CBL's US Territories Mini-challenge

I've completed the 50 states challenge and decided that I want to continue with a book set in or about as many of the U.S. Territories that I can find books for. I'll update the list below as I complete each book.

American Samoa - My Samoan Chief by Fay G. Calkins
Guam - The Emperor's Last Soldiers by Ito Masashi
Guantanamo Bay - Guantánamo: An American History by Jonathan M. Hansen
Howland Island - Finding Amelia: The True Story of the Earhart Disappearance by Ric Gillespie
Midway Islands - The Wrecker by Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyd Osborne
Northern Mariana Islands - Warriors in the Crossfire by Nancy Bo Flood
Palmyra Atoll - And the Sea Will Tell by Vincent Bugliosi
Puerto Rico - Precinct Puerto Rico by Steven Torres
U.S. Virgin Islands - My Name Is Not Angelica by Scott O'Dell
Wake Island - Given Up for Dead: America's Heroic Stand at Wake Island by Bill Sloan

Guam: The Emperor's Last Soldiers by Ito Masashi

Ito Masashi arrived on Guam with the Japanese Army in 1944. After the Americans arrived and the battle began, Ito and a few others became separated from the main unit. Following their commander's instructions, they hid themselves in the jungle to await reinforcements from Japan. He stayed hidden for 16 years, long after the war had ended. Ito and other stragglers organized themselves into small units, and their activities were completely focused by survival. They were able to gather useful material from American rubbish dumps, and they fashioned tools for catching, killing, and cooking live animals, implements to collect water, needles and scraps of material to sew clothes, and tires to make shoes.

When Ito and his remaining companion were discovered in 1960, they had difficulty adjusting to life outside the jungle. They believed they had walked into a trap, and that the Americans intended to kill them. Ito continued to believe this until he landed on Japanese soil after spending several days in a Guam hospital. Ito continued to talk to his jungle companion in the low voice that had been necessary for their survival in the jungle, even though he was aware that there was no longer a need to do so. After their years of isolation, they were overwhelmed by the crowds and the media attention. Ito was aware that his withdrawal was probably hurting his mother, but he continued to prefer solitude to company. He had trouble sleeping since he had spent years listening for the slightest noise that might signal that he was in danger of being discovered. Ito concluded his story shortly after his return to Japan. I would like to know more about his life since then. Was he able to re-integrate into Japanese society and culture? How did his experience in the jungles of Guam continue to impact his life?

Ito and his companion, Minakawa, believed that they were the last Japanese stragglers on Guam. By 1960, it had been several years since they had encountered any other stragglers in the jungle. They both believed that it would have been impossible for either of them to survive in the jungle on their own. However, another Japanese straggler was discovered in 1972 after 28 years in the jungle.

This is strictly a survival story. He doesn't address political issues, causes of the war, or military strategy. It will probably be of more interest to readers of survival adventures than to readers of military history.

4 stars

U.S. Virgin Islands: My Name Is Not Angelica by Scott O'Dell

In the transition period after their leader's death, Raisha and many others from Barato were tricked, captured, and sold into slavery. Separated forever from her parents and sister, Raisha travels on a slave ship with others from her village to the island of St. Thomas, where she is sold to a Danish plantation owner from the island of St. John. As was the custom, her master's wife gave her a new name, Angelica.

When Raisha arrived on St. John, the island was suffering the effects of a drought and a hurricane earlier in the year that had destroyed the crops. Food was scarce among both white and slave populations, and already harsh laws became even harsher in an attempt to intimidate the slave population. Many slaves had escaped to a hard-to-reach spot on the island, where they planned a rebellion. Raisha's fiance, Konje, soon joined the colony and became its leader. As the time for the planned revolution approaches, Raisha is forced to make some difficult choices.

Before I read this historical novel, I had no idea that the Danish were involved in the Caribbean slave trade. The author describes the difficult conditions on the island while building toward the climax of the rebellion. The ending was the only flaw in this well-told story. I thought it was too abrupt, and I wanted a little more resolution. It also left me questioning which, if any, of the characters were historical and which were fictional. This book has piqued my interest in the topic, and I'll have to look for more books on the experience of slaves in the Caribbean.

