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Praise for Two Faces

“Tragedy. Grief. Gordon Nagai and Nina Wolpe offer a raw, firsthand glimpse into the casualties of war and violence in Two Faces. They show how the pain leaves a permanent scar. We are all victims. Can humanity do better?”

—Robert Watada, Nisei-U.S. citizen Born 1939, Platteville, CO; family moved to Ft. Lupton, CO 1942–1945

“This book is great. Detailing the struggles of what people with Japanese ancestry went through after the attack on Pearl Harbor, it is both heartwarming and serious. I couldn’t put it down!”

—Eliana, sixth grader, Traverse City, Michigan

“Two Faces is a refreshing perspective on how war divides not only on the battlefield but on the home front. After the bombing at Pearl Harbor, the friendship of two children is threatened by a fence built of fear—every nail hammered home by a world of distrust in which they are caught. Their refusal to acquiesce to the status quo of hate and suspicion serves as a testament to the power of the human spirit. A highly recommended read.”

—Bob Welch, author of Saving My Enemy: How Two WWII Soldiers Fought Against Each Other and Later Forged a Friendship That Saved Their Lives

“As an ex-internee I have selective vivid memories of the camp experience when I was just eight. Once I started to read Gordon’s and Nina’s story, it brought back so many memories that I could not put it down. Yes, emotional to say the least—Gordon and Nina filled in a lot of lapses in my memory, and some came flooding back. I completely blocked out the ride to camp, and Gordon’s narrative gave me a glimpse of what could have been. 

“The relationship of Gordon and Nina is thoughtfully written, and I especially like the dialog through their letters, it was as close as you can get to the age portrayed, and I related to many of their experiences. What Gordon had with a Nisei mother was significant, my mother and father were both Issei unable to communicate in English with the empathy that I needed at the time. I did not understand their simple Japanese emotional words so there were many gaps in our ability to share. All in all, a beautifully written book for any age. Young people will be able to relate to the plight of Nina and Gordon.”

—Yukio Shimomura, Manzanar Internment Camp, 1942–1945

“Gordon Nagai’s and Nina Wolpe’s coming-of-age memoir-tale shines a spotlight on a particularly dark and shameful period of American history. It shows how support and love from close friends and family allow us to access strength within ourselves that we might otherwise never know we possess.

“As a program manager at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, I had the good fortune to hear and learn from Gordon’s presentation about the internment of his family at Camp Amache, one of many he’s made in scores of communities and schools. What strikes me most deeply in this inspiring new book is the power of the human spirit to overcome, reminding us that we humans are more alike than we are different—a lesson that our society needs to hear, now more than ever.

 —Todd Gauthier, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, Program Manager, University of Oregon

“Two Faces by Nina Wolpe and Gordon Hideaki Nagai offers a unique perspective and look at a friendship that stood the tests no child should have to face. Set in the time of World War II, we learn about the heart-wrenching experience of Gordon’s family being taken without cause from their home and imprisoned in a Japanese Internment camp, while Nina’s letters weave together her own journey as her father heads off to war.

“As a third-grade teacher and parent, it is rare to find texts about such sensitive topics told in a way that allows young readers to engage, connect and learn. Two Faces does just that. Written with interwoven letters between Nina and Gordon, readers young and old are pulled into the true story of these two friends, a friendship that required grit, perseverance, faith and trust. during a time of isolation and loneliness. The way the authors have collectively built the story around their own experience is touching, informative and meaningful.

“The photographs and resources in the appendix also provide a wonderful resource too giving young readers a way to connect to the history that unfolded over 80 years ago. I appreciate the vulnerability of Nina’s and Gordon’s writing and the gift this story will be for readers of all ages in the years to come.”

—Christine Gough, third-grade teacher, Letitia Carson Elementary School, Corvallis, Oregon

“As Americans, we have experienced obstacles and painful moments since we began as a hopeful new nation 250 years ago. The authors of Two Faces show us how to work together in healing and in joy. As an educator I can’t think of a better culturally responsive way to teach students about our forced imprisonment of American citizens and its impact on our society during World War II.”

