5 comments about The Family Whistle: A Holocaust Memoir of Loss and Survival.

1. This book is a moving memoir of a man who has lived a truly extraordinary life. The journey begins in early adolescence when his otherwise normal childhood growing up in a Jewish family was turned upside down by the German invasion of Poland.It records in a very personal way the experience of his family as some of them fled east to Russia to literally save their lives while those who stayed behind ultimately perished in the Nazi death camps. The survivors set off on an odyssey which takes them further East to the labor camps in Siberia then back to a displaced persons camp in Europe and finally to the United States where they found a new home. It captures both the challenges many world war two refugees had to overcome to survive but also the new life they built in America.As time passes this cyle of life that many experienced during and after world war two becomes more distant and seemingly less relevant to new generations. This memoir will help insure that we do not forget the remarkable accomplishments of those who had the will and luck to survive the horrors of world war two and the strength of character to pick up the pieces in a new country and lead a productive and fulfilling life.



2. Simon Eichel takes us on a voyage of incredible emotions. The roller-coaster experience is all the more intense because it is real. We live in an era when such degradation of, and dis-respect for, human life seems remote here in cozy east coast America. Well, Eastern Europe was pretty cozy before Nazi Germany erupted. How would any of us cope without the day-to-day liberties we now assume as our inalienable rights.
   I took from this book the meaning of armaggedon. But, also the meaning of perserverence and courage. And above all, the value of a life. This book makes me cherish the time I do have on this Earth.
   The Family Whistle is a story we should all read, especially when lives and liberty are currently questioned in areas of the world. Simon Eichel inspires us with his will to live and unbroken hope.



3. A wonderful story that covers a different aspect of the Holocaust; surviving the labor camps of Russia. Writings and journalings historically reflect the Holocaust through stories that are primarily focused on Germany, Hitler, and the death camps that systematically murdered millions of Jews. Rarely do we get to see what role Russia played in tending to the thousands of refuges that fled Hitler's grip. The Family Whistle shares the Eichel family's escape into Siberia, the repeated survival that harsh conditions demanded, and the success of repeatedly starting over. Hope of reuniting with loved ones back in beloved Poland was the driving force for surviving six years of camps overseen by the NKVD and Russian Forces. At the end of WWII, Simon Eichel, his father, older brothers and new members of the family retraced their journey back to Poland with burning desires to once again be together with those they were forced to leave behind. What awaits them is the news that is so horrid and unbelievable they cannot fathom its meaning. The Eichel family is forever changed when the dreams of reunification are shattered...forever.



4. This story is another inspiring story of the Holocaust. Although I am very intrigued by the Holocaust, this is an aspect of it that I had not realized was out there. This story had little to do with the death camps and the Eichle's knowledge of the awful things being done to the Jews at the death camps was minimal until after the war. It still paints a picture of the poor treatment of Jews at this time and was a touching family story.



5. A very well-written book with high-interest content. It is one of the few written about the Holocaust period concerning those Jews who were shipped from Russian-occupied Poland by the Soviets to Siberia and ironically survived the Nazi onslaught because of that. In spite of the excellent writing, the book in the next edition needs a good copy-editor to go over it, as a number of printing/careless errors distracted somewhat from the message. There was one historical error, as Anne Frank was not shipped to Auschwitz; she was sent to and died in Bergen-Belsen in Germany.

5 comments about Company Commander: The Classic Infantry Memoir of World War II.

1. This book is probably the finest memoir of any junior officer in WW2. Unlike so many war memoirs, MacDonald keeps his focus firmly on his own experiences, and doesn't waste his readers time by speculating on `the big picture' or describing incidents which he didn't personally take part in. He sticks to what life was like for a junior officer in command of an infantry company - disorientating, stressful and very dangerous.
   
   On the strength of this book MacDonald was selected to work on the famous Official History of the US Army in World War Two, and produced two of the best regarded volumes in that definitive series.



2. Charles B. MacDonald wrote what it was like for a 21year old to command two infantry companies in WW2. He took notes along the way (I have a page of his notes that survived). They cover the capture of Hombressen in Germany. I also have the original typewriter on which he typed the manuscript of his book. I have trvelled the route he took in 1944/45 and found his descriptions of the various lovcations to be exceedingly accurate in every detail.
   
