Asia Books

Wow. That sums this up in one word. The recipies are setup for a serving of 1 person. No division required for odd number of people, just multiply the recipie and wham! We've made dozens of the recipies and although I'm white, I've got a phillipeano friend that's telling everyone that I'm asian. The meals come out soo good I've got people asking us to cook for them. It's got helpful information for properly preparing rice, and other aspects of cooking that might be foreign to a lot of people out there. I definately recommend this for everyone.

I am not a Japanese but my wife and I love eating Japanese food. We bought this book and used it multiple times for cooking dinner. The instruction was clear and the result was tasty. Highly recommended.

PS: We usually just look at the photos in the book to pick the rice bowl that we want to prepare.

I picked up this book on a trip to Japan and didn't really expect much out of it. To my surprise, it's become one of my all-time favourite cookbooks. It's a great way to start learning about Japanese home cooking. There are also some great recipes for Korean and Chinese dishes. Every recipe I've tried is quite tasty and easy to prepare. It's also great when cooking for 1-2 people or when you're on the go. For years I've thought rice was a side bowl of dry and bland grains. Well, no more! Get yourself a decent rice cooker and get ready for a new way of preparing wholesome, quick, and delicious meals.

If you like rice dishes, buy this book. I'm no cook, but I've tried 3 different dishes in as many nights, and they all turned out great.

There're MANY simple, delicious dishes that you can cook up within an hour or less. All I've bought so far is sake (I have most other oriental spices, oil, and what nots).

I just had to get used to cooking w/o salt, cos you use soy sauce alot of times.

Buy it and enjoy it!

This is a great story for any age group. My eight year old son read this book and learned more about current events than the news could have ever taught him. I used this book in my tenth grade class room when we did a unit on picture books and changing the world and my students were prompted to plan a school wide "tolerance / compassion" day so that others could learn more about people around the world.

I think this is a great book for encouraging discussion of diversity in the classroom.

In the school where I teach a lot of the children come from refugee backgrounds and this story was something they could really relate to. But the other kids could relate to it too.

The imagery is powerful and the kids loved it.

Dealing with refugee children i must say this is a great book, it realy captures the heartache of the afgahni experience.

"It's always the same. The jets scream overhead." is the powerful first line of this story that resonates even more forcefully in the wake of the September 11th attacks. The Roses in My Carpets is a masterful tale of a young Afghan refugee by Toronto writer Rukhsana Khan. It is based on a true story, that of the author's foster child in Peshawar, Pakistan. With the unfolding of historical events, it is probably destined to be a classic.

Spare, grim and unsentimental, the story is a beautifully woven narrative of a young fatherless refugee boy caring for his mother and sister in a war-torn world. Symbolic of the loss of identity suffered by refugees, the boy remains nameless throughout the story. Movingly, he struggles to survive with his family within the sombre parameters that govern his universe. Escape finally arrives when he goes to his job as an apprentice carpet weaver. There he makes sure "there are plenty of roses in my carpets". As the story ends, hope surfaces in the young boy's dream of finding "a space, the size of a carpet, where the bombs cannot touch us."

Ronald Himler's watercolour and pencil drawings look overwhelmingly familiar with the images that now flood our homes through television. I have read Roses to my four year old many times and she appreciated the opportunity to comprehend the devastating effect of war on families. I would highly recommend it to other parents and teachers.

Unlike another reviewer, I did not have to benefit of travelling to Laos with the authors. But after reading this guide book, I felt as if I knew them, like they were old friends who were jotting down their travel notes to help me on my journey. By halfway through the book, i felt i could read between the lines to tell the good from the better, the bad from the horrible. As someone who generally hates guide books, I can honestly say, this one is all good. I only wish i could someday travel to Laos with Jeff Cranmer and Steven Martin. Such a fascinating read clearly could only come from fascinating people.

I never appreciated how difficult it must be to write a travel guide until I spent a week with the authors in southern Laos. Unlike the north, which has several bonafide tourist destinations, the south is still largely untraveled. A 50-mile trip between two provincial capitals took us more than four hours, packed into a "bus" (essentially a covered truck with wooden benches installed in the payload) in the dusty heat of the hot season. And at the end of the road, we found towns with no accommodation save the local government guest house, where the only "history" in evidence was the one stone wall remaining from the US bombing or the craters still lining the avenues.

But despite the hardships and the apparent lack of organized tourism, I would definitely go back again if I had the chance. Something unique about Laos - the scenery, the food, especially the people - gets under your skin.

This is where the authors achieve their greatest success, in their ability to communicate what is special about this amazing, but often overlooked, country. The Rough Guide's signature style, which tends to include social, cultural and historical information throughout (rather than just tucking a few pages into the introductory section) is of particular benefit here. The result is so much more than a bland recitation of towns, distances, modes of transport and places to stay.

This book definitely rekindled my desire to go back to Laos. And when I do, I know what I'll be using as my guide.

I traveled to Laos in January, 2002 and found that the Rough Guide to Laos enhanced my experience tremendously. The writing is much more thorough and intelligent than Lonely Planet's guidebook for Laos. About 95% of independent travelers depend on the Lonely Planet book, but I think Rough Guide does a much better job. Laos is changing quickly so there are oftentimes many additional restaurants and hotels in a town that were not around when the book was researched, but that is not a major problem. I highly recommend this book.