4 stars

Puerto Rico: Precinct Puerto Rico by Steven Torres

While Sheriff Luis Gonzalo of Angustias and his wife are visiting her family in Rincón, a boat filled with Dominican illegal residents crashes near a local beach. Even though he is out of his jurisdiction, Gonzalo rushes to the scene to help search for survivors. One body among the dozens on the beach catches his attention. The young man's fatal injury appears to be the result of murder. Before Gonzalo can do anything about it, a police sergeant arrives and orders him to leave. Soon Gonzalo begins to receive telephone threats against his family. When he tries to find out more about the dead man, he discovers that the body is not among those taken to any of the morgues. Gonzalo has unknowingly stumbled onto a conspiracy involving police corruption. He must work fast to identify and capture the conspirators before he, his family, or his deputies come to harm.

The unusual Puerto Rican setting initially drew me to this series. Gonzalo and his family will have me coming back for more. Gonzalo is a good man who loves his family, cares about his co-workers, takes his responsibilities seriously, and tries not to allow his years in law enforcement to harden him. That won't be easy after the events of this book, which resulted in more than enough physical violence and serious injuries to haunt its witnesses for the rest of their lives. The denouement is the book's main weakness. The suspense built nicely toward a final confrontation, but the ending was flat. The author allowed readers inside the hero's head throughout most of the book, then left us to observe the after-effects from outside. I hope this is just first novel awkwardness that won't affect future books in the series.

3 1/2 stars

American Samoa: My Samoan Chief by Fay G. Calkins

While working on her thesis, Fay Calkins obtained a permit for the use of a desk in the Library of Congress. She was happy to be assigned a desk in the stacks. She figured there would be fewer distractions there. She hadn't reckoned on meeting and falling in love with the man at the neighboring desk – a Samoan named Vai. After a short courtship, they married. After Vai finished his thesis, the couple moved to American Samoa, where Vai had a government position waiting for him.

Fay seemed unprepared for what she encountered in Samoa. Since most Samoan homes didn't have walls – just a floor with a roof over it – there was very little privacy, and there was no concept of personal property. Everyone helped themselves to whatever they needed or wanted. However, society was anything but informal. There were strict customs governing almost every social situation. Fay had to learn most of these customs on the fly, usually after making a major faux pas.

Fay tried to establish first a cooperative enterprise, and then a banana plantation, and was often frustrated by the Samoan work ethic that was very different from her own. Every incentive she tried had a different effect than she intended. Her frustration eventually gave way to acceptance as she learned to appreciate the difference between Samoan values and her American values.

This book is similar to Betty MacDonald's The Egg and I. Although the writing lacks MacDonald's sparkle, I think MacDonald's readers would like this book.

3 1/2 stars

Palmyra Atoll: And the Sea Will Tell by Vincent Bugliosi

Two couples, both seeking solitude on a deserted Pacific Island, arrive at Palmyra Island in close succession. Only one couple survives to tell the story. Fugitive Buck Walker (using alias Roy Allen) and his girlfriend, Jennifer Jenkins, intend to live off the land out of reach of the authorities who are on the lookout for Buck. Avid sailor Mac Graham and his reluctant wife, Muff, aim to spend a year on their well-stocked, well-equipped boat. When Buck and Jennifer are discovered in Hawaii on the Graham's boat with no sign of the Grahams, the pair are tried for theft. Several years later, human remains are discovered on Palmyra Island and Buck and Jennifer are tried for murder.

Much like TV's Matlock, defense attorney Vincent Bugliosi, a former prosecutor, accepts cases only when he believes his client is innocent of the crime(s) with which they have been charged. After hearing Jennifer's story, Bugliosi believes she is innocent of murder. Bugliosi and co-counsel Len Weinglass take on her defense.

The book reveals what I've always suspected about Gilligan's Island. This remote Pacific island is no paradise. There is a sinister aspect to the island itself. The tension builds as other visitors to Palmyra come and go until only two couples are left. The suspense is sustained throughout the trials, first of Buck Walker, then of Jennifer Jenkins. The most appealing aspect of the book for me is the inside look at Bugliosi's legal strategy. Bugliosi starts with his summation and works backwards. He researches the background of every witness statement and piece of evidence. He scripts examinations, cross examinations, and motions. He anticipates what the prosecution will do and stays a step ahead of them. It's a fascinating look at the inner workings of the legal system.