   Will Cavanagh



3. An excellent book about the leadership of an army officer during the
   crucial battles that ended WWII in Europe. As an untested officer thrown
   into the Battle of the Bulge he performed magnificently. His mettle was sorly tested,and his humanity shone through. A very,very good read



4. I loved this book. It depicted the toil and drudgery of the WWII combat infantryman. There are no frills in this story, just the day to day experience of being on the spearhead of the Allied push into Germany. It portrayed the feelings and emotions of the men, in a very accurate light. I'm sure that there are people that will read this book and feel that they haven't been entertained. However, this book is not about entertainment. It is about the reality of the men that fought so unselfishly in the Ardennes Forest, and suffered intense hunger, cold (this was one of the coldest winters ever recorded in Europe), anxiety and fears. It also portrays the humor that existed amoung these brothers in arms. It is a great companion to Mac's other history, "A Time for Trumpets." Great, GREAT book! Thanks Mac!



5. Company Commander: The Classic Infantry Memoir of World War II by Charles B. MacDonald. I highly recommend Company Commander: The Classic Infantry Memoir of World War II by Charles B. MacDonald. At just 21 years of age, Captain Charles B. MacDonald first commanded I Company, 3 Battalion 23rd Infantry, 2nd Infantry Division from October 1944 to January 1945 and later G Company, 2 Battalion 23rd Infantry, 2nd Infantry Division from March to May 1945. This memoir was written in 1947 when recollections were still sharp. It resulted in a very detailed account of what it was like to take command of a line infantry company and lead it into battle. The book gives us template for writing a personal military memoir.
   
   It is by far the finest memoir of any junior officer in World War II. Charles MacDonald does a great job of keeping his focus on his own experiences. He does not speculate or waste my time by giving conjecture on the big picture. We only have first hand information from the events of his personal participation. He sticks to what life was like for a junior officer in command of an infantry company, sleepless, hungry, dirty, stressful, and very dangerous. He takes us from the Siegfried Line in the Ardennes, through the Battle of the Bulge, and to the end of the war in the Czechoslovakia.
   
   This book is a must-read for all army officers who seek to command at company-level and it is informative for military historians as well. It is still required reading at West Point and on the company level officer (second lieutenant, first lieutenant, and captain) recommended reading list by the U.S. Army today. Upon this book's publication in 1947, Charles B. MacDonald was invited to join the U.S. Army Center of Military History as a civilian historian, the start of a career during which he wrote three of the official histories of World War II in Europe and supervised the preparation of others. The book is simply the best. Read and reviewed by Jimmie A. Kepler in June 2006.

5 comments about Grand Central Winter.

1. This was the worst book I ever read.I thought the story was going to be about the homeless in Grand Central.Yet all the
   main character Lee talks about is his work with a newspaper
   written by the homeless.The book drags on and on going nowhere.
   The characters Lee mentions in the book are as dull as the book
   itself.I was trully disappionted.The only thing this book is good
   for is putting you to sleep.



2. I stuck the book out for about 2/3 of it always hoping for some point to be made from the various unconnected stories he tells, but most have no point or real end...such as the story of the blonde hooker who becomes central to his life for many months or the even less understandable the defrocked Greek priest who wants to be in the newspaper.Very little of this book is about how it is to be homeless or to sleep under subway tunnels etc. It's mostly about his hustling newspapers and cans and taking drugs,but even that is surface level & not very detailed.



3. This book is an autobiographical account of a time in the author's life, Lee Stringer. Mr.Stringer begins the book describing his life as a homeless, crack addict who finds a pencil he intends to use to clean his crack pipe with. Then he realizes that a pen can be a very powerful tool and he starts to write. He writes about the streets where the homeless are seen but so often overlooked and his eventual position as a writer for a newspaper.Stringer has realized in this book that "the pen is indeed mightier than the sword" as he goes about seeking Recovery and Redemption. This book is a very well written account of a man's struggle to free himself from a serious addiction.The reader will cheer for Mr. Stringer as he tries to regain his Life and his Dignity.



4. I encountered this book on a sale rack and didn't expect much from it. After all why would be so discounted?
   
   I was wrong. This was a chilling and real depiction of life on the streets as a crack addict. What it may lack in direction, it makes up for with hard-hitting writing.
   
   If you are looking for a nice breezy read, this is not the book for you. If you want some food for thought, then don't miss it.



5. Several reviewers criticize Stringer's Grand Central Winter for what they see as its lack of information about life on the streets as well as an absence of narrative cohesion. While I sympathize with both of these complaints, I also think they're misguided.
   
