I think it’s important for everyone to know about this deplorable time in United States history, and George Takei’s book is an excellent way to learn about it. It helped keep it from getting pulled down by the heaviness of the subject, and I found myself more readily engaged by a graphic novel than if this was a traditional nonfiction book. They Called Us Enemy: Expanded Edition by George Takei Justin Eisinger Steven Scott Harmony Becker ISBN: 9781603094702 Publication Date: Goodreads Summary A graphic memoir recounting actor/author/activist George Takei's childhood imprisoned within American concentration camps during World War II. I enjoyed the story being told in a graphic novel format. It hits home how this could happen again all too easily. It is shocking to think that this happened in America, and less than 80 years ago.

I knew about the internment camps and discrimination against Japanese Americans that took place at the time, but Takei’s telling brings out the nuances of wha t life was like for a child living through this devastating time. This was done to about 120,000 people, on the singular basis of being of Japanese descent. In 1942, George and his father, mother, little brother, and baby sister were forced out of their Los Angeles home and imprisoned in US military camps. Ideally, George Takei’s They Called Us Enemy should just be an interesting, compelling memoir detailing a dark, shameful chapter in American history, drawing readers to itself through its narrator and co-writers fame as an actor, an activist, and a witty social media presence.

Winner of the Eisner 2020 Best Reality Based Work, They Called Us Enemy is a powerful graphic novel documenting actor, author, and activist George Takei’s youth spent in US Japanese internment camps during WWII.

They called us enemy author