Reviews

Book Tells Story of Couple Who Defended JA Neighbors

james — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 13:44:58 -0700

BAINBRIDGE ISLAND, Wash. —"In Defense of Our Neighbors: The Walt and Milly Woodward Story" has been released by Fenwick Publishing Group in collaboration with Graphic Arts Center Publishing and the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Community (BIJAC).

The book is an account of one couple’s fight to help a community grapple with the internment of its Japanese American citizens — the first group to be forcibly exiled under Executive Order 9066 in 1942.

This is the true story that inspired “Snow Falling on Cedars” by novelist David Guterson, who wrote the foreword.

Japanese Folk Tales in Pleasanton

james — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 14:53:26 -0700

PLEASANTON — Bilingual storyteller Megumi will tell Japanese folk tales for all ages on Saturday, Aug. 16, at 11 a.m. at the City of Pleasanton Library, 400 Old Bernal Ave.

The event is free and open to the public. The library can be reached at (925) 931-3400. For more information on Megumi, visit www.MegumiTales.com.

‘Fighting Spirit’ Documents Judo in So. Calif. During 1930s

james — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 09:12:44 -0700

LOS ANGELES — A new book documents the prewar days of judo in Southern California, and its effect on the spread of judo across the United States.

Written by Ansho Mas Uchima, a retired aerospace engineer, this is his first publication. A collaborative effort with Larry Akira Kobayashi, the book, entitled “Fighting Spirit: Judo in Southern California, 1930-1941,” published by Midori Books, contains 400 pages with over 75 rare photos of Southern California judo dojos.

Local Author Finishes Family Saga

james — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

HONOLULU — “Dying in a Strange Land,” the latest novel by Milton Murayama, has been published by University of Hawaii Press.

This long-awaited novel brings to a close the saga of the Oyama family. Familiar faces from “All I Asking for Is My Body,” “Five Years on a Rock” and “Plantation Boy” return to advance the story from the years immediately after World War II to the 1980s.