Issei and Nisei is a vivid and moving account of a shameful and neglected chapter of recent American story - the internment of civilian West Coast Japanese and Japanese Americans in World War II, as personally observed by one who participated in that experience both as an internee chaplain at reception center and camp and as a government and church field representative in the task of ultimate relocation and resettlement. Kitagawa reveals America as seen by the internees from behind barbed-wire fences and en route to "re-entry" into American society. He records the conflicts and tensions which occurred when internment and camp routine dislocated familial and communal patterns of life. Issei and Nisei should be read by all students of sociology and American history. And because it is an account of the interaction of a racial minority with American society, it is important reading for everyone interested in problems of race relations in the United States. - Back cover.