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"Fascinating...clearly stated, interesting and provoking.... A plainspoken account of living in Asia."nbsp;nbsp;--San Francisco Chronicle Anyone who has heard his weekly commentary on NPR knows that T. R. Reid is trenchant, funny, and deeply knowledgeable reporter and now he brings this erudition and humor to the five years he spent in Japan--where he served as The Washington Post's Tokyo bureau chief.nbsp;nbsp;He provides unique insights into the country and its 2,500-year-old Confucian tradition, a powerful ethical system that has played an integral role in the continent's "postwar miracle." Whether describing his neighbor calmly asserting that his son's loud bass playing brings disrepute on the neighborhood, or the Japanese custom of having students clean the schools, Reid inspires us to consider the many benefits of the Asian Way--as well as its drawbacks--and to use this to come to a greater understanding of both Japanese culture and America.… (more)
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There is so much I could say about the book, but I loved how he opened up with the eastern flavours, the hodge podge of influences on
I also liked how he hit on the day to day amusing moments, such as needing a fax to be able to get directions to go anywhere. Also the day to day worries such as putting the kids in a school--facing the issues of new school anywhere together with specialised issues such as bullying and how the kids would cope with a full new series of alphabets.
It's a mix of stuff I'd never have thought about because it didn't apply to my life in Japan (schooling) and things I'd never thought about such as the Plaza Accord and how NKK came to be making indoor athletic complexes rather than their traditional icebreakers. All interesting because I had wondered how they came to decide they 'needed' indoor beaches and ski hills.
While the majority of the book focused on his time living in Japan he also addressed issues in other Asian countries, such as the Michael Fay caning issue in Singapore which I remember being a huge issue back when it happened.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect was when he attempted to define the geographic construction that was East Asia. It's a made up construction, but it does have some roots in various names such as the kanji or chopstick culture. And what New Yorker can not laugh at his Singapore/Manhattan comparison.
All in all a good read, touched on familiar and new issues while keeping it interesting.