On... Eyes of the Emperor by Graham Salisbury

I learned something about World War II history that I didn't know before by reading this book. I am ashamed of this part of my history as an American.

This book is narrated by Eddy Okubo who lies about his age to enter the US Army before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. After America declares war on Japan Okubo and his fellow Japanese American soldiers encounter various trials including being sent to Cat Island off of the Mississippi coast to serve as the bait in an ill-fated attempt to train dogs to seek out Japanese.

I had no idea that this part of history existed. As a student of history I of course know about the internment camps and various other types of prejudice executed against the Japanese Americans during that time but this felt like an all-time low to me. Just like Eddy and his fellow soldiers I couldn't believe it when their superior officer revealed what their duty was.

Even though the subject could have been extremely tense, sad and tragic Salisbury through Eddy infuses a sense of humor and lightness needed to keep the book from becoming a drudgery.

I absolutely loved this book!