'I am looking forward to participating in this very important read by George Takei with colleagues across the K-State community.' 'The New York Times bestseller, 'They Called Us Enemy,' will empower the Kansas State University community to engage in perspective-taking, particularly as we celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage 365 at Kansas State University,' said Rana Johnson, vice president for diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. Participation in the K-State First Book program is voluntary. K-State First Book provides incoming students with a shared academic experience that they can discuss with professors, staff, administrators and other students when they arrive on campus. K-State First Book, the all-university reading program that is part of K-State First, selects a common book for the academic year and coordinates classroom and campus activities to correspond with the reading. 'It is an incredibly absorbing and emotionally powerful reading experience.' 'George Takei's award-winning graphic memoir will offer our students and campus an opportunity to learn more about Japanese American incarceration during World War II,' said Greg Eiselein, professor of English and director of K-State First. It offers Takei's firsthand account of those years behind barbed wire, his mother's hard choices, his father's faith in democracy, and the way those experiences planted the seeds for his astonishing future. The story provides a window into the Japanese internment camps of World War II through the eyes of Takei and his family. 'They Called Us Enemy' is an illustrated memoir that Takei co-wrote with Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott and artist Harmony Becker.

More event information will be shared as details are finalized. K-State First Book will celebrate the 2023 selection in the fall semester with multiple events.

The 2023 K-State First Book - the Kansas State University common book for the upcoming academic year - will be 'They Called Us Enemy' by George Takei. University selects 'They Called Us Enemy' as 2023 K-State First Book

They called us enemy