the code talkers that ensured victory in wwii.
though technically seen as a YA novel, i think the book provides a digestible history for any reader about the long hidden aspects of the war and treatment of native americans through the experiences of a fictional narrator enlisting in the marine core to serve the country that hated him (and still does)
though technically seen as a YA novel, i think the book provides a digestible history for any reader about the long hidden aspects of the war and treatment of native americans through the experiences of a fictional narrator enlisting in the marine core to serve the country that hated him (and still does)
April 9, 2022
This is the most phenomenal book I didn't mean to read. See, a teacher and patron of both my libraries asked me if we had this book at either library, as she needed a few extras for class. We did not, so I placed a blanket hold to bring in some extras from across the public library's cooperative. She took the first three that came in, and didn't need more.
Another arrived, and I figured, "Waste not, want not." Might as well read what my students are reading in class, right?
It was well worth my time, and it will be well worth yours, too. If you're reading this review to decide whether you should read it: you should.
This is an excellent depiction of what the Navajo Code Talkers went through, as children being made to attend boarding schools to lose their culture, and then as young adults reusing their language for incredibly important tasks in World War II. Be sure to read the notes at the end - most of the people in the book are real.
This book is also totally suitable for middle school and high school students. It portrays all of the tension of battle without the gore. It's a real page-turner.
I can't believe I didn't have this yet at either of my libraries. That will definitely change. This is one that needs to be on the shelves.
Another arrived, and I figured, "Waste not, want not." Might as well read what my students are reading in class, right?
It was well worth my time, and it will be well worth yours, too. If you're reading this review to decide whether you should read it: you should.
This is an excellent depiction of what the Navajo Code Talkers went through, as children being made to attend boarding schools to lose their culture, and then as young adults reusing their language for incredibly important tasks in World War II. Be sure to read the notes at the end - most of the people in the book are real.
This book is also totally suitable for middle school and high school students. It portrays all of the tension of battle without the gore. It's a real page-turner.
I can't believe I didn't have this yet at either of my libraries. That will definitely change. This is one that needs to be on the shelves.
December 28, 2008
I highly recommend! This is really a sensitive, balanced, well researched account of the Navajos who developed a code which the Japanese were unable to crack. The story becomes alive and real through the fictional protanongist. It is ironic that historical fiction can be more real than just dry history. Although it is dealing with a horrendous war, it is not overly morbid nor gruesome, nor does it glorify war or heroism. The author is sentive to the spiritual as well as physical cost of war and the need to "restore balance". I appreciated the sense of humor which lightened the subject, such as the Navajos playing jokes on their commanding officers, or managing to catch a couple of stray chickens and cook up chicken stew while hiding in foxholes from the Japaneses on an island. There is a connection made between the Navajo Marines and the Pacific Islanders who have been abused by the Japanese soldiers. Also, the Japanese are not made into monsters, but rather sadness is expressed at a victory which is won at the cost of so many lives.
June 1, 2011
This book was very interesting. It really gave me a good idea how much the Navajos helped the americans win world war 2. Also it gave me a really good idea of what the veterans were talking about who were in world war 2.
September 24, 2019
"When we must fight other humans, injure and kill them, we also injure a part of ourselves."
Respecting other languages and cultures is the message that remains paramount in the United States and globally. This novel is indeed a work of splendid engaging storytelling. The historical significance of "Code Talker" is so relative to those military soldiers who at times questioned their bravery in the midst of active conflict. Yet, this novel also spoke of something unnerving...racism and oppression of Native Americans.
Ned Begay, whose Navajo birth-name is Kii Yazhi, serves as the narrator in this story speaking to his grandchildren. Sadly, but not surprisingly, outside his tribe, the resounding negative dehumanization of the Navajos were always echoing in their presence. Upon attending boarding school, the Navajo students had to learn English and were forbidden to speak their native language. They had to conform to the Anglo-Saxon way of learning and life. Their hair was cut, which was not a custom of their people because it was considered bad luck. Navajos were often criticized and told they were stupid, lazy, could not be taught anything, and that they could never be good as any white man.
This mindset changed dramatically when the Marines had a top-secret mission that only the Navajos were able to perform confidentially. Because the Navajo language was uncommon and hard to learn, they were recruited to be code talkers in order to get important messages to U.S. troops in combat. The beautiful part of it was their native language was communication their enemies would not be able to understand.
This is a story of action, intrigue, tragedy, and injustice. When I learned about the use of code talkers in the military decades ago, the story fascinated me just as much as the stories about the Buffalo Soldiers. Joseph Bruchac did an amazing job with this story-line and is a good read I highly recommend.
"War is a time out of balance. When it is truly over, we must work to restore peace and sacred harmony once again."
Respecting other languages and cultures is the message that remains paramount in the United States and globally. This novel is indeed a work of splendid engaging storytelling. The historical significance of "Code Talker" is so relative to those military soldiers who at times questioned their bravery in the midst of active conflict. Yet, this novel also spoke of something unnerving...racism and oppression of Native Americans.
