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    Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two
    Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two
    Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two
    Audiobook5 hours

    Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two

    Written by Joseph Bruchac

    Narrated by Derrick Henry

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Code Talker, with starred reviews from Booklist and Kirkus Reviews, is a Booklist Top 10 Historical Fiction for Youth. Although the mission school bans all that is Navajo, Ned secretly clings to his native language and culture. Proudly joining the U.S. Marines in 1943, he becomes a top-secret Navajo Code Talker. During bloody battles for Japanese islands, Ned and his brave band of code-talking brothers save thousands of lives using Navajo encryption the enemy never cracks.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateJan 18, 2013
    ISBN9781470354497
    Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two
    Author

    Joseph Bruchac

    Joseph Bruchac is the author of Skeleton Man, The Return of Skeleton Man, Bearwalker, The Dark Pond, and Whisper in the Dark, as well as numerous other critically acclaimed novels, poems, and stories, many drawing on his Abenaki heritage. Mr. Bruchac and his wife, Carol, live in upstate New York, in the same house where he was raised by his grandparents. You can visit him online at www.josephbruchac.com.

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    Reviews for Code Talker

    4/5

    289 ratings32 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Good characters, based on an amazing true story, highly recommend!
    • 4/5
      Code Talker is a YA novel about the Navajo code talkers in WWII. It is a first person fictional account from a Navajo man who recounts his life to his grandchildren. He details his life from his time in a school that tries to take his Navajo identity, through enlisting in the Marine Corps, being trained as a code talker, and his WWII experience, including the battle of Iwo Jima. This is a really good YA book. The language and syntax are easy, but the topics are in depth and the author doesn't shy away from hard discussions. He talks about being forced to assimilate as a child and what that did to Native Americans, about how language can define a culture and person, and war topics such as losing friends, fear, and PTSD. I read this because my mom always does a summer book club with my son and was thinking about this book. She wanted to make sure it wouldn't be too upsetting or adult in topic. I think that it's a really great book and would recommend it to middle grade and high school readers. And actually, I think a lot of adults would enjoy it too. Original publication date: 2005Author’s nationality: Nulhegan Abenaki CitizenOriginal language: EnglishLength: 205 pagesRating: 4 starsFormat/where I acquired the book: borrowed paperbackWhy I read this: at my mom's request
    • 5/5
      Too'tsoh = whale in Navaho.It would have been welcome if the author had presented a set of balanced choices instead of bombing the civilians of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
    • 3/5
      I never really learned much about the Pacific part of World War II. This chronicles a remarkable time when Navajos were integral to winning the war against Japan. It is a slight fictionalization of a very real historical event. The history and culture should be fascinating (and it IS interesting) but by and large, I found the actual execution of it a little dry. I feel it would have been better to either have more history or more drama. It felt somehow stuck in the middle. I never really connected to the main character. The conceit is that it is a man telling a story to his grandchildren but it feels like a transcript and not really alive.
    • 4/5
      I highly recommend the audio for this book because of the Navajo songs and passages of the text. It was really wonderful to actually hear the language that's at the heart of this story. It's also a great choice for anyone who's interested in combat stories, since much of the book takes place during battles in the Pacific theater of WWII.

