Book Recommendation: ‘Facing the Mountain’

Recommended by MORGAN MANN, Head of Circulation, Door County Library

Facing the Mountain, written by the author of The Boys in the Boat, is read by actor Louis Ozawa, who is best known for his role in the films Predators (2010) and The Bourne Legacy (2012). This audiobook – part history and part memoir – is an epic story of four Japanese American families and their sons, who volunteered for military service and made sacrifices for the sake of the nation. 

Brown starts from the setting of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The reader follows along as the shock of the peaceful Hawaiian Islands being attacked sets in and men of all ages, including young boys, hear the call to arms and run to military bases and the high school gym to get long-forgotten weapons. They continued to enlist in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, proving themselves heroes in a moment of need.

Along with a lesson about WWII’s less-spoken-of combat front, the story also tells how the service of Japanese Americans was not allowed to continue because of their ancestry. Brown shares, from personal accounts, the fear that led to the internment camps and separated families from their livelihood and community, and how they still gave their all to endure and prevail.

This gripping novel is told through combining rich history, humanity and an actor’s talented performance. A good read!