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This book is by a man trained in Meyerian psychiatry and social anthropology who had done field work among the Navajo Indians and Eskimos. He was assigned to the Japanese relocation center at Poston, Arizona, under the sponsorship of the American Council, Institute of Pacific Relations. His purpose was to apply the methods of the social sciences to the problem of interrelationships in this community.
The first part of the book consists of a very readable report of the impact of Pearl Harbor and subsequent events upon the West Coast Japanese, the development of pressures which led to evacuation and the establishment of relocation. The story of Poston itself leads up to the tension which developed, and which eventuated in the strike, and finally the manner in which the strike was handled and some of the difficulties resolved.
In the second part of the book the author attempts, on the basis of this study, to reach some fundamental postulates and practical recommendations concerning social organization, reactions to stress and the control of stress. The approach is predominantly sociological although attention is paid to individual make-ups. The individuals are taken more or less as constants and grouped in accordance with common features of attitude and belief. An interesting distinction is made between those administrators who were 'people-minded', treating others primarily as human beings, and those who were 'stereotype-minded' and treated the members as Japanese first and people second. The residents of Poston consisted of Issei, Nisei (American born) and Kibei (American born but educated in Japan). The attitudes of these groups and the difficulties in outlook between the generations is clearly described.
It is impossible adequately to summarize the various principles and recommendations derived by the author. The gist is that in each community there is a social organization and set of beliefs