". . . a vibrant picture of early 20th-century life [that] will appeal to readers who appreciate stories of immigration, war, family bonds, and the search for identity. . . . a heartfelt narrative that honors memory while confronting history."
- Carol Thompson for Readers' Favorite
". . . a powerful and poignant narrative . . . skillfully blending historical context with raw emotion . . . detailed with a sincere humility to it. . . . a unique perspective on the delicate balance between familial loyalty and personal identity, making this book a thoughtful read that leans into ideology, family, and national loyalty."
-Asher Syed for Readers' Favorite
". . . an absolutely fascinating book. . . . Rudy Jensen writes with feeling, compassion, and honesty. He made me feel like I was there with him as he defended his country. And, although his interactions with his father were often heartbreaking, they provide an in-depth look at a situation that others also must have gone through. I highly recommend this excellent book."
-Joe Wisinski for Readers' Favorite
It was 1923. Rudy Jensen was only two years old when his mother died and his father Carl-a seafaring man-left him with a loving caregiver. Gone for months at a time, Carl was as complex as the feelings Rudy had toward him: he could at once be gruff and loving, determined and aimless. But the return from one of his trips brought a suprise: a new wife, and the loving mother Rudy had longed for. Soon after, the three of them set out from Germany to begin a new life in America.
Barely making ends meet with his father's late-night drinking and gambling, Rudy's family lived in stark contrast to the powerful and wealthy of their Washington DC neighbors. Yet curiously, Carl-in his job at a luxury hotel-served J. Edgar Hoover his daily lunch and knew FBI agents and senators by their first names. But by 1941, when England and France declared war against his family's homeland of Germany, overnight the Jensen family became designated "Enemy Aliens." With that status, an official investigation of their family was initiated by the FBI.
Chronicling Rudy's own role in the US military-within forces that would fight his parents' beloved Germany during World War II-and the questions that percolated around Carl's true identity until after his death, Father and Son is a compelling and poignant depiction of Rudy's life from his unconventional childhood to his conflicted young years, from wartime airman to unlikely educator, culminating in a bombshell end.
