Matthew Perry Books

This is a fascinating story and the author presents substantive research. There is some good prose in parts, such as the character development of Commodore Perry and descriptions of Okinawa, but on the whole it is not a smooth read. The 4 stars I'm giving it are for its importance as a contribution to our understanding of this period, the author's discussion on the impact of the attitude with which Perry's mission was accomplished, and the research that has been brought together.

Had there not been such good material and insight, the text was so choppy that I would have not finished the book. The dangling ideas, that is, concepts introduced but not previously explained or later followed up on, were frustrating. Then there are a lot of tortured sentences and then some grammar that had to be ignored to get the meaning.

One example of a dangling idea was the paragraph that ended by saying that Abe Mashihiro had won an important victory in the appointment of his recommended defense advisor followed by a paragraph saying that the appointee was "his (Abe's) the most vocal critic." What did I miss? By this time in the book, I no longer flipped back. The concept of a victory for Abe getting a critic an influential position isn't ever clear. It could be that the author meant it in the wider context that through this appointment there was no war, but that isn't clear either.

An example of the tortured prose, on p. 190 regarding Perry's son in law and grandson:

"New York's high society made him "King of Fifth Avenue". (New York Belmont Race Track and the Belmont Stakes are named after him, while in Newport, Rhode Island one of the sumptuous "cottages" was built by Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont, the son of "King" and Perry's daughter, together with Alva Vanderbilt previously married to William K. Vanderbilt)".

A grammar example (while you know it's Abe, there are two antecedents for him, not one) is on p. 243 "More than ever, Abe and the roju made the important decisions; with the senior counselors increasinly deferring to him about those concerning Perry..."

While the text was a real drawback (for me), there is a lot of food for thought in the analysis of what it Perry's actions meant for US-Japanese relations for the next 100 years, the unequal treaties, the symbolism of the USS Missouri receiving the Japanese surrender in Uraga Bay and the comparison of China's attitude and policies toward western trade and intervention.

For general readers interested in the seclusion period I recommend Samurai William: The Englishman Who Opened Japan and Native American in the Land of the Shogun: Ranald Macdonald and the Opening of Japan.

This marvelous book is a model study of the unintended consequences of American self-righteousness and imperial arrogance -- with eerie echoes today in the Bush/Cheney invasion of Iraq. It is a work of superb scholarship, and in spots it requires keen concentration, but the total effect is most rewarding, and the concluding sections -- with their lessons for the present and,one hopes,for the future -- are brilliant.

Amidst the present disasters of our militarized foreign policy, Mr Feifer's observation (in Chapter 17) that American "fervor and ignorance, especially of other cultures, sometimes caused grave damage" rings with bitter irony today in Iraq. "The Japan that [Commodore Perry] left was boiling in despairing confusion ... bloody plots and counterplots ... full of episodes that seem not to belong to waking life, but have ... the unearthly logic of events in a dream."

And yet, even in his harsh conclusions, Mr Feifer is scholarly, moderate, nuanced, and scrupulous, never overstating his case as the ironies for today abound. This is an incisive and most admirable book.

This challenging and deeply researched book on Perry's "opening up" of Japan
has the most painful relevance possible to our current government's colossal
misadventure in allegedly trying to bring "Freedom and Democracy" to a land
of darker-skinned people about whose history we are -- not willfully mis-
informed, which would be bad enough, but wildly, tragically ignorant. And
what kind of reverberations can we expect, decades and even a century down
the road of history? What Pearl Harbors, what Okinawas, what Hiroshimas are
there to come?

If you think you knew and understood American history this brilliant book will make you think again.The author sets out to show that America arrogantly decided to force Japan to open its doors to foreigners and trade, a decision that turned out to be the first step along the path that was to lead to Pearl Harbor. He succeeds admirably. This is readable, controversial history with a lesson for what is going on in Iraq today. A must book for serious thinkers.

On one level this remarkable book will provide invaluable background for anyone interested in understanding why Japan's love-hate relationship with the United States continues to this day. It should also serve to underline the dangers of imposing one nation's views on another.
But the book will also appeal to readers simply interested in a rich historical tour of Japan at the dawn of its modern era. The skillful weaving of the descriptions of the personalities, prejudices and political backgrounds of Commodore Perry and his Japanese counterpart Lord Abe brings to life and keeps in focus a story that might otherwise have drifted into an academic dissertation.
Breaking Open Japan will now be added to my list of must-reads for friends and acquaintances interested in peeling away the layers of a society that remains the most complex and conflicted of the modern era.

We lived in Japan and I homeschooled when I first read this book. Much more interesting way to learn about the opening of Japan than through a text. Another excellent book that is a great companion to this one is "Born in the Year of Courage."

