The horrors of World War II shocked the world. Americans believed it could never happen here in our own borders…until it did.
Ichiro Hisakawa and his family were part of the American culture – living the American Dream – until February 19, 1942, when President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 that branded them “the others.” Taken from their homes and stripped of their citizenship due to their ancestry, they endured deplorable conditions in the “relocation camps.” Typhus ran rampant through the camp, and riots were a daily occurrence. And for the first time, America was scornful. Life was difficult, and the Hisakawa family did their best to endure it all.
However, sixteen-year-old Ichiro wasn’t prepared for the betrayal, murder, and escape that was waiting for him. And how did Bobby King, a sixteen-year-old from 2017, find himself in 1942 and friend to Ichiro?
Read The Two Terrors of Tulelake, a story based upon historical facts of which many Americans today are unaware.
WM Gunn is a native Texan who spent many years in the pharmaceutical industry in sales, sales management, and training and development. He is active in writing groups and volunteering with non-profit groups. He lives in his hometown in Texas with his high school sweetheart and bride of many years.
To date, he has written dozens of short stories, novellas, and novels. Holmes, Moriarty, and the Monkeys and Chasing the Sun are two novellas released earlier in 2024.
Historical Fiction / WWII / Action & Drama / International Mystery
Publisher: Progressive Rising Phoenix Press
Date of Publication: February 21, 2023
Number of Pages: 372 pages
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Since the early 1940s, THE GOLD ROSE, a secret rescue agency with Asian origins, has used unique systems to ferret out and save victims in every corner of the world. Charlotte Hunt-Basse has faced dangerous and often deadly challenges in her decade as an agent with the agency, not the least of which was the past rescues of two of her assignments, Pinkie and Babe.
Two-year-old Pinkie is discovered abandoned on a dirt road during a violent storm. She is whisked off to Mexico by oil heir Clint Sutton and his girlfriend, Angelina, as they attempt to escape the lies of Clint's father's second wife. Three years later, Pinkie is stolen away to Argentina by an aging Romani. Pinkie suffers from the malice of her captor but wins the fatherly love of a Buenos Aires circus owner and his fiance. Shortly after landing in the crosshairs of THE GOLD ROSE, Pinkie's life takes two more shocking twists. When the agency locates Pinkie again, Agent Charlotte must throw all caution to the wind to rescue her.
Babe, the child of Texas-based missionaries, is hidden by two Chinese families during the Japanese invasion and ensuing Communist takeover of China. She is forced by the second family to live incognito as a "boy" for several years to save her from soldiers invading China from the North. Martial arts are banned, but the grandfather of the family teaches Babe Yǒng Chūn in deepest secrecy. The civil war escalates, and Babe finds herself on a dangerous quest for survival as she journeys alone through enemy territory toward the faintest hope of rescue.
Jodi Lea Stewart is a fiction author who centers her themes around the triumph of overcoming adversity through grit, humor, and hard-rock tenacity. Born in Texas and growing up in Arizona smelling cedar berries and cow pens on a large cattle ranch wedged between the Navajo Nation and the White Mountain Apache Tribe, most of her friends were Native American and Hispanic, with a few Anglos thrown in for good measure. On the ranch, she climbed petroglyph-etched boulders, sang to chickens, bounced two feet in the air in the backend of pickups wrestling through washed-out terracotta roads, and rode horseback on the winds of her imagination through the arroyos and mountains of the Arizona high country. Later, she left her studies at the University of Arizona in Tucson to move to San Francisco, where she learned about peace, love, and exactly what she didn’t want to do with her life.
Moving back to her native Texas, Jodi graduated summa cum laude with a BS in Business Management, raised three+ children, worked as an electro-mechanical drafter, penned humor columns for a college periodical, wrote regional western articles, and served as managing editor of a Fortune 500 corporate newsletter. Her lifelong friendship with all shades of folks, cowpunchers, southern belles, intellectuals, and "outlaws" propels Jodi into writing comfortably about the Southwest, the South, and far beyond. She currently resides in Arizona with her husband, two wild and crazy Standard poodles, one rescue cat, her fun-loving ninety-plus-year-old mom, a never-be-still-four-year-old tornado, and numerous bossy houseplants.