—Sarah Campbell, sixth-grade teacher, Meadow View Middle School, Eugene, Oregon

“For three long years, American citizens of Japanese descent suffered an unthinkable fate at internment camps. Two Faces is the story of an ugly chapter in American history, told with the charm and clarity of two youngsters who lived through it. Their story will inspire rich conversations among all who have the good fortune of reading their account. This book is an opportunity for young readers to learn from the past, and to prevent history from repeating itself.”

—Sally Krueger, fifth-grade teacher, Edgewood Community Elementary School, Eugene, Oregon

“Against the backdrop of one of this nation’s greatest Civil Rights violations emerges a story of love, friendship, patience, patriotism, sacrifice and pure childhood innocence… along with a painful, too-soon, coming of age. The book is powerfully written, yet never preachy, and remains wholly authentic throughout to both its young adolescent viewpoint and the misgivings, mischief and misadventures of growing up. Some of Gordon’s lighter memories strongly reminded me of my own kids’ experiences in suburban Connecticut in the 1960s… proving that, given half a chance, ‘kids will be kids’ anywhere. Even behind the barbed wire of a prison camp. And Nina’s insights concerning social justice as well as her beloved Daddy’s going off to lead a whole new life while leaving her and her mother to pick up the pieces of his inability to cope with war and its aftermath are absolutely stunning.”

—Olivia Taylor-Young, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, University of Oregon, creative writing facilitator

“Authors Nina Wolpe and Gordon Nagai have recreated the times when America responded to the surprise bombing of the Pearl Harbor naval base. As a boy, Gordon Nagai lived, together with his family, in a grim camp observed by armed guards and surrounded by barbed wire fences. Throughout his family’s incarceration his schoolmate and friend Nina’s letters were a hopeful and assuring touchstone. The pages about life in the camp almost shatter as you turn them, yet it is a hopeful memoir. Wolpe’s and Nagai’s deftly recorded account proves there is always hope for another doorway to open. Precious!”

—Bill Sarnoff, World War II Navy radioman, U.S.S. Elizabeth C. Stanton

“Far too often, history is written from documents evidencing the actions of governments, NGOs, or some other institutional entity. The decisions of people driving these institutions run the gamut from good to bad. The historical record also shows the uglier side of the human endeavor: the slaughter of populations due to their religious beliefs, the genocide of native populations, the incarceration of citizens based on their race, etc.  Nazis kept detailed records of their slaughter of Jews. The Bureau of Indian Affairs documented the war on Native Americans.

“At the beginning of WWII, thousands of Japanese American citizens were herded into prison camps based on fear and unsubstantiated claims of ubiquitous treason. This federal action was officially known as the Japanese Evacuation and Internment. We know much about these activities from the records of the War Relocation Authority (WRA), who was responsible for the arrest and incarceration of grandparents, parents, and children. The WRA were charged with the forced sale of their personal property: farms, tractors, homes, cars, etc. They moved families living primarily on the West Coast to far-away, out-of-sight locations under heavily armed guard to remain until the end of the War.

“Historians know from government records what family owned a farm in the California central valley, who were arrested, and where they were incarcerated at a specific internment camp.  The archives tell the story from the perspective of the oppressor, not the experiences of the victims. Brecht, in his poem ‘A Worker Reads History,’ laments these truths: history is too often written based on narratives from those in charge. We still know little from the Internee perspective. How did they cope emotionally with sudden incarceration; how did they live during those days of imprisonment; how did they put their lives back financially after the War. Oral histories exist but they were captured decades too late for precise recall or the adult generation had already passed.

“Nina Wolpe and Gordon Nagai were close school friends when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, a friendship they maintained throughout the war and thereafter. They have produced a unique book of personal narrative around this historical event. Their own memoirs about the war and its impact on their personal lives intertwine with their frequent letters back and forth. It is a highly engaging and uplifting work about a cross-racial friendship at a time of global conflict when such friendships were frowned upon and even prohibited. Gordon Nagai’s narrative provides especially substantive and unique details about internment life, much of which has never been told. This engaging story fills a deep gap in the books written about this dark chapter in American history.”

 —David de Lorenzo, Director, Special Collections, University of Oregon