Code Talker: A Memoir by One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of World War II

Rosiedoo11: Quick read for me. I did not want to put it down. A true hero's story, well told. Much respect to the Navajo people and the code talkers.

United States on Aug 24, 2023

rcl: This is a really interesting book written (with help) by a true American. There’s information on how the Navajo lived in the early-to- mid 1900’s and the hardships they faced. It’s all told in a matter-of-fact way and not to jump on the the “United States ruined my life” band wagon. On the contrary, Chester volunteered for the Marines because he believed he was helping to defend his country, and indeed he did. He was present during intense front-line action at Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Guam, and Peleliu and was wounded. Although not engaging in combat, the Code Talkers were in the death zone, particularly at Peleliu, and they affected the outcome of the Pacific campaigns by providing unbreakable communication for the Marines. Cheater mentions both positive and negative interaction in society as a minority, but he carried no grudges. It’s a shame he had such a hard life after his service, but he lived a long life. He was a true patriot. As a bonus, the initial code that Chester helped develop is included in an appendix.

United States on Jul 23, 2023

M Carley: I'd heard of code talkers before, but I'd never really dived into their history. I found this book, written by one of the original 29 (or 32 if you go by Chester's numbers). Code talkers were a group of brave Native Americans who used the Navajo language to make sure the Japanese didn't know what the Americans were doing in the Pacific during WWII. The code was never broken and was much quicker and more efficient than what was being used previously.

I like how the memoir went through almost his entire life. It covers his childhood up until 2011. Chester passed away in 2014 and was the last surviving member of the original code talkers. He lived quite a life and went through so much.

I have the Kindle version and wanted to mention a few things. The text for the book ends at page 276. Acknowledgements, Navajo dictionary for the code, Bibliography, an index, maps of the islands Chester helped conquer, and pictures fill the rest of the book. The pictures start on page 347. The code was small and hard to read on my Paperwhite, but that's something I could fix.

This is one of the better memoirs I've read. The writing was easy to read, there were enough breaks if you...

United States on Jun 06, 2023

JMOORE: Great read

United Kingdom on May 15, 2020

Julian S.: Chester Nez made amazing contributions to the war effort. All Indigenous code talkers should be recognized for their work for the allies. This book should be in everyone's personal collection. Thank you code talkers.

Canada on Apr 10, 2019

Chris Hopkins: After being treated horrendously like a sub-human at two different "boarding horror schools" while he was a child, Nez's culture as a Navajo was facing genocide. Beaten daily, feed little, forced to follow english commands that they did not understand since they weren't taught english and punished for not following the command, and a whole host of violations that would today place the boarding school tyrant "matrons" in jails for very long periods of time and catch the attention of UN Unicef's, America's child protective services and a myriad of government protective agencies and organizations.

In a stroke of hypocrisy, under the suggestion of a military man who had spend time with the Navajo, the Marines looked to Nez to speak the language that he had been so forcefully and cruelly forbidden to, in order to serve his country and protect it from tyranny. The other armed branches skeptical of the Navajo "code" were reluctant to switch to it from an elaborate and archaic coding system which took up valuable time in the combat field, where time lost quite literally translated to men lost and friendly fire incidents prevailed, but the marines flirted with the idea. Once marine...

United States on Jan 12, 2016

M. Dabrowski: Good account of the story of the Apache code talkers. Feels like some of the text is 'padding' but all in all very enjoyable read and informative.
(I just can't help but feel that it could have been a bit better researched, as in - more info, especially background facts, could have been provided.)
I am a bit of a geek when it comes that part of the history, particularly the final phase of the WWII and the lead up to atomic bombings of Japan so I was hoping this book would explore a lot more about the key role of the code talkers in encryption of the tactical messages of the US Army.
It reads more like a narrative account , I would almost liken it to a memoir, rather than 'hard' historical account, which I think I was hoping for - hard facts with a bit of narrative and anecdotes.

United Kingdom on Oct 31, 2015

helt: The book describes the history of how the Navajo indians used their own language to provide radio communications which could not be understood by the Japanese, and how the Japanese came quite close to cracking this.. A fascinating insight into an aspect of World War Two that was kept secret for about 20 years after the end of the war. An exciting read describing the terrible fighting conditions in the war in the Pacific. The author gives a graphic description of the poor living conditions of the Navajos living in reservations in America and the difficult conditions faced by their society.

United Kingdom on May 16, 2015

Clark: This is a well-written account of the way that the language of the Navajo Indians formed the basis of a code to encipher secret messages. Despite the efforts of the Germans the code proved unbreakable. The book is written by a man belonging to the Navajo Indian tribe who was in the navy and whose identity was kept secret. I give it five stars because of the unique and authentic story, and because of the quality of the writing, but I confess that it went on a little too long for me and I skipped the last part.

United Kingdom on Aug 11, 2014