   In the first place, Stringer doesn't claim to be writing social commentary or advocating social reforms. His book is a memoir, pure and simple. His stories are from the street, as the book's subtitle announces, but not necessarily about the street. Obviously in describing his life on the streets, Stringer necessarily sheds some light on what street life in general is like. Just as obviously, he also has a few things to say in passing about public policy (he's especially bitter about the "antiseptic Good Samaritanism" of large-scale relief agencies). But the focus of his book is sharing his own experiences living on the street.
   
   And this takes us to the second point: Stringer's writes about selected experiences. He's not really trying to tell a neatly packaged story with a clear beginning, middle, and end. (Philosophers might describe his approach as "phenomenological.") I don't know why Stringer chose to write about the episodes in his life he did. Some of them are probably consciously chosen; others may've forced themselves onto the empty page. But the point is that they're vignettes, not sequential episodes that together tell a full-fledged story.
   
   For my money, the vignettes are wonderfully written. Their minimalist style sets an almost photographic tone: to the point, revelatory, unsentimental, sometimes grim. Stringer successfully resists the temptation to demonize or romanticize.

5 comments about Sam Houston and the American Southwest (Library of American Biography Series) (3rd Edition) (Library of American Biography).

1. Texas's Savior Ever since Texas was a territory in the middle of no where, one man stood up to lead the way to statehood. That man who rose above the rest and conquered endless, unimaginable barriers was Sam Houston. Rudolph B. Campbell wrote a chronologically correct book about Houston entitled Sam Houston and the American Southwest. He became the most popular and most honorable man in Texas. The battle of San Jacinto, acquiring Presidency of the Republic of Texas, and obtaining a place in the United States Senate all proved that Sam Houston was a competent and trustworthy leader. First and foremost, the battle of San Jacinto was one Houston's greatest accomplishments, defeating Santa Anna and shamefully returning him to Mexico. This battle turned out to be the turning point in Texas's becoming a Republic and Sam Houston's popularity beginning to soar across Texas. Even though the revolution was a failure and Mexico still didn't recognize Texas as a republic, Houston still received the recognition that he deserved. It happened "...at three o'clock in the afternoon, Houston ordered his 'effectives' into battle formation that stretched across the prairie" (Campbell 68). After this strategic move, Sam Houston attacked and eighteen minutes later ended the battle. With this fight under his belt, Houston slowly arose to become a powerful and noteworthy man. This rise in power enabled Houston to become the first President of the Republic of Texas on September 18th, 1836. He was basically the only man for the job, supported by a landsliding "5,119 vote to Smith's 743 votes" (74). Houston saw himself as the candidate who could bring unity to Texas, despite its ambiguity and immense size. With Mirabeau B. Lamar at his side as vice president, Sam Houston would find as much

   money for Texas as he could, balance the budget, and keep good relations with Mexico. In order to make and save money, Houston sold Texas's navy. Even the money gained from this sale didn't help the budget at all. By the time Houston's term of presidency was over, the debt had grown to roughly two million dollars. As far as keeping relations with Mexico, Houston must have apparently done a very good job because they did not attack again for a long period of time. Plus, he helped the Indians, especially the Cherokee, as much as he could, considering how he U.S. was driving them farther and farther away from their land. After Houston's three-year term was over, he resigned and moved to a higher position. In addition to already being President of the Republic of Texas more than once, Sam Houston became one of the first senators of Texas as well. Nothing is more suitable for a man with Houston's recognition and fame than to represent "his" state in the United States Senate. Even a more powerful and demanding job than president of a republic, Houston represented Texas better than any man possible. As a senator, and included in his inaugural address, Houston believed that "...finance, Indian policy, and relations with Mexico" were the most important things needed to be taken of in Texas and all over the United States (93). In the interest of finance, Sam Houston recommended that suspending all payments of interest and principal on the debt should be done. In addition, signing treaties, describing boundaries, with the Indians would depress war and bring on peace. Finally, the Texas senator thought it would be best to "...leave the Mexican nation alone," since "diplomatic relations had not been improved" (93). Overall, Sam

   Houston improved Texas by taking its troubles all the way to Congress by using his intelligence and popularity to serve as a weapon for political listeners. Rudolph B. Campbell showed how Sam Houston became the most prominent, influential, and powerful man of his time. Houston basically devoted his entire life to serving other people's needs and wants. There wasn't a man during his time that was even close to becoming as great a hero as Sam Houston.




2. This particular portrayal was a mandatory reading in a History course in college, and by far, the depiction from Campbell is astounding, and amazing. He brings to the surface far more than just the fable you hear about in junior high Texas history. The man was tall, but this piece makes him larger than life.



