Testimonial 5

When Can We Go Back to America? is a remarkable blend of scholarly analysis and popular narrative. Susan Kamei relates the whole range of Japanese American experiences during World War II—from the camps to the courtrooms, from the soldiers of the segregated 442nd Regimental Combat Team to the draft resisters—restoring a much-needed sense of agency to people who triumphed over prejudice during a period of nationwide fear. At a time when Asian Americans face new threats in their own homeland, When Can We Go Back to America? is a bracing reminder of the challenges facing minorities—and their hard-earned successes.

— Robert Asahina, author of Just Americans: How Japanese Americans Won a War at Home and Abroad