{PDF EPUB} Navajo Code Talkers by Nathan Aaseng Young Adults Books

Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Navajo Code Talkers by Nathan Aaseng Young Adults Books. NAVAJO CODE TALKERS, Nathan Aaseng, Walker and Company, 435 Hudson St., N.Y., NY 10014, (800) AT-WALKER, (212) 307- 1764 FAX. Simultaneously published by Thomas Allen and Son, Ltd., Markham, Ontario, Canada. 1992, 114 pages, Index, bibliography, photo illustrations, map. Hardcover, $14.95. 0-8027-8182-9. Aaseng, a microbiologist, has written more than 90 books for young people, most of them on scientific or mathematical subjects. There is a mathematical aspect to most codes, but not to this one. Still, most readers will be surprised (as I was) to realize that most military info that has to be broadcast and received rapidly often under battlefield conditions has no equivalents in the Navajo language, or only talk-arounds that would be too lengthy and ambiguous. There are other criteria of military broadcast codes that didn't fit the language-as-spoken: it must be clear and unambiguous over radios that are not themselves clear or easy to hear, and critical info must be so sharply differentiated that even unclear hearings with parts of messages inaudible do not cause confusion. This governs the choice of word-sounds that should be used in the oral codes for broadcast. I had vaguely thought, prior to reading this, that the code-talkers just talked Navajo to each other, and the Japanese couldn't understand the difficult language as they intercepted the communications. Not so. The result of the military communications necessities was that the Navajo Marine code-talker recruits themselves devised a whole set of extensions of their language that in fact form the codes. They reduced their ideas to memorizable lists. They conducted self-teaching, and teaching of new code-talker recruits. Aasen's book focuses first on recruitment of volunteers, training, and attempting to build trust to actually use the code-talkers among the military hierarchy, most of whom were skeptical of their worth. In the Pacific war, fought on jungle-covered islands, the code-talkers faced another kind of peril: being shot by their own side as Japanese soldiers, whom they often physically resembled (or anyway in the eyes of blonde freckle-faced Midwest Marine soldiers and officers). In non-battle situations, the code-talkers reported that they got along well with the Marines. Aasen mentions Dinè traditions of fear of the after-death chindi or hostile ghost of the dead as one of the greatest difficulties the code-talkers faced in the horrendous Pacific island war. He notes that "A key source of their ability to stay calm in the midst of terror and anxiety [of deadly battles, as well as swarming chindi] was the Navajos' religious beliefs. ".The Enemy Way ceremony [which they did not have to be present at] was immensely reassuring to them. In May, 1944, relatives on the reservation held a combined Enemy Way rite for 150 Navajos stationed in the Pacific. For this particular ceremony, photographs of the soldiers were gathered and laid out in front of the Enemy Way singer. Christian Navajos were invited to add their own prayers and songs to the traditional ceremony, which went on all night. The Navajo community tried to contribute in other ways to the safe return of its soldiers. Throughout the war, many planted prayer feathers, decorated with turquoise, to help protect the servicemen." Aasen has researched this book mainly from military records, press clippings, and other written sources, supplemented with occasional interviews of such contacts as he was able to find, some 50 years later, so there is an impersonal quality that might have been lessened if he had been able to find a code-talker as co-author, or included more personal memoirs. Nevertheless this is a fascinating book that Native youths, in particular, will find interesting reading. Language teachers might want to read it too, then think of how you and your students might devise such linguistic "codes" to meet the military communications conditions Aasen describes. This book was a 1992 Junior Literary Guild selection. Reviewed by Paula Giese. Purchase this book now from . Your book purchases support this web site. ISBN 13: 9780802775894. On the Pacific front during World War II, strange messages were picked up by American and Japanese forces on land and at sea. The messages were totally unintelligible to everyone except a small select group within the Marine Corps: the Navajo code talkers-a group of Navajos communicating in a code based on the Navajo language. This code, the first unbreakable one in U.S. history, was a key reason that the Allies were able to win in the Pacific. Navajo Code Talkers tells the story of the special group, who proved themselves to be among the bravest, most valuable, and most loyal of American soldiers during World War II. "synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title. Nathan Aaseng grew up in Minnesota and worked as a microbiologist for four years before becoming a writer. He has written over ninety books for young readers. He lives in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, with his wife, Linda, and their four children. From School Library Journal : Grade 5-9-- A fascinating account that sheds light on a little-known contribution of the Navajos during World War II. A civil engineer who spent his childhood among them suggested that their language be used as a perfect unbreakable code. The result was one of the most secret and important aspects of U. S. intelligence work against the Japanese--Navajo code talking. Aaseng details the process by which native-speaking volunteers developed, learned, and used the complicated coding process to send and receive vital information even when the Japanese were intercepting the messages. He gives many examples of the dangers and prejudice the Native Americans faced in the armed services, as well as the special hardships they endured because of their cultural differences. The short, readable chapters are illustrated with photographs from the National Archives and the Library of Congress. This is a book that will appeal to a wide range of students--those interested in army intelligence and cryptography, and in World War II or Native American history. It should prove helpful for reports, but is interesting enough to recommend for recreational reading. --Yvonne A. Frey, Peoria Public Schools, IL Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. Navajo Code Talkers. Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. This was an easy to understand and well written history of the Navajo Code Breakers and their role in WWII. There are some good photographs in here that depict the Navajo Code Breakers. This book does a good job of giving a concise history of the Navajo Code Breakers from conception to the end of the war. Overall I enjoyed learning about this lesser known aspect of WWII. I would recommend for middle grade and older readers who are interested in history and WWII. ( ) Communication was vital during World War II. The United States and the Navajo nation had a tense relationship. In 1940, the Navajo nation proclaimed that they would partake and aid the United States in World War II to defend and protect the Constitution. The US needed secure communications and the Navajo language was complex. This was essential to make sure no communications were intercepted by the opposing force. Through the course of time, a sense of trust was developed. The complexity of the code-talkers language shortened the Pacific war by a year. The Battle of Okinawa is seen as the finest work done by the Navajo code-talkers. After returning to the United States, the code-talkers were treated poorly. They were seen as heroes among the Navajo peoples. It took over 25 years before the efforts of the Navajo code-talkers was recognized. This book is divided into chapters. In terms of a classroom lesson, a teacher can read many of these chapters out loud. This is an important book because it recognizes the achievements of a cultural group that is often forgotten about. The problem with this book is that it lacks many important pictures and the language is often complex. There could be more connections presented in the book and more information could be presented about the Pacific theater of World War II. This book must be supported with more recent supplemental texts. ( ) Navajo Code Talkers. On the Pacific front during World War II, strange messages were picked up by American and Japanese forces on land and at sea. The messages were totally unintelligible to everyone except a small select group within the Marine Corps: the Navajo code talkers-a group of Navajos communicating in a code based on the Navajo language. This code, the first unbreakable one in U.S. history, was a key reason that the Allies were able to win in the Pacific. Navajo Code Talkers tells the story of the special group, who proved themselves to be among the bravest, most valuable, and most loyal of American soldiers during World War II. Navajo Code Talkers created an unbreakable code. It helped win World War II. In 1942, 29 Navajo men joined the U.S. Marines and developed an unbreakable code that would be used across the Pacific during World War II. They were the Navajo Code Talkers. The Navajo Code Talkers participated in all assaults the U.S. Marines led in the Pacific from 1942 to 1945, including Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Peleliu and Iwo Jima. The Code Talkers conveyed messages by telephone and radio in their native language, a code that was never broken by the Japanese.

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