Book Details: Book Title: One Boy's War by Nancy McDonald Category: Middle-Grade Fiction (Ages 8-12)
Pages: 134 Genre: Historical fiction Publisher: Iguana Books Release date: April, 2020 Content Rating: G. There is no violence, bad language etc. in this book.
Raves for Boy From Berlin by Nancy McDonald:
"Inspired by a true story, Boy from Berlin shares a unique voice in the Holocaust. Highly recommended!”- Jennifer Roy, author of Yellow Star, winner of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Award.
“A compelling introduction to themes of war, courage and identity, certain to engage young readers.” -Trilby Kent, author of Stones for my Father, winner of the TD Canadian Children’s Literary Award.
Book Description:
ENGLAND, SUMMER 1940. Following a brush with death in the Irish Sea, 10-year-old Käfer Avigdor unexpectedly finds himself back in London. There, he stumbles upon a sinister Nazi plot that targets hundreds of people in Britain—including the most powerful man in the country. The one person who might be able to defeat Adolf Hitler. With the Germans threatening to invade England at any moment, Käfer musters all his courage and ingenuity in a valiant effort to thwart the Nazis. But will he succeed in time to save the day? One Boy’s War, the sequel to Boy from Berlin, is inspired by real people and historical events.
Book Title: Boy from Berlin by Nancy McDonald Category: Middle-Grade Fiction (Ages 8-12)
Pages: 142 Genre: Historical fiction Publisher: Iguana Books Release date: May 7, 2018 Content Rating: G. There is no violence, bad language etc. in this book.
Book Description:
Berlin, April 1938. One night, eight-year-old Käfer Avigdor uses his specialty toilet-paper roll binoculars to spy on his Mama and Aunt Charlotte. The whispered conversation he overhears alerts him to a danger he didn’t know existed and starts him rethinking who he really is and where he belongs. Within hours, Käfer and his family flee their comfortable life. In a desperate race to stay one step ahead of the Nazis, Käfer is called on to be braver and more resourceful than he ever imagined possible. But will it be enough? Boy from Berlin is based on real people and actual events.
Nancy McDonald began her career as a journalist on television programs that include W5, Canada AM, and Marketplace before going on to become a sought-after freelance writer, penning everything from documentaries to live-action scripts to comic books. One Boy’s War is the highly anticipated sequel to Boy from Berlin. Nancy lives in Stratford, Ontario, where she revels in Shakespeare, takes theatergoers on tours of the Costume Warehouse, and treads the boards with the Perth County Players. She also works part-time at Fanfare Books, Stratford’s only independent bookseller.
Publisher: Hellgate Press Date of Publication: June 15, 2020
Number of Pages: 218
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Mary Walker Clark barely knew her father. When he died, he left not only the obvious void every teen would experience, but took with him scores of Indiana Jones-style tales about flying the Hump, a treacherous series of US missions that transported supplies over the Himalayas to China during World War II.
It would take a chance interview with a pilot who had flown with her father in the war to launch a series of extraordinary journeys—into a shrouded past and halfway around the globe to India and China—for Clark to finally come to know the father whose absence had haunted her for decades.
Landing in My Present chronicles the adventures of a daughter who chose to pry open a painful past while enlarging her view of an adventurous father long thought lost.
HALL WAYS REVIEW: Reading
Landing in My Present by Mary Walker Clark feels like finding a diary or
scrapbook in a dusty attic, opening it up, being enveloped in the past, and not
emerging again for hours. This book
doesn’t fit neatly into any one literary box: it’s part memoir, part biography,
part travelogue, and a splash of speculation. Calling it unique only scratches
the surface.
“This journey has been
filled with such [memory] recoveries, jarred by a photo, a friend’s story, a
quiet moment of reflection—each building a fuller picture of my father.”
The personal photographs
sprinkled throughout the book really enriched the story and brought an
additional level of intimacy between author Mary Clark and her father, Charlie Walker,
but they also help bond author and reader and reader to Charlie. The inclusion of the photos makes us feel like
we are discovering things about Charlie right alongside Mary. I found that
their stories evoked foggy memories of my own of stories told and nearly forgotten
within my own family. I made notes about things to ask my own dad.
