Farewell to Manzanar: A True Story of Japanese American Internment

Jeanne Wakatsuki was seven years old in 1942 when her family was uprooted from their home & sent to live at Manzanar internment camp--with 10,000 other Japanese Americans. Along with searchlight towers & armed guards, Manzanar ludicrously featured cheerleaders, Boy Scouts, sock hops, baton twirling lessons & a dance band called the Jive Bombers who would play any popular song except the nation's #1 hit: "Don't Fence Me In."

The book describes the experiences of Jeanne Wakatsuki & her family before, during, & following their relocation to the Manzanar internment camp due to the United States government's internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. It was adapted into a made-for-TV movie in 1976 starring Yuki Shimoda, Nobu McCarthy, James Saito, Pat Morita, & Mako.

Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston & James D. Houston live & write in Santa Cruz, California. For their teleplay for the NBC television drama based on Farewell to Manzanar, they received the prestigious Humanitas Prize.