TWIB-III: 1
Oct. 20th, 2008 04:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
akujunkanHoly crap. THREE YEARS. I've been at this for THREE YEARS. Once again, only one (English-language) book this week. With the dollar-yen exchange ratio so freaking weak these days, I'm rationing myself.
1) Japan’s Postwar History – Gary D. Allinson
Japan's Postwar History is definitely one of the more readable popular histories of Japan. Its discussion of the nation's recent history (~1930s-2004) is of necessity simplistic, but still quite balanced, especially when compared to other offerings in the field that are either biased too strongly toward the author’s pet theories or too vague to contribute to readers’ understanding of Japan. Allinson's style reminds me very much of Herbert P. Blix (Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan), albeit slightly more comprehensive in scope and superficial in depth. Which is to say, it strikes a good mix between accessibility and academic validity.
Allinson's frequent name-dropping of modern Japanese fiction writers is the only truly weak aspect of the book. It contributes nothing to reader's understanding of the subject at hand; one suspects Allinson is only doing it to demonstrate that He Knows Japanese Literature. At any rate, the mentions should have been relegated to an appendix, as they have no business being in the text proper.
But, this is a small gripe for an otherwise quite well-done book. I'd recommend this volume to anyone wanting to gain a basic understanding of modern Japanese history or refresh their knowledge thereof.
Incidentally, it's happening. It took me about 1.25 hours to write this entry--I am forgetting English.
That will be all.
1) Japan’s Postwar History – Gary D. Allinson
Japan's Postwar History is definitely one of the more readable popular histories of Japan. Its discussion of the nation's recent history (~1930s-2004) is of necessity simplistic, but still quite balanced, especially when compared to other offerings in the field that are either biased too strongly toward the author’s pet theories or too vague to contribute to readers’ understanding of Japan. Allinson's style reminds me very much of Herbert P. Blix (Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan), albeit slightly more comprehensive in scope and superficial in depth. Which is to say, it strikes a good mix between accessibility and academic validity.
Allinson's frequent name-dropping of modern Japanese fiction writers is the only truly weak aspect of the book. It contributes nothing to reader's understanding of the subject at hand; one suspects Allinson is only doing it to demonstrate that He Knows Japanese Literature. At any rate, the mentions should have been relegated to an appendix, as they have no business being in the text proper.
But, this is a small gripe for an otherwise quite well-done book. I'd recommend this volume to anyone wanting to gain a basic understanding of modern Japanese history or refresh their knowledge thereof.
Incidentally, it's happening. It took me about 1.25 hours to write this entry--I am forgetting English.
That will be all.