In this revisionist history of the United States government relocation of Japanese-American citizens during World War II, Roger W. Lotchin challenges the prevailing notion that racism was the cause of the creation of these centers. After unpacking the origins and meanings of American attitudes toward the Japanese-Americans, Lotchin then shows that Japanese relocation was a consequence of nationalism rather than racism. Lotchin also explores the conditions in the relocation centers and the experiences of those who lived there, with discussions on health, religion, recreation, economics, consumerism, and theater. He honors those affected by uncovering the complexity of how and why their relocation happened, and makes it clear that most Japanese-Americans never went to a relocation center. Written by a specialist in US home front studies, this book will be required reading for scholars and students of the American home front during World War II, Japanese relocation, and the history of Japanese immigrants in America.

"Riders were very appropriate to a western war, but these horsemen could not have been more different. One group patrolled the oceanfront of The City after dark. While the residents of the nearby Sunset District and Seacliff huddled around the radios in their living rooms, curtains pulled and blinds lowered, listening to war news or to One Man s Family, other residents rode the beaches. Mounted on their own ponies, the men of the San Francisco Polo Club labored through the sands of China Beach, Baker Beach, and the Ten Mile Beach, looking for Imperial Japanese intruders." from the book

In the mythology of the West, the city was seen as a place of danger and corruption, but the "bad" city proved its mettle during the "Good War." In this book, Roger W. Lotchin has written the first comprehensive study of California s urban home front. United by fear of totalitarianism, the diverse population of California s cities came together to protect their homes and to aid in the war effort. Whether it involved fighting in Europe or Asia, migrating to a defense center, writing to service personnel at the front, building war machines in converted factories, giving pennies at school for war bonds, saving scrap material, or pounding a civil defense beat, urban California s participation was immediate, constant, and unflagging. Although many people worked in offices, factories, or barracks, the wartime community was also fed by a vast army of volunteers, which until now has been largely overlooked. The Bad City in the Good War is a comprehensive local history of the California home front that restores a little-known part of the story of the Second World War."

In this revisionist history of the United States government relocation of Japanese-American citizens during World War II, Roger W. Lotchin challenges the prevailing notion that racism was the cause of the creation of these centers. After unpacking the origins and meanings of American attitudes toward the Japanese-Americans, Lotchin then shows that Japanese relocation was a consequence of nationalism rather than racism. Lotchin also explores the conditions in the relocation centers and the experiences of those who lived there, with discussions on health, religion, recreation, economics, consumerism, and theater. He honors those affected by uncovering the complexity of how and why their relocation happened, and makes it clear that most Japanese-Americans never went to a relocation center. Written by a specialist in US home front studies, this book will be required reading for scholars and students of the American home front during World War II, Japanese relocation, and the history of Japanese immigrants in America.