Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

They Called Us Enemy by Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott, George Takei

67 reviews

bookdrunkard78's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, and Racism

laurenmiller100's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

This is an essential book. Japanese internment is relatively unknown to so many modern Americans, but George Takei’s powerful story reminds us that this horror took place not too long ago. The adorable art style stands it stark contradiction to the tragedy within the pages, serving to further cement this child’s view of the experience. I am not usually one to cry at books, but this really affected me. Incredibly powerful and moving.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Racism, Confinement, Xenophobia, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Violence, Hate crime, and War

whtbout2ndbrkfst's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Confinement

Minor: Violence, Racial slurs, and War

magpienicky's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective sad fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement and Racism

Moderate: Violence, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Grief, War, and Deportation

Minor: Child death and Death

pacifickat's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

"Justice grows out of recognition of ourselves in each other, [...] that my liberty depends on you being free, too;[...] that history can't be a sword to justify injustice or shield against progress, [...] but must he a manual for how to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past."
- Pres. Barack Obama, They Called Us Enemy p. 203

This book should be a national treasure. One of the best historical memoirs I have ever read.  The messages it contains are even more vital and pressing today than ever before.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Racism, Racial slurs, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Death, Bullying, Grief, Hate crime, War, Deportation, and Gaslighting

Minor: Police brutality and Violence

Incarceration, racial injustice, generational trauma

becksusername's review against another edition

dark informative reflective sad fast-paced

4.25

I learned from this book, but felt Takei was weirdly positive about "American" "democracy"

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, Deportation, Confinement, and Islamophobia

hmetwade's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Racism, Child death, War, Racial slurs, Confinement, Deportation, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Hate crime

craftingcatlady's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

A wonderful and reflective look at George Takei’s childhood, growing up during World War II’s Japanese Internment Camps, and how it helped to shape him into the actor and activist his is today. 

History books look back at history and tells it from an adult’s lenses. But George, as he is talking about his time at the camps, shows us the same history but through the lens and understanding of a child. The contrast’s painted of how he and his siblings handled the situation versus how his parents did, while remaining strong for their children, is striking. 

I have watched Takei as Sulu in Star Trek growing up, and I had no idea the breadth of his acting career, nor the activism he is involved in. Discovering this, adds another layer onto his Sulu character for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deportation, Racism, Confinement, Violence, and War

Moderate: Racial slurs

jacob_dion's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Confinement, Racial slurs, Grief, Racism, and War

livlamentloathe's review against another edition

informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

Fascinating, heartbreaking, and hard to read. It was well told, but it was hard for the very reasons Takei lists at the end of the book: history is repeating itself. I knew very little of the Japanese internment until maybe college? Most of what I’ve learned has come from reading—unassigned/not for school.

I implore everyone to read this book. Or anything similar to understand the actions of our government. Not to “understand” as in “agree with,” but to acknowledge how bloody and disreputable our history is. The Germans weren’t the only villains of the second world war.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Hate crime, and Confinement

Moderate: War, Colonisation, and Deportation