Book of the week. Schools Behind Barbed Wire meticulously charts the short but varied histories of these three institutions [Japanese, German, and American schools], offering in the process a string of fascinating cameos highlighting how schools are culturally defined, and how they, in turn, shape and define the pupils who pass through them....
Times Educational Supplement
Seldom ... Read moreis groundbreaking history written from the experiences of children, especially the German and Japanese children whose families were arrested and imprisoned as 'Enemy Aliens' during World War II. Dr. Riley's remarkable study of the Federal schools at the Crystal City Family Internment Camp analyzes the internal pressures of camp life, the contradictions between tradition and wartime patriotism, and the difficulties of teaching children about democracy behind barbed wire. Extremely well-written and based on interviews and original documents, Dr. Riley has brought the history of a little-known government education program out of the shadows of World War Two.
Arnold Krammer, Texas A&M University; author of Undue Process: The Untold Story of America's German Internees and Nazi Prisoners of War in America Schools behind Barbed Wire is a beautifully written, well-researched, and fascinating book about a previously forgotten topic. It should appeal to educators, to historians interested in the treatment of enemy aliens during the Second World War, and to people intrigued by the acculturation of racial minorities. It is also a refreshing contrast to the dismal story of the internment of Japanese-Americans.
Bruce F. Pauley, University of Central Florida, author of From Prejudice to Persecution: A History of Austrian Anti-Semitism and other books Recommended.
CHOICE
A useful addition to the literature on internment of enemy aliens.
American Historical Review
Karen Riley has helped us restore the memory of the complicated lives and educational experiences of people who were caught up in the effects of international conflicts. This richly detailed book deserves to be read by anyone who wants to understand what can happen to schooling in times of such conflicts.
Michael W. Apple, John Bascom Professor of Curriculum and Instruction and Educational Policy Studies, University of Wisconsin, Madison; author, Times Educational Supplement
Numerous interviews and extensive use of previously unexamined primary sources bring some pithty evidence to light about the experiences of a unique set of World War II detainees.
Journal of Southern History
Schools Behind Barbed Wire adds a remarkable chapter to World War II literature. . . . Anyone interested in civilian internment, education, and the south during World War II must read this important book.
Southern Historian
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