A well researched plod fest

Firstly I need to say that I would like to write a book but I haven't got round to it yet. Chris Harding has done and so I give him endless praise and respect for doing so.

The book is split into chapters e.g. "Such and such era 1800 - 1850" but the book wanders all round the time periods. You can be in the 1980 era when an interesting anecdote is dropped only for the author to say that happened 50 years before the chapter you are in. This happens continually through the book to the extent that the chapters are almost irrelevant.

My end feeling was that the book is basically a discussion or talk about everything the author knows about Japan. A lot of that was of interest to be otherwise I wouldn't have bought the book. 16 hours in I didn't feel any more immersed than I was in the first minute. The highlight for me came early on it was the American's first encounter with Japan. An unbelievable story and hard to believe that it really happened. The author has a nice voice and sounds like a great guy, his Japanese sounds amazing and I praise him endlessly for sounding so fluent.

If you have any interest in Japan either present day or historically you will get something from this book. But it isn't as truly incredible as some other non fiction books which I didn't want to end.

e.g. Absolute Pandemonium by Brian Blessed
Canoeing the Congo
The Cyclist who Went Out into the Cold
No Shortcuts To The Top by Ed Viesturs

all of those books are gripping and thrilling and at times hilarious.

Congratulations again to Chris Harding and all the best to him in the future. I hope people buy his book and make him lots of Yen

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8 people found this helpful

Enjoyable and informing friendly history

I lived in Japan for a year, and found his boundless enthusiasm familiar and entertaining.
Historical situations were explained through characters and people's experiences, which suited me, and jumped forward and back in time, which I also thought was fine, though it annoyed other reviewers who presumably preferred a more ordered textbook.
I can't say how balanced a 'historical document' it was, but I was comfortable with it and enjoyed it very much.
Will listen again.
Hope he gets to play in the garden now.

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3 people found this helpful

Superb!

Well written modern history of Japan, with emphasis on the pop culture. Brought alive by the many relevant side stories.

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2 people found this helpful

Unlikely premise, but very well executed

When I chose this book, I was surprised to find it a story of Japan, largely through the lens of psychoanalysis, but actually it works very well. It was an extremely effective device to getting you inside the heads of a distant people that many of us know little about. Read by the author, very clearly and easy to listen to. Well worth the time.

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2 people found this helpful

Informative and refreshing

This is a highly enjoyable survey of post-Meiji Japan, which deftly combines political, cultural and social threads. There may be too much emphasis on "pop" issues for some, yet the result is far from glib and I learned a great deal of useful background.

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1 person found this helpful

Good read

A good listen but author doesn't convey the full horror of what the Japanese imperial Army inflicted on the nation's it conquered, that's my only critisism of the book, although this in itself is very Japanese. That aside I enjoyed this audiobook.

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Fornation of modern Japan

fascinating insight into the formation of modern Japan. interesting how pressure form America and China formulated the problems.

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