      I found the whole book fascinating, and while it's a fictional account, the author's afterward points out that all the people aside from the main character are real soldiers. I'm definitely going to look for some non-fiction on the code talkers next.
    • 4/5
      Excellent and poignant story, well told, of the Navajo Code Talkers during WWII. The history was well told and the story was definitely worth the read.
    • 2/5
      The story of the Navajo Code Talkers is interesting. However, the book was not that well written and I was bored while reading the book. I think I would have rather read a 1 page review of the book rather than the whole book.
    • 5/5
      Summary:Throughout World War II, in the conflict fought against Japan, Navajo code talkers were a crucial part of the U.S. effort, sending messages back and forth in an unbreakable code that used their native language. They braved some of the heaviest fighting of the war, and with their code, they saved countless American lives. Yet their story remained classified for more than twenty years.Personal Summary: I enjoyed this book and learning about this period of time. This book was easy to read and I would have liked a little more history and Navajo culture, tradition, and language, it was still a great way to show the value of these people to young students.Classroom Extension: Could be used as an extension lesson/activity during a WWII unit. Could be used when teaching about Native Americans. Could be used when talking about different cultures, languages, and their value.
    • 5/5
      Ned Begay is a Navaho that the US Government would like to make less "indian" and more "American." That is, until WWII breaks out and the Navaho language becomes the basis for the US Military secret code. Ned enlists at 17 (!) and serves 3 hard years in the Pacific: invasions of Saipan, Bougainville, and even Iwo Jima. The book is breezily written and fast-paced but full of subtle reflections on what is it be a "red" man among a world of whites. Great reading that functions on several levels.
    • 2/5
      Historical Fiction about a Navajo Indian, who knew both English and Navajo, and joined the military in WWII as a "code talker". This was a top secret job in the Marines, translating and transmitting military commands into Navajo, for secure, unbreakable transmission between the commanders and the field in the Pacific Theatre. Light on details because it's geared as a YA read, but very interesting subject matter.
    • 4/5
      This YA fiction portrayal of the importance of the Navajo code talkers on the Pacific front of WWII will grab readers. Bruchac integrates Navajo culture without the novel feeling voyeuristic, and importantly starts the novel before WWII with the narrator being sent to a boarding school- readers feel the full emotional impact of the attempted killing of the Navajo culture and language, and the irony of its later usage to win WWII. Details about Pacific island battles make the book feel almost like nonfiction at times, and Bruchac includes a historical afternote about the code talkers and the research that he did so that he could write an accurate and respectful book.
    • 4/5
      When Ned Begay was a boy, he was sent to boarding school where the teachers and adults told him that speaking Navajo was no good. Ironically, after sixteen-year-old Ned joins the Marines, it is that very ability to speak fluent Navajo that makes him valuable to the Marines. He has been assigned to be a code talker, using his native language in the form of an unbreakable code to send messages during the war in the Pacific. Navajo code talkers were crucial to the U.S. war efforts against Japan yet for over twenty years their story was classified and even their families did not know. While Ned himself is fictional, many of the other characters are real people and the events also really happened. Bruchac did extensive research for this book and he included a lengthy author’s note explaining that as well as giving other information on the subject as well as a bibliography of resources about the Navajo, code talkers, and World War II. This book depicts an important, amazing part of World War II history that was hidden for so long and the historical fiction format makes it accessible to teens who might not sit down and read a nonfiction book about it. The book does include a great deal of historical detail which may be off-putting to some readers as some of the facts inserted in the book do slightly interrupt the flow of Ned’s story. Nevertheless, this book makes an excellent introduction into World War II and the Navajo Code Talkers.
    • 3/5
      Read from February 24 to April 19, 2011A solid story about Ned Begay - a Navajo boy that joins the Marines and becomes a Code Talker during WWII. The code talkers have often been overlooked, mainly because it was classified information until the late 60s. This book provides a first person (fictional, of course) account of the brave task these young men took on.
    • 3/5
      Besides being a good read, this book was very informative. I know more about WWII than I ever did. The author effectively mixed fact with fiction to make a good story.
    • 4/5
      This is a terrific historical novel with a great deal of action. Joseph Bruchac is a gifted writer.
    • 3/5
      Great piece of historical fiction for middle school students. This is a thought provoking novel about a relatively unknown , but very important part of our history as a nation. I think it should be considered required reading for US history classes.
    • 3/5
      For what it was, it was good. It just isn't my happy place in reading. It would be good for a high school history class. It teaches quite a bit about what happened in Asia during WWII, which seems to always be overlooked. I learned a bunch of the Navajos through this book, also. It is very well researched.
    • 4/5
      Bruchac is the "real deal". An American Indian and gifted storyteller, this is a narrative non-fiction work chronicling the Navajo Marines of World War II whose language was unbreakable by the Japanese. Their service was needed and accepted, but never celebrated or even acknowledged by the United States military for many years. An interesting insight into a different culture with a war backdrop. Liked this one back in my YA Lit class and still appreciate Bruchac's work.
    • 4/5
      This is the story told by a Navajo grandfather about his harrowing, yet gratifying experience as a Navajo code talker in WWII. Ned Begay grew up being forced to learn English in a boarding school. He joins the marines when they recruit 29 young Navajo men for a special mission. They develop a code, based on the Navajo language, that the Japanese will never break. We hear of his life in the War as he assists the war efforts with communications in Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Guam, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa.While it starts rather slow, this book is very interesting. For those who have read Chester Nez's memoirs and enjoyed it, this may be a good book to recommend to your children to allow them into the world of the Code Talkers. I learned so much about the life of the Navajo while reading both of these books. Classroom Connection: WWII, Navajo
