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An Ocean Between Us/the Changing Relationship of Japan and the United States, Told in Four Stories from the Life of an American Town
by Evelyn Iritani
Product Group: Book
Publisher: William Morrow & Co (1994-07)
ISBN: 0688108121
EAN: 9780688108120
Dewey Decimal #: 303.482520797
Binding/Media: Hardcover - 272 pages
Edition: 1st
SKU: 6004-Ocean
Condition: Used: Very Good
Comments: Spine tight and straight with clean unmarked pages. Previous owners name tag inside front cover yet book looks new.
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
An exploration of the evolving relationship between Japan and the United States focuses on four true stories from Port Angeles, Washington, beginning in 1834 with shipwrecked Japanese sailors in Washington and ending with American workers employed by a Japanese corporation.
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Customer Reviews
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Clean, honest writing; fascinating "who knew?" history
Rating  (5)
Date: 2010-01-05
Not drawn by the title of Iritani's book, but curious because I'd lived in Port Angeles in the early 1970's, I bought the book and then let it gather dust -- too many other priorities. Well, now it's read, and I am eagerly sharing it with friends! I found Ms. Iritani to be an extremely skilled writer, fair in her presentation of events and cultural differences. Her research was obviously meticulous, and the details of the history she unearthed fascinated me. My mom, a Washingtonian, once mentioned WWII blackouts and worry about Japanese balloon bombs; she will appreciate now reading details previously unknown to her and other Americans during the war.
A balloon bomb crater in Thermopolis, Wyoming? I'd never have guessed. In her chapter "Bubbles of Death", Iritani looks at balloon bombs from both sides of the literal and cultural ocean: the stories are heart-rending. The reconciliations between Japanese and American victims are consoling even to Iritani's readers.
This is not impersonal history, it hits you at your level and means something.
I am truly surprised (and disappointed) there are not more Evelyn Iritani books. She is on my list of admirable authors.
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