PBS
"a beautiful contribution to last forever"


The Midwest Book Review
"very highly recommended for readers of all ages
. . . a vivid and unforgettable photography book"


Japanese American National Museum
"a treasure for every family's library"

Multicultural Review
"an effective blend of realism and optimism"


James Hirabayashi, Professor Emeritus,
San Francisco State University
"a combination of objective and subjective
storytelling of how it felt . . . from the inside . . .
from the heart . . . to be growing up in America during the first half of the 20th century . . .
In America's Shadow is an excellent pictorial
and textual introduction to Japanese Americans and
how America, a nation of immigrants, benefitted
from its history of cultural pluralism and came
to be what it is today"
Skipping Stones Multicultural Magazine
"Kimberly and Kaleigh Komatsu . . . tell a rich story
through photos and words . . . in a way history books
cannot, they give a glimpse of the Japanese American
experience in the internment camps, showing how those
in the camps hung onto their humanity, sense of family
and American identity. In America's Shadow sifts pride
from shame, faith from crushed hope . . . it illuminates a
soul flying free of barbed wire . . . in this book, with its
true words and dramatic photos . . . all readers become
part of the family circle, listening at mother's knees."


Publishers Weekly
"Period photographs, many from the authors'
collection, illustrate the volume and convey the
breathtaking landscape . . . as well as the bleak
transformation brought about by the war"


Booklist, American Library Association
"barbed wire cannot keep out the harsh beauty
of the desert or the mountains . . . brings to
mind Tom Feelings' searing The Middle Passage"


Teaching Tolerance, Southern Poverty Law Center
"recalls the experience of one Japanese American
family during internment . . . how those in the camps
hung onto their humanity and sense of self"


Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Bigotry
and Human Rights at Simmons College
"the authors succeed in reaching children and adults
alike . . . the indomitable spirit of those whose lives
and livelihoods were betrayed by mainstream bigotry
and fears shines through this sensitive book"


Rafu Shimpo Newspaper
"this book is true to one of the darkest moments in
U.S. history, but incredible hope lives in its protagonist
. . . in this character there is triumph"


Nichi Bei Times
"this book reminds all of us that despite injustice
during the war years, we returned to freedom
to rebuild our lives and our country, and we leave
a legacy without bitterness"