3. Randolph B. Campbell writes about a man I never knew had that much impact on Texas and the United States in Sam Houston and the American Southwest. The writing is quick and simple to read, and flows from one topic to the next easily.
   
   The book covers everything from Sam Houston's beginnings, to his forrays as a military man and finally to his exploits as a political leader. He impacted Texas more than any other person, and was a leading voice in both the War against Mexico and the Civil War. To characterize his impact on Texas, one would only have to look at the political atmosphere of Texas in their early Republic days. Texas was a two party state, those who were Houston supporters and those who were anti-Houston.
   
   I loved learning about Sam Houston's command during Texas's fight for independence, his thoughts on the Civil War (always a Union man, something unusual for a southerner), and the love he had for his wife (his last words will emphasize this). He was the first President of the Republic of Texas, served as a senator after the state was annexed, and is the only man to serve as governor in two states (Texas and Tennessee). I would have never known three fourths of this information if it wasn't for Randolph B. Campbell's Sam Houston and the American Southwest. I highly recommend this read, for literature lovers and history buffs and all those in between. Everyone enjoy!



4. This is an excellent little book. It's entertaining reading and highly informative. I'm not only glad I read the book but I find myself wanting to know much more about Sam Houston and his era. I think Texans and all Americans are much more indebted to men like him than we realize. Would to God we had some Sam Houstons today!



5. Though the seller responded promptly, i would have liked to received a message that told me they no longer had the book that i was supposed to be buying, instead of me waiting three weeks for it to arrive.

5 comments about Trust No One: The Secret World of Sidney Reilly.

1. I bought this after watching the BBC miniseries on Sidney Reilly. Spence has produced a very scholarly book written in a friendly tone. While I still view the Ace of Spies (the series, not the man) with affection and admiration, this book demonstrates that Reilly's life was much more complex than the BBC series made out. While not wanting to give too much away, I'll just say, watch the series, then read the book.



2. It is obvious that Richard Spence is a diligent researcher and he did a great deal of homework for this book. The result is an exhaustive (and exhausting) compilation of Sidney Reilly's activities and associations over the course of his career. Unfortunately this wealth of information is not really drawn into any themes or any kind of coherent narrative. Some of the "Reilly myths" are convincingly de-bunked, but there's not much on offer here to replace them. This might be a helpful work for the history scholar looking for names, dates, and places associated with Sidney Reilly but it isn't much fun for the armchair history buff.



3. In the end, Sidney Reilly has the last laugh. He spent a lifetime covering his tracks, weaving a trail of deception and misinformation intended to obscure every aspect of his personal history and career. Spence takes on the noble task of trying to sift through the voluminous, vague, and usually contradictory material about this character. Unfortunately, almost nothing can be said with certainty about Reilly. We are unsure of his real name, place of birth, parentage, marriages...and those are just the biographical details. His work was obviously and carefully kept clouded. The author assembles as much data as one will probably ever find on this subject. He tries to be objective. However, the end result is a compilation of information mixed with supposition and conjecture. Yet, it is doubtful if anyone could have done more than Spence given the nature of the subject. In the end, we are not even sure if Reilly died as legend holds or if he lived on in mystery. No one will ever accurately chronicle the life of this remarkable enigma wrapped in a riddle...and that is exactly how Sidney Reilly wanted things to be.



4. Richard Spence's research is astounding in its depth. Although this is in some ways a very "scholarly" work and demands effort on the part of the reader, it's worth it. It's obvious that no easy or pat answers to the mystery of Sidney Reilly are possible....and any book that pretends otherwise is just another red herring being dangled before the gullible.



5. Oh dear. This guy has read about 27 too many Russian novels.
   
   The author sifted through a sea of jumbled information about one of the craftiest characters in the long history of espionage, and produced, well, another sea of jumbled information. After three paragraphs in any chapter, it's not clear what or whom he's talking about -- or even why.
   
   Less detail and more careful analysis and supposition would have been MOST helpful, thank you.
   
   I'm about to stop reading, give up, and stick with the TV series.

5 comments about The Coldest War: A Memoir of Korea.

1. I found this book to a fine novel of the Korean War.Written from the perspective of a young Marine Lt.It had grit and also some light moments.I recommend it.



2. The author recounts his time in Korea where he served as a Marine rifle platoon leader during the "Forgotten War". A very intriguing narrative about a war which claimed in 3 years almost as many American lives as the Vietnam war did in ten years.



