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Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir By One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of WWII Hardcover – September 6, 2011

by Chester Nez (Author), Judith Schiess Avila (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 4,092 ratings
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The first and only memoir by one of the original Navajo code talkers of WWII-includes the actual Navajo Code and rare photos.
Although more than 400 Navajos served in the military during World War II as top-secret code talkers, even those fighting shoulder to shoulder with them were not told of their covert function. And, after the war, the Navajos were forbidden to speak of their service until 1968, when the code was finally declassified. Of the original twenty-nine Navajo code talkers, Chester Nez is the only one still alive. The original twenty-nine were the men who first devised the code, then proved it indispensable in combat.

In this memoir, the ninety-year-old Nez chronicles both his war years and his life growing up on the Checkerboard Area of the Navajo Reservation - the hard life that gave him the strength, both physical and mental, to become a Marine. His story puts a living face on the legendary men who developed what is still the only unbroken code in modern warfare.
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  1. Print length
    320 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Dutton Caliber
  4. Publication date
    September 6, 2011
  5. Dimensions
    6.25 x 1.12 x 9.37 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0425244237
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0425244234
  8. See all details
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  1. Each letter became an English word beginning with that letter, and the English word was translated into a Navajo word.
    Highlighted by 219 Kindle readers
  2. We, like other Native Americans, had been born to the warrior tradition. Like other Navajos, we saw ourselves as inseparable from the earth we lived upon. And as protectors of what is sacred, we were both eager to defend our land.
    Highlighted by 209 Kindle readers
  3. Although Native Americans were made citizens of the United States in 1924, we weren’t finally granted the right to vote in New Mexico until 1948, three years after I finished my service as a Navajo code talker in the Pacific War.
    Highlighted by 208 Kindle readers
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Nez's fascinating memoir details...[keeping] U.S. transmissions safe from the Japanese during WWII...[R]eaders will be captivated by stories of Nez's childhood and his days as a Marine."
Publisher's Weekly

"You don't need to be a fan of World War II literature to appreciate this memoir by Chester Nez and his co-author Judith Schiess Avila, a code talker scholar."
Associated Press (AP)

"A unique, inspiring story by a member of the Greatest Generation."
Kirkus Reviews (The World's Toughest Book Critics)

From the Author

My friend, Navajo code talker Chester Nez, died on June 4, 2014, at the age of 93.  He was laid to rest in the National Cemetery in Santa Fe. To honor him, New Mexico flags were flown at half mast. Police closed the 55 miles of freeway leading from his funeral in Albuquerque to the cemetery, so the funeral cortege could pass. Drivers, pulled to the side of the highway, stood by the road saluting, while 400+ motorcycle honor guards followed the casket. A fine farewell for a humble man who was not even issued a birth certificate back in 1921.

I first met Chester in January, 2007, and recorded his stories for three years. Writing Chester's memoir changed both of our lives for the better. I gained a second family and a deeper understanding of a culture different from my own, and Chester was thrilled that readers would learn how he and his fellow Navajos, the WWII code talkers, helped their country win WWII.

This is a story that remained a secret for too long.  I hope that you will enjoy reading our book as much as we enjoyed writing it!!

The book's dedication says a lot about Chester's desire to have all code talkers recognized:

This book is dedicated to the 420 World War II Navajo Marine code talkers - men who developed and implemented an unbreakable communications system that helped ensure the American defeat of the Japanese in the Pacific War. 

When the war ended, other combatants were free to discuss their roles in the service and to receive recognition for their actions.  But the Marines instructed us, the code talkers, to keep our accomplishments secret. We kept our own counsel, hiding our deeds from family, friends and acquaintances.  Our code was finally declassified in 1968, twenty-three years after the war's end.

This book may be my story, but it is written for all of these men. 

May they and their loved ones walk in beauty.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Dutton Caliber; First Edition, First Printing (September 6, 2011)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0425244237
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0425244234
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.1 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 1.12 x 9.37 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 4,092 ratings

About the authors

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  1. Chester Nez

    Chester Nez

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  2. Judith Schiess Avila

    Judith Schiess Avila

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    I am still pinching myself...

    I had the good luck to meet Chester Nez and his son Mike in 2007. Chester agreed to let me tell his story, and after three years of interviews, I committed his fascinating memoir "Code Talker" to paper. The award winning memoir has become a best-seller.

