Like Friends, Like Foes offers a comprehensive analysis of how Nevada residents responded and reacted to the “Japanese Question” during World War II. Both before and during the war, the experience of Japanese American residents of Nevada varied widely. Once the war started, Japanese immigrants experienced an unusual case of mass internment fromthe mining towns of Ruth and McGill, Nevada, while Japanese American railroad workers and their families, scattered across the state, faced sudden layoffs and evictions. At the same time, most of the Japanese Americans living in Nevada fared much better than their counterparts who resided in the surrounding states.

Andrew Russell’s study examines how variations in local history and local circumstances generated starkly different perspectives and responses to the supposed “Japanese problems” confronting Nevada’s small communities, the state, and the larger region. While Russell’s interpretive history spotlights some highly unusual developments, it nevertheless offers fresh evidence of how individuals or small groups can play significant roles in combating the abuse of civil rights during times of fear and uncertainty.

Andrew B. Russell grew up in Las Vegas and earned his BA and MA in history at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He completed his PhD in history at Arizona State University in 2003, specializing in the modern United States, the American West, and public history. His expertise, previous publications, and consulting work has centered on the Japanese American communities and the wartime confinement camps of Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico as well as the federal, state, and local restrictions implemented in the Interior West during World War II.