This was an easy to understand and well written history of the Navajo Code Breakers and their role in WWII. There are some good photographs in here that depict the Navajo Code Breakers. This book does a good job of giving a concise history of the Navajo Code Breakers from conception to the end of the war.

Overall I enjoyed learning about this lesser known aspect of WWII. I would recommend for middle grade and older readers who are interested in history and WWII. ( )

Communication was vital during World War II. The United States and the Navajo nation had a tense relationship. In 1940, the Navajo nation proclaimed that they would partake and aid the United States in World War II to defend and protect the Constitution. The US needed secure communications and the Navajo language was complex. This was essential to make sure no communications were intercepted by the opposing force. Through the course of time, a sense of trust was developed. The complexity of the code-talkers language shortened the Pacific war by a year. The Battle of Okinawa is seen as the finest work done by the Navajo code-talkers. After returning to the United States, the code-talkers were treated poorly. They were seen as heroes among the Navajo peoples. It took over 25 years before the efforts of the Navajo code-talkers was recognized.

This book is divided into chapters. In terms of a classroom lesson, a teacher can read many of these chapters out loud. This is an important book because it recognizes the achievements of a cultural group that is often forgotten about. The problem with this book is that it lacks many important pictures and the language is often complex. There could be more connections presented in the book and more information could be presented about the Pacific theater of World War II. This book must be supported with more recent supplemental texts. ( )

Ok book that related the WWII Navajo code talkers to the events of the time. I thought that it spent too much time on history and not enough on the men who made it. A whole chapter, for instance, was dedicated to the Japanese attempts to break US code. That seemed to be not the subject of this book. ( )

There are still a few Code-Talkers alive today (2011) and they make their yearly appearances at the tribal celebrations which often include a street parade. This book chronicles the wartime need for cryptographers and the use of the the Navajo men for combat communications. This book is geared for young adults, but the writing is actually at a much higher level. The content would be challenging for any middle or high school student. The Code-Talkers were used, in this book, in the Pacific Theatre on the island battles with the Japanese. This book credits the Code-Talkers with saving countless American lives by frustrating the Japanese in their search for decipherable and actionable US messages. The Code-Talkers are revered among the Navajos themselves but this book highlights their contributions to all Americans. This small group of neglected service men find their place among the many brave people who contributed to the victory in the Pacific and the end of the Second World War. ( )

An informative look into the history of the World War II Navajo Code Talkers. They were in charge of sending messages between American troops in their native language to avoid being decoded by the Japanese. They were a part of the United States Marine Corps. This book includes actual pictures, bibliography and index.