    I worked as a social worker, an air traffic controller, and a computer consultant before discovering writing. I grew up in Thornwood, NY and graduated from Westlake High School. Next, I earned my BA from Duke University. I now live in New Mexico, near Albuquerque. The population out here is a fascinating blend of Native American, Hispanic, Mexican, African American, and Anglo.

    On to our memoir...

    In the Marines in WWII, Chester was one of the top-secret Navajo code talkers. As an "original" code talker, he was among the 29 men who developed and implemented the secret code. (He died on June 4, 2014, the last of those 29 men.) The Navajo code uses both English and Navajo, and it is doubly encrypted. It is the only spoken code in modern warfare that has never been cracked. Not even other Navajos could decipher the code!

    This memoir is the only one ever written by an original Navajo code talker.

    Chester's story digs deep, chronicling the nitty gritty of his childhood years herding sheep and attending boarding school, and delving into his time fighting in the Pacific War. In many ways it preserves the story of an entire generation of Navajos, touching upon their customs and their integration into modern American life.

    Who were these elite Native American Marines who developed and implemented the unbreakable code? Even the men fighting side-by-side with the code talkers were denied knowledge of their top secret assignment. But the Navajo code talkers were so crucial to the war effort that their ranks expanded to include approximately 420 men. And after the war, the men were forbidden to speak, even to their families, of the covert service they performed on behalf of their nation. Only in 1968, twenty-three years after the war ended, was the code finally declassified. In 2001 the men were honored with Congressional Gold and Silver Medals.

    Reading "Code Talker" puts you in the foxhole with Chester and some of the bravest Marines ever to fight for their country.

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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
4,092 global ratings
Chester Nez Lives Forever
5 Stars
Chester Nez Lives Forever
CODE TALKER is the unsentimental, profoundly moving and humble story of a great Navajo warrior from the Greatest Generation, Chester Nez. He tells his life story with dignity and grace. He is no longer with us but in CODE TALKER, Chester Nez lives forever. He was one of the Navajo warriors who fought for the United States of America and created the code that the Japanese never broke, the communications code that gave the US Marine Corps and other US military units attached to the Marines the upper hand against the Japanese in countless battles in the Pacific. God rest the soul of Chester Nez, bravest of the brave and a humble, kind, tough and righteous cat. The only caveat I had with the book is that it did not reveal that First Nations' code talkers first fought in World War One--they were Cherokee and Choctaw, fighting for the United States in Europe. Here's an excerpt from the Wikipedia page on code talkers: "The name code talkers is strongly associated with bilingual Navajo speakers specially recruited during World War II by the US Marine Corps to serve in their standard communications units of the Pacific theater. Code talking, however, was pioneered by the Cherokee and Choctaw peoples during World War I.****Other Native American code talkers were deployed by the United States Army during World War II, including Lakota,[3] Meskwaki, Mohawk,[4][5] Comanche, Tlingit,[6] Hopi,[7] Cree and Crow soldiers; they served in the Pacific, North African, and European theaters.[8]"Long life and blue skies,Mike Tuckerauthor of ROGUE (Volume 1, The Rogue Trilogy)
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Top reviews from the United States

Christine Braden
5.0 out of 5 stars Great info, entertaining
Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2024
Verified Purchase
Very interesting history and secrecy involved.
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M Carley
5.0 out of 5 stars A life lived the Right Way
Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2023
Verified Purchase
I'd heard of code talkers before, but I'd never really dived into their history. I found this book, written by one of the original 29 (or 32 if you go by Chester's numbers). Code talkers were a group of brave Native Americans who used the Navajo language to make sure the Japanese didn't know what the Americans were doing in the Pacific during WWII. The code was never broken and was much quicker and more efficient than what was being used previously.

I like how the memoir went through almost his entire life. It covers his childhood up until 2011. Chester passed away in 2014 and was the last surviving member of the original code talkers. He lived quite a life and went through so much.

I have the Kindle version and wanted to mention a few things. The text for the book ends at page 276. Acknowledgements, Navajo dictionary for the code, Bibliography, an index, maps of the islands Chester helped conquer, and pictures fill the rest of the book. The pictures start on page 347. The code was small and hard to read on my Paperwhite, but that's something I could fix.

