Tokyo Rose: The History and Legacy of Iva Toguri and Japan’s Most Famous Propaganda Campaign during World War II by Charles River EditorsMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
A hero and a scapegoat
Iva Toguri was an innocent Japanese-American who got stuck in Japan in World War II. Having arrived for vacation on the last ship to sail, when she was unable to return home, she had to fend for herself for the duration of the war. Unwelcome as an American, she did her best to stay of the radar and blend in. She eventually fell into broadcasting, one of several women broadcasting in English, and all loosely referred to as "Tokyo Rose". But Toguri's broadcasts were unique: American soldiers listening to her broadcasts would hear news of attacks and anti-propaganda slipped in between the music she played and the official propaganda. Anything she could do to support the Allies and undermine the Japanese, she did. Despite these courageous acts, she was dismissed as a disloyal Japanese-American, sadly not surprising given the roundup and detention of Japanese in the USA during the war. She was furthermore treated as a scapegoat and prosecuted. Her brave efforts to support her country were lost in the process. In the end, it's a pretty sad story, and it is too bad she wasn't celebrated as a hero. I'm glad this book was written so that her story is not swept under the rug and forgotten.
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