Reviews
Americans-and particularly Texans-should read Jan Jarboe Russell's The Train to Crystal City... Ultimately, The Train to Crystal City is about identity, allegiance and home, and the difficulty of determining the loyalties that lie in individual human hearts., There are obvious parallels between Crystal City and today's Guantanamo Bay detention facility and between the anti-immigrant sentiment then and now, but Russell wisely resists the urge to connect the dots. Her story is harrowing enough on its own., Russell movingly focuses on human stories coming out of one camp that held both Japanese and Germans,outside Crystal City, Tex....Poignant., A must-read for those interested not just in history, but in human nature…. The Train to Crystal City is compelling, thought-provoking and impossible to put down., In this quietly moving book, Jan Jarboe Russell traces the history of one unusual camp that housed detainees from Japan, Germany, and Italy, along with their families, many of whom were American-born., Mind-boggling... TheTrain to Crystal City combines accounts of terrible sorrow and destructionwith great perseverance...Readers [will] wish these stories weren't true., Jan Jarboe Russell has exposed a corner of American history that few knew existed, one that is at once bitter and transformative. The glory of this book is in the many human details so skillfully sketched, which add another chapter to the unending tally of war., A must-read for those interested not just in history, but in human nature.... The Train to Crystal City is compelling, thought-provoking and impossible to put down., This is an informative, disturbing, and necessary reminder of the dangers produced by wartime hysteria., Both scholars and generalreaders interested in World War II will agree, this book is a gripping storyfrom start to finish., Russell pulls no punches describing the cost of war and the conditions internees endured....a powerful piece., Americans--and particularly Texans--should read Jan Jarboe Russell's The Train to Crystal City... Ultimately, The Train to Crystal City is about identity, allegiance and home, and the difficulty of determining the loyalties that lie in individual human hearts., Mind-boggling... TheTrain to Crystal City combines accounts of terrible sorrow and destructionwith great perseverance…Readers [will] wish these stories weren't true., The Train to Crystal City is a story ofheartbreaking dislocation, of lives smashed and ruined, and of almostunbelievable human endurance, resilience, and determination. Jan Jarboe Russellhas written a powerful book that will leave you shaking your head in disbelief.