Ned Begay, whose Navajo birth-name is Kii Yazhi, serves as the narrator in this story speaking to his grandchildren. Sadly, but not surprisingly, outside his tribe, the resounding negative dehumanization of the Navajos were always echoing in their presence. Upon attending boarding school, the Navajo students had to learn English and were forbidden to speak their native language. They had to conform to the Anglo-Saxon way of learning and life. Their hair was cut, which was not a custom of their people because it was considered bad luck. Navajos were often criticized and told they were stupid, lazy, could not be taught anything, and that they could never be good as any white man.
This mindset changed dramatically when the Marines had a top-secret mission that only the Navajos were able to perform confidentially. Because the Navajo language was uncommon and hard to learn, they were recruited to be code talkers in order to get important messages to U.S. troops in combat. The beautiful part of it was their native language was communication their enemies would not be able to understand.
This is a story of action, intrigue, tragedy, and injustice. When I learned about the use of code talkers in the military decades ago, the story fascinated me just as much as the stories about the Buffalo Soldiers. Joseph Bruchac did an amazing job with this story-line and is a good read I highly recommend.
"War is a time out of balance. When it is truly over, we must work to restore peace and sacred harmony once again."
November 18, 2021
The first half of the book was character driven. If you know anything about me, then you know by now that I always prefer a character driven book to a plot driven book. If I had to rate the first half of the book it would get 4 out of 5 stars. The second half of the book was very battle specific. I'm not interested in action. I'm not interested in climbing a hill or digging a trench. There was a lot of that in the second half.
The parts that actually spoke about people and culture and thoughts and feelings were a delight. I loved learning more about Navajo blessings and the way names were changed and bestowed in the residential schools (I can't believe "Begay" means "son of!" No wonder it's so ubiquitous). I still think it's a good read, and if I come across any teens who need a historical fiction book for school and they're interested in WWII or action, I will hand this one to them.
The parts that actually spoke about people and culture and thoughts and feelings were a delight. I loved learning more about Navajo blessings and the way names were changed and bestowed in the residential schools (I can't believe "Begay" means "son of!" No wonder it's so ubiquitous). I still think it's a good read, and if I come across any teens who need a historical fiction book for school and they're interested in WWII or action, I will hand this one to them.
May 28, 2020
“The name the armed forces gave to that sickness of the mind and spirit was ‘battle fatigue.’ It was hard for some people to understand, especially those who’d never been in combat. Some even accused those men of being fakers and cowards.
But we Navajos understood it well. Our ancestors saw what war does to human beings. When we must fight other humans, injure and kill them, we also injure a part of ourselves. Our spirits become sick...” -Code Talker
My mind and, I pray, my heart, have been expanded by this book. Telling these accounts through the eyes of a Navajo boy gave a different face to the war for me— an obedient, spiritual, survivalist face. Native Americans fought alongside their fellow white/black/etc. Americans for freedom. This book recounts only a handful of those natives’ stories (from only one of the wars for freedom of which they were a part); and I can’t help but wonder, again,
WHY?
Why wasn’t I taught about these men when I was in school, when I was supposed to be taught “vital, core information”? Why are non-white stories of triumph still kept in the dark like dirty secrets? Why am I even so upset about this right now?
Maybe it’s because I just finished a beautiful book about beautiful people doing beautiful things, and I know that these Native men returned home to less praise than some of their fellow fighters, if not to a complete lack of praise, or, to even the same racial/historical prejudices and slander they left behind. Maybe I’m upset at how sin ravages beautiful people (like all the men whose sacrifices slip into shadow) and beautiful things (like well-deserved homecomings). Maybe the cultural climate in the U.S. right now has me stirred. Maybe I’m being too sentimental about this.
Maybe, but I don’t think so. Since God has created all human beings with value and purpose, we, who have been told we have infinite worth by a loving Father, should see all human beings in that same way. People are people; bravery is bravery.
But we Navajos understood it well. Our ancestors saw what war does to human beings. When we must fight other humans, injure and kill them, we also injure a part of ourselves. Our spirits become sick...” -Code Talker
My mind and, I pray, my heart, have been expanded by this book. Telling these accounts through the eyes of a Navajo boy gave a different face to the war for me— an obedient, spiritual, survivalist face. Native Americans fought alongside their fellow white/black/etc. Americans for freedom. This book recounts only a handful of those natives’ stories (from only one of the wars for freedom of which they were a part); and I can’t help but wonder, again,
WHY?
Why wasn’t I taught about these men when I was in school, when I was supposed to be taught “vital, core information”? Why are non-white stories of triumph still kept in the dark like dirty secrets? Why am I even so upset about this right now?
Maybe it’s because I just finished a beautiful book about beautiful people doing beautiful things, and I know that these Native men returned home to less praise than some of their fellow fighters, if not to a complete lack of praise, or, to even the same racial/historical prejudices and slander they left behind. Maybe I’m upset at how sin ravages beautiful people (like all the men whose sacrifices slip into shadow) and beautiful things (like well-deserved homecomings). Maybe the cultural climate in the U.S. right now has me stirred. Maybe I’m being too sentimental about this.
Maybe, but I don’t think so. Since God has created all human beings with value and purpose, we, who have been told we have infinite worth by a loving Father, should see all human beings in that same way. People are people; bravery is bravery.
October 13, 2022
4.5 stars
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