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annashiv's review against another edition
5.0
I really loved this book. I feel it gave a very good observation of Japan, and though it's a bit older and things have probably changed a bit, I feel it is still relevant. It never really said Japan was better for something or worse than anyone else and that was kind of the point of the whole book. It showed a culture so alien to him and to me and showed that we can live together, but not always as ourselves. We adapt to our surroundings and our view of right and wrong isn't always correct or appropriate in certain cultures. I really enjoyed reading this book. It opened my eyes to just how different life can be lived and how it has it's pro's and cons. I recommend to anyone interested in travel or Japan or human nature.
tani's review against another edition
4.0
This is kind of dated, so take what he says with a grain of salt, but I still thought it was a fascinating look at Japanese culture.
tucholsky's review against another edition
4.0
I read this when trying to find a book i had read nearly 20 years ago which described the way of life, society and culture of Japan. It wasn't this book, but it did much the same job. The direct experience of many, like this author, who live in Japan is that whilst loving their time there, the society is unfathomably daft. The society is revered by people who generally have never spent a day there let alone a year. They will laud japanese film and comic culture not because they do actually like it. No. They force themselves to like it because a film,culture or literature critic has laudedvit and it is just a little bit more niche than their friends like.Ditto, sushi. Vastly more people claim to like than the number of people who do actually like it.Someone once argued with me that japan is a less class subservient society. They were wrong and from nearly the start of this book there are clear examples that deny such rubbish.one anecdote i remembered from the book i was trying to find was about the proliferation of golf courses in japan. Most of these are now bankrupt. One in either Tokyo bay or Osaka bay was built on land reclaimed with landfill. The consequent and clearly neccesary smoking ban was strenuously fought by the company building it and prospective members. The need to be seen playing golf and the need to be seen to smoke were more important than the need to still be alive.it put me in mind of playing golf at Hawkstone Park in Shropshire in 1988. One time club pro at Hawkstone (Sandy Lyle) had just won the Masters at Augusta. The course was awash with Japanese would be golfers. They had come on this pilgrimage, probably bought expensive memberships, definitely bought ridiculously expensive sets of golf clubs......and couldnt hit a ball to save their lives. Looking the part was all that mattered, more important than being the part.....and the same is almost the most apt description of japanese culture in the 1980s when this book describes, the 90s and turn of the century (when my current read "demons and dogs" in searching fot my long lost read is set and still to this day. Maybe one day japan will wake up and actually try to be itself rather than a delusion of what it believes itself to be. One day it may learn something from the past, its own past....but the book gives no hope for that and it is well written and more sincere than those who claim to love the country and its society
benrogerswpg's review against another edition
4.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Learned so much about Japan - specifically the Japanese sociology and philosophy behind society and their stances on various topics.
Also learned more than I ever had about Japanese schooling and how they are taught / how the Japanese school systems work.
A particularly good read on the people of Japan.
Feiler does an amazing job at describing why certain things are taught, how they are taught, and how it affects young Japanese later in their careers and when they expand themselves globally to other countries.
Amazing.
Would recommend!
4.7/5
Learned so much about Japan - specifically the Japanese sociology and philosophy behind society and their stances on various topics.
Also learned more than I ever had about Japanese schooling and how they are taught / how the Japanese school systems work.
A particularly good read on the people of Japan.
Feiler does an amazing job at describing why certain things are taught, how they are taught, and how it affects young Japanese later in their careers and when they expand themselves globally to other countries.
Amazing.
Would recommend!
4.7/5
narniaru's review against another edition
3.0
Despite Bruce only having lived in Japan for a year in comparison to my four, I do feel he hit the nail on the head about many things. I also liked that he was quite honest, and balanced the good things about Japan with the things not-so-great and have obviously not changed. This book really made me miss Japan, but by the end, I remembered why I left.
I actually may check out other of Bruce's books.
I actually may check out other of Bruce's books.
mary412's review against another edition
3.0
A friend's son is now teaching English in Viet Nam and that reminded me that I had read this book about a young man's year of teaching in Japan.
cuteseal's review against another edition
3.0
Rich, wonderfully descriptive and insightful depictipn of the cultural diced between east and west. Got a little dry towards the end but glad I finished it n
catladylover94's review against another edition
3.0
it was a non fiction book, and a true story about a man living in Japan, it was hard to read, and just ok. I lived in japan and i had a different experience when i lived them, but it was good.
lizbusby's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting book about the state of Japanese education. This will answer your questions about why their school system churns out consistently good students, and also points out some of the flaws that prevent such a system from being established in the US. Pretty interesting. (Some content warnings: pornography, prostitution, and other communal vices are discussed as they pertain to life as a teacher in Japan.)
jessncanfield's review against another edition
4.0
I read this book for school and really enjoyed it and learned a lot in the process of reading it as well. Very nicely written and is a nice mix between facts and the mans experiences in Japan. The end had almost too much historical information but overall it was a great read!