From Library Journal
Nakano's work is the first historical survey of Japanese American women to appear in the United States. It sheds new light on the largely invisible lives of the Issei (first generation), Nisei (second generation), and Sansei (third generation) women . Drawing from a number of sources, Nakano recounts how Japanese cultural values shaped the pioneer women's responses to the hardships they faced, while their American-born daughters grappled with balancing traditional values with American norms. The major part of the book is devoted to the second generation, whose lives were ineluctably altered by World War II. Written in an empathetic manner, this book is most effective when the women speak for themselves. Nakano, however, fails to mention two groups: Japanese "war brides" and recent immigrants. Nevertheless, this is an important purchase for minority and women's collections.
- Kathleen Hir ooka, Stanford Univ. Libs., Cal.Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
Mei Nakano was born in Colorado in 1924, the daughter of Japanese immigrants who farmed there. A former English instructor at Laney and Diablo Valley Colleges in California, she presently serves as editor and consultant at Mina Press. She writes and lectures and extensively about Japanese Americans and human and civil rights and has appeared numerous times on local PBS Radio to discuss those issues. This, her first extended non-fiction work,, currently in its fifth printing, has been translated in Japan by Simul Press Inc.
