‘American Sutra’ Author to Speak at Manzanar

Duncan Williams

INDEPENDENCE — Manzanar National Historic Site will welcome Duncan Ryūken Williams, a Soto Zen Buddhist priest and director of the USC Shinso Ito Center for Japanese Religions and Culture, as a guest speaker on Sunday, April 28.

Williams will present his new book, “American Sutra: A Story of Faith and Freedom in the Second World War,” which recently was listed as No. 3 in hardcover nonfiction on the L.A. Times Bestseller List.

“American Sutra” is a groundbreaking history that tells the little-known story of how, in one of our country’s darkest hours, Japanese Americans fought to defend their faith and preserve religious freedom.

The program begins at 11 a.m. in the Visitor Center’s West Theater. It is free and open to the public. After the program, Williams will sign books in the Manzanar Bookstore, operated by the Eastern Sierra Interpretive Association.

Manzanar National Historic Site located at 5001 Hwy. 395, six miles south of Independence, nine miles north of Lone Pine, and approximately 230 miles northeast of Los Angeles.

For more information on Manzanar, call (760) 878-2194, ext. 3310 or visit www.nps.gov/manz.