“Each revelation brought Dad’s
past into my present world, erasing years of silence.”
It’s always startling when
you finally realize that your parents were (or are) something other than
parents -- that they were important to all kinds of people who were never even
on your radar. As Mary reads letters and
talks to extended family, she discovers her dad was the favorite uncle, the
popular instructor, the faithful pen pal, and so much more. There’s a thread of
regret that weaves through the book because Mary didn’t truly recognize or
acknowledge her father’s greatness. She was proud, but not proud enough. In
hindsight, she acknowledges she thought and acted like the sixteen-year-old she
was, and then as the young woman finding her way, and then as the adult overloaded
with responsibilities that overshadowed the past -- but it’s almost as if she still
can’t forgive herself for any of it.
“A plane went down for every
two hundred trips over the mountains. For every thousand tons flown into China,
three Americans gave their lives.”
Learning about the Flying
the Hump, the airlift operation that took supplies (primarily gasoline) from
India to western China by flying over the Himalayas, was a new-to-me piece of
World War II information. I not only hadn’t heard of these daring and dangerous
transport missions, but I had only the slightest knowledge of the uneasy
alliances made for it to happen. While I
am sure there are detailed accounts in military histories, the real stories of
the men in the air are likely stored only in memories and stories passed down
through generations. Mary’s deeper understanding
of the role her father played in the war is a treasure; her sharing the
treasure with readers is priceless.
The story builds to what
seems to be the natural culmination: Clark’s actual travels to India and China
to walk her father’s path. Again, the photos are a real enhancement as she
recounts her encounters with the people and places (Happy Jack is a highlight),
noting the differences in how the two countries received Clark and her brother
as children of a Hump pilot. Learning about how the city of Kunming, China,
honors and acknowledges the importance of the Hump operation and the Allied
role in helping China during the war was another reminder of how much I don’t
know about history – or the world, for that matter.
Where the digital reader may
feel that the resolution is near at this point, my print copy showed a quarter
inch of pages left and that the story wasn’t finished. Clark adds a “but wait,
there’s more” move and goes into how coming home from her trip was not the end
of the story. She details additional stories that unfolded and connections she
made as a result of her research and the Hump connection, all underscoring that
her journey to truly know her father continues.
With the numerous photos,
the short chapters, and lots of white space, Landing in My Present is a
quick but fully satisfying reading experience. Clark’s writing is clean and
effective in not only informing readers but forcing them to reflect and
possibly experience a lump in the throat or tear in the eye.
Mary Walker Clark is a retired attorney turned travel writer who loves taking readers with her to worldwide destinations. She has been traveling independently and internationally for over fifty years. Her essays may be found in the Paris News, at her blog, "Mary Clark, Traveler," and her podcasts at KETR 88.9, an NPR affiliate. Clark is an award-winning member of the North American Travel Journalists Association and a contributor to Still Me, … After All These Years, 24 Writers Reflect on Aging.
In 2016, Clark traveled to India and China to follow her father's WWII footsteps when he was a Hump pilot flying over the Himalayas. Her journey to connect with him fifty years after his death is told in her book, Landing in My Present.
Clark is a fifth generation Texan living in Paris, Texas.
A cross between Friday Night Lights and The Atomic City Girls, When The Men Were Gone is a debut historical novel based on the true story of Tylene Wilson, a woman in 1940s Texas who, in spite of extreme opposition, became a female football coach in order to keep her students from heading off to war.
Football is the heartbeat of Brownwood, Texas. Every Friday night for as long as assistant principal Tylene Wilson can remember, the entire town has gathered in the stands, cheering their boys on. Each September brings with it the hope of a good season and a sense of unity and optimism.
Now, the war has changed everything. Most of the Brownwood men over eighteen and under forty-five are off fighting, and in a small town the possibilities are limited. Could this mean a season without football? But no one counted on Tylene, who learned the game at her daddy’s knee. She knows more about it than most men, so she does the unthinkable, convincing the school to let her take on the job of coach.
Faced with extreme opposition by the press, the community, rival coaches, and referees -- and even the players themselves -- Tylene remains resolute. And when her boys rally around her, she leads the team -- and the town -- to a Friday night and a subsequent season they will never forget.
