
Like Friends, Like Foes
Japanese Americans and Nevada Through World War II
Andrew B. Russell(Author)
University of Nevada Press
Will be published approx. on 30. June 2026
Book
Hardback
978-1-64779-243-5 (ISBN)
Description
Like Friends, Like Foes offers a comprehensive analysis of how Nevada residents responded and reacted to the "Japanese Question" during World War II. Both before and during the war, the experience of Japanese American residents of Nevada varied widely. Once the war started, Japanese immigrants experienced an unusual case of mass internment from the mining towns of Ruth and McGill, Nevada, while Japanese American railroad workers and their families, scattered across the state, faced sudden layoffs and evictions. At the same time, most of the Japanese Americans living in Nevada fared much better than their counterparts who resided in the surrounding states.
Andrew Russell's study examines how variations in local history and local circumstances generated starkly different perspectives and responses to the supposed "Japanese problems" confronting Nevada's small communities, the state, and the larger region. While Russell's interpretive history spotlights some highly unusual developments, it nevertheless offers fresh evidence of how individuals or small groups can play significant roles in combating the abuse of civil rights during times of fear and uncertainty.
Andrew Russell's study examines how variations in local history and local circumstances generated starkly different perspectives and responses to the supposed "Japanese problems" confronting Nevada's small communities, the state, and the larger region. While Russell's interpretive history spotlights some highly unusual developments, it nevertheless offers fresh evidence of how individuals or small groups can play significant roles in combating the abuse of civil rights during times of fear and uncertainty.
Reviews / Votes
"Like Friends, Like Foes contains information that the public needs. Russell's scholarship is exceedingly sound, and he has uncovered many unknown stories. This book makes an important contribution to the fields of Japanese American history, Asian American studies, and the events of World War II." - Sue Fawn Chung, professor emerita of history, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, author of In Pursuit of Gold: Chinese American Miners and Merchants in the American West"Russell's scholarship in Like Friends, Like Foes is both pioneering and impressive, as well as comprehensive and painstaking. His presentation is exceedingly balanced, and the temper of his argument's exposition is notably judicious. This book is truly a masterpiece." -Arthur A. Hansen, professor emeritus of history and Asian American studies, California State University, Fullerton, author of Manzanar Mosaic: Essays and Oral Histories on America's First World War II Japanese American Concentration Camp
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Reno
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Illustrations
26 b&w figures - 1 Maps
Dimensions
Height: 152 mm
Width: 229 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
Weight
454 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-64779-243-5 (9781647792435)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Andrew B. Russell grew up in Las Vegas and earned his BA and MA in history at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He completed his PhD in history at Arizona State University in 2003, specializing in the modern United States, the American West, and public history. His expertise, previous publications, and consulting work has centered on the Japanese American communities and the wartime confinement camps of Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico as well as the federal, state, and local restrictions implemented in the Interior West during World War II.
Content
Contents List of Illustrations Map. Nevada 1942: Major Roads and Railroads Foreword by Sue Fawn Chung Preface A Note on Wording, Hyphens, and Quotation Marks List of Abbreviations Introduction Chapter One. The Nikkei in Nevada, 1900-1940 Chapter Two. The Japanese and the Company Towns Chapter Three. Nevada's Mysterious Case of Mass Internment Chapter Four. Friendlier-but Mixed-Responses to the First Japanese Question Chapter Five. Hostile Answers to the Second "Japanese Question" Chapter Six. Wartime Experiences in the Battle-Born State Conclusion: Nikkei Nevadans at the Margins and in the Mainstream Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Index About the Author