THE EAGLES OF HEART MOUNTAIN: A True Story of Football, Incarceration, and Resistance in World War II America.

New York:: Atria (Simon & Schuster),, (2021). First edition -. Fine in illustrated wrappers. Publisher's letter laid in. . Advance Reading Copy (trade paperback format. ) Named one of Ten Best History Books of 2021. by the Smithsonian Magazine, this is a book which honors the resilience of extraordinary heroes and the power of sports in "a country losing its moral way." "In the spring of 1942, the United States government forced 120,000 Japanese Americans from their homes in California, Oregon, Washington, and Arizona and sent them to incarceration camps across the West. Nearly 14,000 of them landed on the outskirts of Cody, Wyoming, at the base of Heart Mountain. Behind barbed wire fences, they faced racism, cruelty, and frozen winters. Trying to recreate comforts from home, they established Buddhist temples and sumo wrestling pits. Kabuki performances drew hundreds of spectators--yet there was little hope. That is, until the fall of 1943, when the camp's high school football team, the Eagles, started its first season and finished it undefeated, crushing the competition from nearby, predominantly white high schools. . . As the team's second season kicked off, the young men faced a choice to either join the Army or resist the draft. Teammates were divided, and some were jailed for their decisions." Extensive notes. x, 374 pp.