4 1/2 stars

Neat idea, Carrie. And some of these books sound really good; especially And the Sea Will Tell.

I'm glad I decided to do this. I doubt I would ever have picked up most of these books if not for the geographic challenge, and so far there hasn't been a dud in the bunch!

Northern Mariana Islands: Warriors in the Crossfire by Nancy Bo Flood

When the fighting of WWII reaches the strategic island of Saipan, it falls to 12-year-old Joseph to help his family survive. The war exposes a rift between Joseph and his best friend and cousin, Kento. While Kento's mother and Joseph's mother are sisters from one of the local tribes, Kento's father is Japanese. Should Joseph trust Kento once the fighting begins? Which ties are stronger for Kento – family or nation?

This coming of age novel explores themes of war, family, friendship, loyalty, courage, fear, and grief. The point of view of the non-Japanese, non-American inhabitants of a Pacific island is probably unfamiliar to many readers. Each chapter opens with a short free verse poem, adding an emotional dimension to the story. The novel could be used as supplemental reading for a study of the Pacific Theater in World War II. Recommended for middle school age and up.

4 stars

Howland Island: Finding Amelia: The True Story of the Earhart Disappearance by Ric Gillespie

What happened to Amelia Earhart when she failed to reach Howland Island on her round-the-world flight in 1937? Author Ric Gillespie, founder of The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR), has pieced together evidence from numerous archival collections to recreate Earhart's flight and the subsequent search and rescue operation. At the time of the crisis, no one person/agency had access to all of the information the author has gathered.

Earhart did not finalize communication procedures for her arrival at Howland Island before she set out on her journey. Attempts to contact Earhart en route to iron out details were hampered by the length of time it took to route messages to Earhart, the differences in time zones, and Earhart's constant travel. Sometimes messages reached a location after Earhart had departed on the next leg of her trip.

There were multiple communication breakdowns during Earhart's last flight and the subsequent search for the downed plane. The Coast Guard vessel positioned at Howland Island for Earhart's arrival had incomplete information about the plane's communication system and were not aware that neither Earhart nor navigator Fred Noonan were skilled in Morse code. When it became clear that Earhart was missing, the ship's captain formed a theory of the plane's probable location based on a number of erroneous assumptions. When subsequent evidence seemed to contradict his theory, he forced the evidence to fit his original theory rather than adjusting his theory to the new evidence. Although several agencies were cooperating in the search, for the first few days there was no command and control center. Different agencies formed different theories about what had happened and where the plane might be and acted accordingly.

Gillespie spends a lot of time analyzing radio communications during and after the flight, with lots of technical detail about frequencies and equipment. It appears that Earhart did survive for at least a few days and was able to transmit messages that were picked up by receivers at various locations in the Pacific and even in the continental U.S. Based on the evidence presented in the book, it seems likely to me that Earhart and Noonan might have been rescued if the search had been better coordinated and had the parties involved not been selective about the information they shared with the others.

I had a hard time putting the book down once I started it. The narrative flows well even with all of the technical details about navigation and radio electronics. Gillespie provides enough explanation about the technical details for non-specialists to understand their significance. Even though I knew the search would fail, I kept hoping until the end that the searchers would find Earhart and Noonan.

4 1/2 stars

Midway Islands: The Wrecker by Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyd Osborne

The Wrecker is different from other Robert Louis Stevenson books I've read. For one thing, he wrote the novel with his stepson, Lloyd Osborne. Also, Stevenson and Osborne seemed to be experimenting with form:

We had long been at once attracted and repelled by that very modern form of the police novel or mystery story, which consists in beginning your yarn anywhere but at the beginning, and finishing it anywhere but at the end; attracted by its peculiar interest when done, and the peculiar difficulties that attend its execution; repelled by that appearance of insincerity and shallowness of tone, which seems its inevitable drawback. For the mind of the reader, always bent to pick up clews, receives no impression of reality or life, rather of an airless, elaborate mechanism; and the book remains enthralling, but insignificant, like a game of chess, not a work of human art... After we had invented at some expense of time this method of approaching and fortifying our police novel, it occurred to us it had been invented previously by someone else, and was in fact—however painfully different the results may seem—the method of Charles Dickens in his later work.