3. I first read, "The Coldest War" when I was in the military myself.
   
   My training and duty seemed hard and long to me, but compared to what the guys in the Korean War went through, it was a cake walk.
   
   This book reads smoothly, transitioning from his training to his war time in Korea. There are several pictures of his family, himself at home and in battle, letting you really get a feel for what your reading.
   
   Good book..



4. This book was just ok. What bothers me is that Brady gives intricate details of his life during the war, but that was almost 40 YEARS before the book was written. How could anyone remember the mundane details of life 40 years prior? It just strikes me as unrealistic.



5. I have read many books on the Korean war and I found this one the most difficult to read. Many grammatical errors and sentences with entire words missing.
   
   I appreciate the authors effort but feel this work should have been finely tuned by a qualified editor before publishing.

5 comments about Here I Stand - A Life Of Martin Luther.

1. This book was a great research source and a pretty easy read. I recommend this to anyone starting to study Martin Luther or the Reformation.



2. "Here I Stand" is both the keystone of Roland Bainton's series of Reformation studies, including
   his life of Sebastian Casellio, "The Travail of Religius Liberty" on Ochino, and the more condensed "Reformation of the Sixteenth Century"; it was in the years of my visits to Germany, the "1950's and 60's", regarded there as the best Luther biobgraphy ever written. All Bainton's books were enlivened by numerous rreproductions of contemporary woodcuts, few of them published anywhere else, and more accessible than even the usually shown, vividly first-hand Cranach portraits, but this biography includes the cream of the crop, whose originals were often set up on the bookshelves of his Yale Divinity School office.
   Hugh Barbour, Earlham College & School of Religion emeritus



3. This is the standard English-language biography of Martin Luther, dating from 1950 but still being reprinted by various publishers. Written by the late Prof. Bainton of Yale, it is aimed at the more sophisticated general reader rather than the scholar. The bibliography in the Abingdon Press edition has not been updated since 1978 and is heavily weighted toward German-language books and articles. There are lengthy, translated quotations (set in very small type in the paperback edition), but they are not sourced. There are probably a dozen theological terms that may require a present-day lay reader to resort to a theological dictionary.
   
   A unique strength of this book is the wide assortment of a hundred woodcuts from the Reformation period, but they are quite small and difficult to decipher in the paperback edition. It also ties in the economics and politics of the period to the Reformation.
   
   The book's longevity may be attributed to its particular suitability for the lay reader, in that it is readable and largely self-contained.



4. I am preparing for a trip to Germany where I will visit many of the sites central to Luther's life and work. This book is an in-depth study of Luther's beliefs- not an easy read but a very good source of information.



5. I used this book as one of my references when I taught a Lutheran Sunday School class of high school aged students. It examines the humanity of this very important historical figure and adds a great deal of perspective to a complex time. It's a enjoyable and very readable book and is in my personal library.

3 comments about Memoirs of Montparnasse (New York Review Books Classics).

1. It was 1927; John Glassco was 17 when he left Montreal to go to Paris with the intention of becoming a famous writer. He kept a journal of his life there for the next five years. He was convinced he was a genius who would one day produce a masterpiece. The irony is that the masterpiece turned out to be these memoirs edited and published when he was 59.



2. John Glassco writes about the Paris arts scene of the 1920s, telling the story of an artist as a young man. It's not always true, but it is always fun, as fiction and autobiography blend to create a good read. Has all the sex, boozing and pathos that was typical of 1920s Paris as its been memorialized in literature, whether that's a good thing or not is for you to decide.



3. It's good to see that John Glassco's hilarious if not always reliable memoir of his youthful exploits in Paris is back in print. From what I gather, this edition includes an introduction that comments on the fictitiousness of some events described in the book and its real date of composition. (I'll give you a clue: it's later than you think.) So I would like to exhort everyone and anyone with an appetite for stories about the good old days in Paris, when James Joyce, Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein roamed freely, to pick up this book and enjoy themselves.
   
   However, you should bear in mind that around 25 per cent of it is fiction. Also, if you really want to know who's who, you are better off with the 1995 OUP edition with notes by Michael Gnarowski. This contains a good introduction and reveals the real identity of many thinly veiled characters in an appendix. (Djuna Barnes' lover Thelma Wood is renamed Emily Pine - you get the idea.) But if you are less detective minded than me, I guess this new edition will do just fine.
   
