Duncan Williams, "American Sutra: A Story of Faith and Freedom in the Second World War" (Harvard UP, 2019)

Summary

In American Sutra: A Story of Faith and Freedom in the Second World War (Harvard University Press, 2019), Duncan Ryūken Williams recenters the role of faith in the Japanese-American experience in WWII by showing how religious differences underlay the injustices that they suffered before, during, and after the war. American Sutra is also an inspiring account of how Japanese-Americans embodied faith, ingenuity and sacrifice in the face of great adversity. At a time when the religious dimensions of American identity are being contested, American Sutra is a timely book about how Japanese-Americans forged, with their blood, sweat and tears, a space in American identity where it’s possible to be Japanese, Buddhist and American.
Alex Carroll studies Buddhist Studies at the University of South Wales and is primarily interested in Theravāda and early Buddhism. He lives in Oslo, Norway and can be reached via his website here.

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