At the time Stevenson and Osborne wrote the novel, the mystery genre was still in its early days. In many ways, the novel is more like the sensation novels of the Victorian era than 20th century (or later) mysteries. Of course, it also has a strong element of adventure typical of Stevenson's better-known works. While the premise is interesting, the structure isn't entirely successful. The setting shifts between Scotland, Paris, San Francisco, Midway Islands, and Australia. The mystery isn't introduced until about halfway through the book. The suspense builds once the wreck of the Flying Scud enters the story. Why is the wreck so valuable? What secrets does it hold? Why does its captain behave so strangely? The first-person narrator, Loudon Dodd, is perceptive enough to question many of the circumstances, but not perceptive enough to piece together an explanation without a revelation from another character.

I wouldn't have discovered this book had I not been looking for something with a Midway Islands setting. It was a mildly entertaining read, and I learned a little about some unfamiliar occupations and parts of the world. Since I downloaded it free on the Internet, it didn't cost me anything but time.

3 stars

Wake Island: Given Up for Dead: America's Heroic Stand at Wake Island by Bill Sloan

Before reading this book, I was vaguely aware that a World War II battle had taken place on Wake Island at some point during the war. I didn't know that it was the first U.S. Engagement of the war, or that it began just hours after Pearl Harbor was bombed. It was likened to the Alamo at the time, yet unlike Pearl Harbor, it's rarely mentioned today.

When the war started, the Americans were behind in preparing the island's defenses. Marine and Navy personnel were outnumbered by civilian construction workers. When the Japanese bombing started, undermanned military units recruited civilians to help defend the island. When there weren't enough weapons available to arm all of the civilians, some of them carried ammunition, filled sand bags, and performed other vital support functions. One group of civilians was quickly trained and put to work manning a three-inch gun under the leadership of a Marine. The gun would otherwise have sat unused since there weren't enough Marines to man it.

Based on various histories of the battle and interviews with survivors, Sloan pieces together a day-by-day account of the battle for Wake Island. The skill and determination of the defenders is still as inspirational as it was in 1941. It was heartbreaking to read of the controversial decision to surrender at a point when a U.S. victory still seemed possible. It was even more heartbreaking to read about the treatment the military and civilian personnel received as prisoners of war. These brave men deserve to be remembered for their perseverance and ingenuity in overcoming innumerable disadvantages in the fulfillment of their duty.

5 stars

Guantánamo Bay: Guantánamo: An American History by Jonathan M. Hansen

I completed this year's literary tour of U.S. territories with Guantánamo: An American History. I hadn't heard of the U.S. base there until it became a detention center for enemy combatants and suspected terrorists after 9/11. However, that's only the latest news in the bay's long history.

Starting with Columbus, Hansen tells of the discovery of the bay and how it changed hands through its history, ending up with its permanent lease to the U.S. for use as a military base. Cuba is strategically located at the meeting point of the Atlantic, the Caribbean, and the Gulf of Mexico. Guantánamo Bay is near the southeastern point of the island, a part of the island that was historically underpopulated, making it vulnerable to invasion. It became a destination for groups fleeing other island nations in the region, particularly African slaves and French Haitians.

The U.S. acquired its base at Guantánamo following the Spanish-American War in the late 19th century. Hansen then follows its history as a base, from the prohibition era, where military personnel could enjoy the alcohol that was unavailable to them in the U.S., to the rise of Castro, when access was cut off to the rest of Cuba.

I found the first two thirds of the book much more interesting than the last third of the book. The last two chapters cover the period in which the base was used to house and process Haitian refugees in the late 1980s/early 1990s and its current use as a detention center for enemy combatants and suspected terrorists in the War on Terror. The book lost its focus on Guantánamo at this point and became a political commentary. The author's bias is evident in this section of the book. He explains one side of the controversy very well. Readers wanting to delve into both sides of these complex issues will need to look elsewhere for a balanced approach.

3 stars