Books That Inspire 2003
 
Farewell to Manzanar
Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston


In 1942, the federal government relocated seven-year-old Jeanne Wakatsuki and her family to the Japanese-American internment camp in Manzanar, a remote desert region of California. Farewell to Manzanar chronicles the three and a half years that Jeanne and her family spent in the camp and tells a touching story of a family torn apart – and yet desperately attempting to hold itself together – during a time of distrust, paranoia, and prejudice. The book describes a disturbing case of racial profiling from a time not that long ago. Incredible to me as I read this moving account today is how Jeanne recalls the years in this camp not with bitterness but with dignity and love and forgiveness. Reading it can transform you.
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Jerry Jerman
Director of Development
University Outreach