This is one of the better memoirs I've read. The writing was easy to read, there were enough breaks if you wanted to stop for a while, and the subject matter was super interesting to me. I believe this is an important part of WWII history that shouldn't be forgotten. The impact these men had was so important to the Pacific theater, and it was a secret for so long. If you're at all interested in a life lived the Right Way, I recommend this book.
8 people found this helpful
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Miss Julie
4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Memoir
Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2014
Verified Purchase
This is definitely a must-read for anyone interested in this topic or certainly the history of the war. The code talkers were neglected for so many years - and one could certainly digress as to why, but that is fodder for another day. This memoir is a good start on the road to rectifying that wrong.

The memoir could have concentrated just on the war years, but that would have been a mistake. Any good historian knows, as the late R.G.L. Waite used to say, that in order to study World War II you must look back as far as possible. And in order to look back at the late Mr. Nez's experience in the war, it is imperative that he fully discuss his life with the reader- which he wisely did in this volume. We are introduced to his life before the war - beginning as a young child, including when he was forced to attend boarding school for many years, away from his family, where English was rammed down his throat and his native language was forbidden. If you are unfamiliar with the legalized repression of the Navajo culture in American history, this is yet another reason why you absolutely must read this book.

It is perfectly understandable why it was co-written by a professional writer, who spent countless hours interviewing him in depth. Our code talker never pretended to be a professional writer, nor should he have spent years writing a memoir at his advanced age. I am sure he had better things to do. His co-writer was smart in that she allowed him to retain his voice almost always throughout the book. You note that I said "almost always." There are times in the book - even sentences and paragraphs - where it is clear that the writing is in an entirely different voice, and as an experienced reader that may jangle your nerves. Their editors should have caught that and fixed it.

However, any memoir that is cowritten with a professional writer usually has this as an Achilles heel, and one must suppress one's perfectionism as a reader because the story itself is so compelling. Certainly the story within Code Talkers is extraordinarily compelling and the writing, quite good. I read it very quickly within a couple of days - and you probably will as well. I recommend it highly.
12 people found this helpful
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Phillip
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book
Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2024
Verified Purchase
This is the story of Chester Nez, one of the original Code Talkers, and his experiences before, during, and after WW2. What these men endured and how they were treated before, during, and after the war is something everyone should read.
2 people found this helpful
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Anne G
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Reading
Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2024
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The book is fast moving. I enjoy reading historical books. The best part about this is the author gives you a background about the Navajo people.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Julian S.
5.0 out of 5 stars Great
Reviewed in Canada on April 10, 2019
Verified Purchase
Chester Nez made amazing contributions to the war effort. All Indigenous code talkers should be recognized for their work for the allies. This book should be in everyone's personal collection. Thank you code talkers.
One person found this helpful
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helt
5.0 out of 5 stars An exciting read describing the terrible fighting conditions in the war in the Pacific
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 16, 2015
Verified Purchase
The book describes the history of how the Navajo indians used their own language to provide radio communications which could not be understood by the Japanese, and how the Japanese came quite close to cracking this.. A fascinating insight into an aspect of World War Two that was kept secret for about 20 years after the end of the war. An exciting read describing the terrible fighting conditions in the war in the Pacific. The author gives a graphic description of the poor living conditions of the Navajos living in reservations in America and the difficult conditions faced by their society.
2 people found this helpful
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Thomas Merbt
5.0 out of 5 stars Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir By One of the Original Navajo... Chester Nez
Reviewed in Germany on May 19, 2013
Verified Purchase
Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir By One of the Original Navajo...
Chester Nez ok, welldone ok ok ok
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Jo-Anne M
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it!
Reviewed in Canada on June 30, 2014
Verified Purchase
Loved this book, from start to finish. It is well written, and is easy to read, and hard to put down. Anyone who has an interest in learning about the Codetalkers, will enjoy this book. I highly recommend it.
One person found this helpful
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Clark
5.0 out of 5 stars The true story of how the Navy used the language of the Navajo Indians as the basis of an unbreakable code
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 11, 2014
Verified Purchase
This is a well-written account of the way that the language of the Navajo Indians formed the basis of a code to encipher secret messages. Despite the efforts of the Germans the code proved unbreakable. The book is written by a man belonging to the Navajo Indian tribe who was in the navy and whose identity was kept secret. I give it five stars because of the unique and authentic story, and because of the quality of the writing, but I confess that it went on a little too long for me and I skipped the last part.
One person found this helpful
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