January History Book Club

"Looking Like The Enemy"

Mary Matsuda Gruenewald

Even the ardent love of liberty will, after a time, give way to its dictates. The violent destruction of life and property incident to war, the continual effort and alarm attendant on a state of continual danger, will compel nations the most attached to liberty to resort for repose and security to institutions which have a tendency to destroy their civil and political rights. To be more safe, they at length become willing to run the risk of being less free.
-Alexander Hamilton, Federalist Papers.

In 1941, Mary Matsuda Gruenewald was a teenage girl who, like other Americans, reacted with horror to the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Yet soon she and her family were among 110,000 innocent people imprisoned by the U.S. government because of their Japanese ancestry. In this eloquent memoir, she describes both the day-to-day and the dramatic turning points of this profound injustice: what is was like to face an indefinite sentence in crowded, primitive camps; the struggle for survival and dignity; and the strength gained from learning what she was capable of and could do to sustain her family.

Please join us, in the Barnes & Noble Café, January 22, 2009 at 7:00 P.M. to discuss this exceptional narrative.

Happy New Year,
Milan

THIRD MONDAY DETECTIVES

Three of us met in the Cafe at B&N on this cold, cold December morning to discuss Susan Wittig Albert's Thyme of Death, the first in the China Bayles series. I like being in the small town of Pecan Springs and solving mysteries with China and her friends. However, that was not the consensus of this gathering. We have been meeting since September and I have yet to choose a book the majority liked! Help! This is a tough group.

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Our book for January 19th is Elizabeth Peters' Crocodile on the Sandbank. The major character in this selection is Amelia Peabody, who is described as "Indiana Jones, if he were female, a wife, and a mother who lived in Victorian times." I've not read any Elizabeth Peters' book, so I'm looking forward to curling up near the fire with this one.

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HAPPY HOLIDAYS !

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Jane