"Enemies"; World War II Alien Internment

Ames, IA: Iowa State University Press, 1986. Second printing [stated]. Hardcover. Very good/Good. xi, [1], 187, [1] pages. Frontis illustration. Bibliography. Sticker residue inside back cover and on rep. DJ has some wear, soiling, tears and chips. John Frederick Christgau (February 11, 1934[1] - August 21, 2018) was an American author of fiction and non-fiction. His books have dealt primarily with sports and American history. His book, Michael and the Whiz Kids (2013), is the story of Christgau's experiences as coach of a championship, lightweight basketball team that featured the first African American athlete in Crestmoor High School's history. This book was followed by Incident at the Otterville Station: A Civil War Story of Slavery and Rescue, the true story of the rescue of slaves that were to be shipped from Missouri to Kentucky, in defiance of federal laws. They were called aliens and enemies. But the World War II internees John Christgau writes about were in fact ordinary people victimized by the politics of a global war. The Alien Enemy Control Program in America was born with the United States's declaration of war on Japan, Germany, and Italy and lasted until 1948. In all, 31,275 "enemy aliens" were imprisoned in camps like the one described in this book-Fort Lincoln, just south of Bismarck, North Dakota. In animated and suspenseful prose, Christgau tells the stories of several individuals whose experiences are representative of those at Fort Lincoln. The subjects' lives before and after capture-presented in five case studies-tell of encroaching bitterness and sorrow. Christgau based his accounts on voluminous and previously untouched National Archives and FBI documents in addition to letters, diaries, and interviews with his subjects.