Ted van Doorn tells the story of how he was born into a Yokohama household with a Japanese mother and Dutch father. The story ranges from the great Kanto earthquake of 1923 in which he lost a brother and his mother, to his education at the Canadian School in Kobe, his draft into the Japanese Imperial Army to serve in Manchuria, to his capture by Soviets and his years in a gulag, repatriation to Japan and immigration to USA. Ted van Doorn brings an insider's witness to events many have covered, but with the dispassionate eye of an unwilling participant. The well-documented story from the unique perspective shows the triumph of humanity in the face of chaos and horror in disasters, whether acts of God or man. Forward by Martin Cruz Smith

About the Author

Ted van Doorn was well known for his 30 years as founder of Vandor Imports in San Francisco, leading the gift and housewares industry in the USA with design and elan. Even those who knew him well had no idea of his remarkable past, and it was his last act to reveal his earlier life in this memoir.