Its a very good book!!!It has alot of detail on the Japanes life in the very old days of the world.Its the best you can get!!!!

A must for researchers in quaternary geology, physical geography, and the like. Compiled by British geoscientists who like to throw an occasional a in front of the letter e (see title), but we can forgive them for this. Extensive bibliographies provided for most entries...for a change. If you're an earth scientist or student in need of the right words to describe 'the end of the world as we know it', then this one is your best bet.

This books does more than just tell you about the gentleman lawyer, Matthew J. Perry, it sets the scene for him before, during and now in South Carolina. The book puts in perspective what Perry had to deal with as he fought for the rights of South Carolina's African American citizens. He is an unflappable, decisive, thorough, warm, honest human being and a civil rights attorney par excellence. It is well written, with various contributors talking about him based on their experiences. It is well documented, so that it may also be used as a reference tool. It is timely and very readable. I recommend it highly.

This is a detailed account of the voyage of Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry's "black ships" to Japan in 1853. Booth locates the voyage in the context of American trade with China; steamships headed for China required a ready supply of coal, which Japan possessed, in order to take advantage of the most direct routes to the Chinese mainland. In addition, he conveys Perry's sense that American interests had to establish a foothold in Asia in order to compete with British imperialism. Booth's handling of this story is uneven, as at times he writes engagingly and at other times seems bogged down by detail. Overall, however, it is worthwhile reading as it fully conveys the complexity of this venture, as well as the personalities of the American and Japanese officials. This is a book for those with a particular interest in this subject.

This is a highly readable and interesting historical account of the West's first encounters with Japan. And by "first" I literally mean the earliest recorded encounters of Westerners either attempting or achieving to set foot on the Japanese Islands. Author Booth Wiley has done some immaculate research here and lays this early history out in a narrative which is easily read and engaging. The apex of the historical tale is the role of Commodore Perry in opening Japan to the Western world, but this is about so much more than Perry's own adventures. Fundamental aspects of early Japanese culture and characters come to life and are given an invaluable historical context, including even the minute details of how each local region treated these mysterious foreigners. It is also filled with excellent original illustrations, maps and photos of the encounters, including Japanese art depicting the sunken-eyed, large-nosed Westerners.

This is a terrific book--fascinating, charming, insightful--about a chapter in American history most people know little about. We're wasting time and money on bad Pearl Harbor movies, but this is a story that begs to be filmed. It has everything.

Loathed by elitist literary critics, wannabe highbrows and religious conservatives, The Da Vinci Code is by any measure a work of genius. To dismiss it as pop drivel is to overlook the fact that countless writers are striving to produce catchy pulp fiction that will propel them to stardom and riches - and few succeed. The book is riveting, fascinating, thought-provoking, surprising and a masterful work of entertaining fiction. If you feel above such light fare, fine, go read Dostoyevsky or James Joyce , but spare us your condescension. As for the religious opposition to the work, any book - in our postmodern day and age in which we are exposed to so many different realities - capable of stirring up so much passionate opposition and so much sincere interest in weighty topics like religion and philosophy and history, is frankly some kind of masterpiece.

I found this book to be acomplete waste of time,money and it was wrote in such a way to let people think it was true by saying that all art work ,architect, religous acts are fact when not one is and Every thing that stated fact in the book by Dan Brown and the characters is a completely fictional.
And it was wrote mainly to attack christianity !

A fast-paced suspense (more than pure mystery) novel about the Holy Grail and the secret societies (apparently a veritable Yellow Pages worth) whose goal is either to protect or expose it.

Good fun, although its statements about the verity of the Bible, the orthodox canon, and other apocryphal works are disturbing. In fact, my distaste for this part of the book, plus its fast-food-like lack of weightiness knocks it down a peg from the "Worth my Time" level.

Makes sense to me!! I loved this book! I know it was fiction but somehow I think he speaks a bit of truth in this book! You will love this book!

Ok, I have neither bought nor read this 'book', and never will, but I read the excerpt.
If English is Dan Brown's first language, then he has major problems, unless he is a 10 year old slow learner. Ok, he has made a lot of money from this piece of rubbish, but why not take a quick course in creative writing beforehand to learn the basics of style.
The Hardy Boys books are advanced literature in comparison!

Stewart J. Teaze was my grandfather. He was a WWI pilot, and earned his wings on the JN-4 in Texas. He later resided in Japan, where he represented the interests of an American Oil Company... my father and aunt were born in Japan, and attended The American School In Japan.

Interestingly, when WWII broke out, my grandfather was interned in Japan. He eventually was released thru The Philippines, which was neutral at the time.