Reviews

PLEASANTON — Bilingual storyteller Megumi will tell Japanese folk tales for all ages on Saturday, Aug. 16, at 11 a.m. at the City of Pleasanton Library, 400 Old Bernal Ave.

The event is free and open to the public. The library can be reached at (925) 931-3400. For more information on Megumi, visit www.MegumiTales.com.

LOS ANGELES — A new book documents the prewar days of judo in Southern California, and its effect on the spread of judo across the United States.

Written by Ansho Mas Uchima, a retired aerospace engineer, this is his first publication. A collaborative effort with Larry Akira Kobayashi, the book, entitled “Fighting Spirit: Judo in Southern California, 1930-1941,” published by Midori Books, contains 400 pages with over 75 rare photos of Southern California judo dojos.

HONOLULU — “Dying in a Strange Land,” the latest novel by Milton Murayama, has been published by University of Hawaii Press.

This long-awaited novel brings to a close the saga of the Oyama family. Familiar faces from “All I Asking for Is My Body,” “Five Years on a Rock” and “Plantation Boy” return to advance the story from the years immediately after World War II to the 1980s.