   For further reading, I warmly recommend Being Geniuses Together by the very outspoken Robert McAlmon, with later material interpolated by Kay Boyle, yet another unreliable narrator. Both of these memoirs are infinitely more entertaining than Stein's The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas or Hemingway's maudlin A Moveable Feast. The last of these was hailed as a return to form, but I believe it contains much material that was actually written *earlier* than you'd think. Quite the opposite of Glassco in that respect!

4 comments about In the Shadow of the Mountain: The Spirit of the CCC.

1. Although expecting a technical manual on the role of the Civilian Conservations Corps in the "New Deal" era, I was pleasently surprised at the direction this book takes. "In the Shadow of the Mountain" is a first person narative of life in two separate CCC camps, one on the east coast and one on the west. This book provides plenty of insight into the accomplishments of the CCC and of the daily life of its members. I highly recommend this book to those interested in the political and economic history of the Great Depression and beyond.



2. Mr. Hill does an excellent job of weaving the personal narratives of the "We Can Take It" boys with the potentially dry historical subject of the Civilian Conservation Corps. Not only do I now understand how the boys lived, what they did, how they felt, etc., but also how, why, and when the program began. It's a rich part of our history and one that each generation should know about. This is a book each family needs to include in their family library!



3. I became interested in learning more about the CCC when so many of the National and State parks that I visit had displays lauding the accomplishments of the CCC. Over 65 years later we're still enjoying the fruits of their labor! This book was my first attempt at reading more about them and I wasn't disappointed.
   
   Mr. Hill does a very good job describing his own personal experiences, those of his personal CCC buddies, and adds several other brief first-person accounts at the end. All together, the reader gets a good overall taste for what camp life was like and the tremendous accomplishments of this civilian army (some examples: 38,087 vehicle bridges, 83,548 miles of telephone lines, 5.9 million erosion check dams, 2.2 billion trees planted, 6.3 million mandays fighting forest fires). Woven throughout is a sense of just how brillant this government program was during the desperate times of the Depression--the CCC was simply a spectacular win-win for everyone.
   
   Overall, there seems to be a lack of good detailed histories and first-person accounts about the CCC. I cannot figure out why--so many lives were benefically influenced by the CCC and their successes are almost innumerable. "In the Shadow" was a great place to start learning more about the "We can take it" boys and has only whetted my appetite for more.



4. This book should be required reading for every high school student. In the Shadow of the Mountain gives our generation an appreciation for the price that was paid by a great generation before us.
   JER

3 comments about The Four Immigrants Manga : A Japanese Experience in San Francisco, 1904-1924.

1. If you're not used to reading comics, this will seem rough and not particularly funny. Readers more familiar with the form will recognize that this book is more subtle and better crafted than your typical comic.

   It's of special interest to Japanese Americans and others interested in the immigrant experience in the USA.




2. Henry Kiyama created this terrific book in the 1930's, chronicling the lives of four young Japanese immigrants and their struggle to find work and acceptance in San Francisco at the turn of the century. It was unearthed and translated into English, giving us all the rare privelege of a glimpse into the immigrant experience of that era. Drawn in a simple and lighthearted style and told with insight and depth, Kiyama, along with the rising popularity of Japanese Anime and Manga, reinforces the notion that comics are not just for kids anymore. A great read for a comic lover, a hyphenated-American or anyone interested in the multihued experience of our country.



3. This was a very interesting read, although the jokes themselves were rarely funny due to the difficulty of translating puns. It stands out mostly as a sort of documentary about Japanese immigrants in San Fransisco, specifically worker-students. We watch them struggle to find jobs in strange American homes, a social commentary about gambling and the evils thereof, a six to eight page story of the San Fransisco Earthquake, and building their families.
   
   I found it especially interesting to read the notes after each two-page "chapters" in the back of the book, which added depth to what was happening and provided historical content as well as further describing conditions in San Fransisco at that time.
   
   Comments were made at the beginning of the book that the cartoonist had limited his market because he was writing strictly for fellow immigrants, who would best understand the mixture of Japanese and English that he used in his writing. This is denoted throughout the book with shaky letters for English, which immigrants had difficulty following and plain type-set for regular Japanese, their birth tongue.
   
   As for the artwork, think more old-school Japanese and American comics than the manga that is popular today-- don't be expecting tick marks or sweatdrops for example!
   
   For me especially this had a lot of fond memories. I am not Japanese, but my family moved to San Fransisco in the early 1905 from Italy, so a lot of this made me remember stories about my great grandfather and my great grandmother--my great-grandfather built a shoe-store that was destroyed by the San Fransisco earthquake. Even if you don't buy this book for the humor, at least consider the purchase to read about immigrants to America in the 1900's.