Based on a true story, When the Men Were Gone is a powerful and vibrant novel of perseverance and personal courage.
PRAISE FOR WHEN THE MEN WERE GONE:
"Sublimely ties together the drama of high school football, gender politics, and the impact of war on a small town in Texas.” – Best of Books, 2018, Sports Illustrated
“A beautiful story that stays in your heart long after you finish reading.” - Jodi Thomas, New York Times bestselling author
"Based on a true story that most people probably don’t know, readers will find plenty to love in Herrera Lewis’ debut." -- Kirkus Review
HALL WAYS REVIEW: AUDIO BOOK
REVIEW. This fictionalized story of the very real Tylene Wilson was excellent,
but the audio book narration by Eva Kaminsky was amazing. Kaminsky sounds natural, and perfectly captures
the Texas accent with just the right flair and inflections to her words. She's
a real storyteller, and her narration raises WHEN THE MEN WERE GONE to the next
level -- which is hard to do because the story is pretty darn good.
"Brownwood is that kind
of town. You share what you have. Sometimes that means sharing a dog. Other
times, it means sharing the pain."
What author Marjorie Lewis
captures is the essence of small-town Texas -- not only during the book's
setting during World War II, but in general, especially with the football is
all and the women have their place mentality that persists. Lewis describes it all and brings it vividly
to life, warts and all, and gives readers a lot to chew on beyond the main
conflict that must be resolved: is Brownwood going to have to cancel its
football season because all the men are gone?
There is so much to like in
this story: the relationship between Tylene and her husband John; the fond
reflections of a happy childhood; the sprinkling of historical facts that
enrich the story. And the story, of course. This is much more than a story
about saving a football season; it is about a woman saving the lives of a
town's high school boys who would surely enlist if there was nothing to keep
them home.
Wally's Drug Store . . .
Wally, killed in France
Hank's Appliances . . .
Hank, killed in Italy by friendly fire during a training exercise
Cramer's Bakery . . .
Cramer, a prisoner of war
What's always humming in the
background is the impact the war has had on the town and its people. Every time
a plane flies overhead, it's the sound of death as yet another fallen soldier
is coming home. There are some poignant
pieces of writing that make the reader/listener stop and take a ragged breath
and remember that there are no winners in war.
Not only was Tylene's story
new to me, but I learned other bits of history. I hadn't realized that Camp
Bowie housed thousands of American soldiers AND German POWs, for example. And references to other events and people
beyond the war -- the Zephyr tornado, the Galveston Giant, and Ma Ferguson --
had me looking up information to refresh my memory. All these fine details gave
authenticity and perfectly contextualized WHEN THE MEN WERE GONE.
My only complaint is with
the ending. Yes, readers know how the main plot conflict was resolved: we know
who wins the big game, etc., and this may be enough for some readers/listeners.
But what about Tylene? Did she continue to coach the team? Did the town ever
fully accept her as the coach -- or even thank her for what she did? Given the
book was a fictionalized biography, I wish the author had shared the results of
her research. An epilogue or author's note to tell us the facts of the rest of
Tylene's story would have made this book perfect, but as I said before, it came
pretty darn close to perfection.
I obviously heard about this book
from Lone Star Book Blog Tours, but I purchased the audio copy on my own, with
no strings attached to write a review from anyone but myself. My review is my honest opinion -- the only
kind I give.
Debut author Marjorie Herrera Lewis talks about her journey from writer to novelist.
Marjorie Herrera Lewis is an award-winning sportswriter, named the first female Dallas Cowboys beat writer when she was with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. She later joined the SportsDay staff of The Dallas Morning News, where she continued to cover the NFL and professional tennis. She is currently a contributing sportswriter for PressBoxDFW.com.
While writing When the Men Were Gone, she became inspired to try her hand at coaching football herself and was added to the Texas Wesleyan University football coaching staff in December 2016. Marjorie has degrees from Arizona State University, The University of Texas in Arlington, Southern New Hampshire University, and certificates from Southern Methodist University, and Cornell University. She is married and has two grown daughters and one son-in-law.
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