    • 3/5
      My book group didn't like this - those who finished were bored by it. I felt it read too much like a nonfiction book that'd been last-minute turned into fiction. Felt as though the reader is being lectured to.
    • 5/5
      This book describes how the Navajo Indians were a crucial part of world war two. They created the code that no other country could crack and helped us win the war in the Pacific. This book tells about a fictional caracter named Ned Begay who wants to go into the Marines to serve his country. He faces battle just like any other Marine. He learns that about every Indian has the same nickname in their squad, Chief. First this book starts by telling how a Navajo is treated at the Boarding School that many of them went to. They were not allowed to speak their native language, but they did when the teachers were not around. As Ned goes through school he becomes particullarly fond of history and the history of the Japanese. He still thought highly of them even when they bombed pearl harbor. This isn't exactly a book about war but it is about the Navajo's and what they did to contribute to their country especially.
    • 5/5
      In the early days of World War II the American military is starving for a way to protect transmitted intelligence - an Unbreakable Code. One man, the son of a trader who sells goods to Native Americans, provides the answer the military is looking for, and before long Marines are found on Navajo reservation to find native speakers. As a language with no alphabet, and a language almost impossible to master unless one learns it from birth, the Navajo tongue provides a code that finally defeats Japanese intelligence. Once their worth is proven, the Code Talkers are in high demand, and their importance in WWII cannot be exaggerated. In Code Talker, Joseph Bruchac tackles a story that is suppressed for the government for over three decades. Having produced a treasured government secret, the Navajos who develop the Unbreakable Code are forbidden to share their important role in the war, and for years remain unrecognized by anyone other than their fellow Marines. Ned Begay is one such Marine. Having attended missionary schools from a young age, he is an ideal candidate for the role the Marines seek to fill, and once he is sixteen he convinces his family to allow him to lie about his age and join the military. Once shamed by bilagaanaa for his culture, Ned finds that that very culture is what allows him to serve his homeland. Bruchac's narrative is haunting; Ned's quiet grade highlights both the horrors of war and the horrors of racism in the land he helps to protect without delving into alienating anger. His dignity moves the reader, and allows anyone with a soul and a conscience to relate to Ned, regardless of race or culture. With no intimate knowledge of the cultural and historical events, I was quickly drawn in to Ned's story, and found myself mesmerized by his voice and moved by his experiences. I highly recommend this book to all readers.
    • 2/5
      I thought this book started out well, but one-third of the way through, the narrator began just telling about the different battles and less about how this affected the Navajos and started droning on.
    • 5/5
      I thought the novel dealt deftly -- and rarely heavy-handedly -- with the weighty identity issues faced by a Navajo boy in an Indian school and with the horrible things seen by Marines during the second World War. I would use this book as part of a unit on WWII to broaden students' understanding of the impact of the war beyond the Holocaust.
    • 5/5
      Bruchac, Joseph, Code Talker, WWII Navajo boys lots of war history
    • 4/5
      This book tells the story of a largely unknown piece of World War II history – the role of Navajo Indians in creating a secret code to keep military secrets out of the hands of the Japanese. The story begins with Ned Begay, a Navajo boy, going off to boarding school to learn English. In school, the Navajo children are treated badly by the white administrators and teachers, who insult them because of their heritage and try to get the children to forget the Navajo language and culture. However, when World War II breaks out, the Marines begin actively recruiting men who can speak both English and Navajo. Ned, who has to pretend he is older than he is in order to enlist, joins the Marines and becomes one of the secret code talkers, who use the Navajo language to create messages that the Japanese will not be able to understand if they intercept. Ned is soon shipped off to the Pacific and gives detailed accounts of the various battles there. Code Talker is a piece of fiction that reads almost like a memoir. This book is a great tool for learning history, for both children and adults, giving accounts that are not usually covered in introductory textbooks. Instead of focusing on what was going on in Europe during World War II, here we get to see what was happening in the Pacific side of the war and we learn about the covert code operation, which was not publicly released until a couple of decades after the war was finished. The book also covers other deep topics such as prejudice and stereotyping, providing fodder for interesting discussions. This book is dense to read though, and I would recommend taking your time with this one, letting the information sink in before barreling on to the next chapter.
    • 1/5
      this book is very good and i liked it alot.the end
    • 5/5
      Written in the voice of a grandfather passing along his story to his grandchildren, this novel introduces life on a reservation, Indian Schools, Army induction and training... Bruchac also presents key Pacific battles of WWII from the perspective of a foot soldier responsible for communication through the Navajo language. The use of the code itself is interesting, but the story of Ned Begay is even more so.
    • 3/5
      This is the story of the Navajo code talkers in WWII. It is told by as a first person narrative, with an emphasis on the irony of using the Navajo language decried by white teachers as the epitome of useless, to defend America. The tale is by a grandfather to his grandchildren, to us who listen with respect. The historicity of the story is fascinating and I definitely learned a great deal about the code talkers, but the very success of the stylistic choice kept it from being great. Sometimes it just felt a little to real like a beloved grandfather telling a story, rather than a well crafted tale,
    • 5/5
      loved the book. it tells the story of being a Navajo code translator in world war 2. The book talks about the fights he and his fellow solders went through. The Navajo language was used through the comunications in world war 2 because it was the only language that the Japaneses could not break.