Meehl, an author and photographer, recounts the experiences of Robert Sheeks, a Marine language officer who was decorated for saving enemy lives in the Pacific during World War II. Sheeks grew up in Shanghai, was recruited and trained as a Japanese-language interpreter following the attack on Pearl Harbor, and was impressed by the kindness of his Japanese American instructors, leading him to reconsider his negative attitudes towards the Japanese and influencing his desire to prevent the deaths of Japanese soldiers and civilians while serving as a combat interpreter on the islands of Tarawa, Saipan, and Tinian. During combat on Tarawa in 1943, he became frustrated by the difficulty in communicating with the Japanese troops to surrender, because they could not hear anything above the battle noises. After the fighting, he combined multiple means of communication, such as voice-amplifying equipment and air-dropped leaflets, to persuade them to surrender. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)