None of the guides to Laos are perfect. This one was at least helpful and the writing tolerable. That's all you can ask, apparently. It doesn't matter, though. If you make it to Luangphabang and stay for a while I don't think you'll care which guidebook was "best". You'll be too busy enjoying one of the most beautiful, romantic cities I've ever had the joy of setting foot in. If you're French visit the Dao Fe creperie, if you speak English, try to find the owner of the Duang Champa, and whatever you do, wherever you go, learn a little Lao so you can talk to people in their own language, like a proper human being. You can get away with speaking English in Vientiane and Luangphabang, but it's rude; in the villages they aren't going to be very interested in what you have to say if you can't at least speak a little Lao. So your choice of guidebook will quickly become an afterthought once the first few days have passed.

What I like best about the book is the way in which it traces the historical development of calligraphy. The author's Japan bias matches my own (I got into calligraphy in Japan) and so I didn't particularly mind the heavy Japan slant. What I found frustrating was the lack of a pronunciation guide, especially for the Sanskrit. Given the diacritics in use, I would have liked to have known how to pronounce the dotted consonants, etc. It would be nice to learn more about Khmer and Thai calligraphy also, but I turn to other books...

Two years ago, at a Zen retreat, I needed something to relax my mind. The priest who headed the retreat had, at his house, an assortment of books from which to choose. I didn't want something cerebral. I fingered his library and came upon John Steven's "Sacred Calligraphy of the East." It was perfect! It offered pictures from which I was able to relax and study the historical progress of Eastern calligraphic forms. Since then, I have bought the book for myself and I continually refer to it when in need. That may seem rather odd: I don't really know why the book relaxes me and gives me solice, but I am quite grateful to John Stevens for his contribution to the art and to my life.

Sacred Calligraphy of the East takes you through the scripts used in the sacred writings of religions and nations of East Asia. If the book would have just been a wide collection of calligraphic examples, this would have been a good enough reason to get the book. But the book is more than this: It actually teaches you to draw these characters. It's a wonderful book.

Honestly I bought the book out of pure intuition. I didn't know what to expect except for a very interesting index. It was a wonderful surprise. Leading a meditation workshop based on western calligraphy technique, I had a keen personal interest on reading this book. Extraordinary in its coverage of background, theory, examples and exercises, it sure is an excellent addition to any artist or person interested in finding a creative and trascendental outlet for his creativity. Although a little technical knowledge goes a long way here, it is also easy for beginners to start. Recommended whole-heartedly.

Thoroughly researched, beautifully laid out, and full of concise and clear information. I have read and referred to dozens of books on these subjects while researching a project, and The Sacred East stands out from the crowd. Some of these religious traditions are complex, multi-layered, and difficult for an outsider to penetrate. The text cuts through the myriad details that can hamper a broader understanding, while opening enough topics to allow for further study if desired. Highly recommended.

This text is a very well laid out and detailed script. The photos are excellent. If you had to buy one book explaining all the religions / belief systems covered...... I would suggest this one as your pick!

This is a beautiful, well-laid out and easy to read book that covers all the basics of Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Taoism and Shinto. The contributors and editors all have excellent backgrounds in the study of these various religions. The text is extremely accessible and lends itself well to use as a text book in a college course.

Western society's intense interest in Eastern culture and religion is best exemplified in this beautifully detailed and comprehensive book. With an engaging look at the history of each of the East's major religions, the authors offer the reader a special insight in the sacred rites and rituals which typify each of these religions. For those who subscribe to Buddhist, Taoist, Shinto philosophy, or Confucian wisdom, it a rare gem of a book, through which Eastern philosophy devotees can command a better appreciation of their tenets and worldviews. Fastidiously detailed, with brilliantly photographed selections of the various sects in costume, architecture and symbolism, the authors also offer a penetrating look into the minds and hearts of the believers, while assisting the reader in a better understanding of Eastern mysticism and metaphysicalism. Editor Scott Littleton and his colleagues have written a "primer extraordinaire" for Eastern religious thought!

I think it's great that someone put these three works together. I had a few complaints, though. The editing in this book was terrible. There were lots of errors that the editors should have caught in the spelling. I am also disappointed that for the first two works there is no mention of who translated the works into English.

As far as value goes I think this book is worth the money, but the publishing company really needs to work on editing their product better. I hope this is reflected in later editions.

Very useful compilation of three masterpieces. Although it isnt the most deep edition in terms of commentary or introductions, it certainly delivers the goods on the main texts. (Serious students of Japanese might prefer a bilingual edition of the individual texts).

All three of the books contained in this one volume really should be in the collection of anyone interested in Japanese philosophy, religion or martial arts. It is not often that three really good books get bundled together into one volume but to have three classics together is really extraordinary.

The reflections of a master swordsman, the advice of a proper old Samurai and the explanations of a well-traveled scholar fit together synergistically; they add up to much more than the sum of the parts. Although the writers were separated from each other in time, they are united in a coherent view of what constitutes proper conduct and honor. There is enough difference in their styles of expression to illuminate points that might otherwise be obscure and at the same time provide some interesting juxtapositions.

Those who are already familiar with one or more of the books contained in this volume will find that having all three of them together is a real plus. Each, on its own, is an important little book; the three of them together form an important big book.

I was so happy for Amazon's fast shipping. I have been eye-balling The Book of Five Rings for quite some time. I've been on a personal quest to understand the history and philosophy of the Samurai, but I confess to not having a lot of time to read any more. Most of my reading ends up being in an airport waiting for a flight. Needless to say, the last thing I need is a bunch of hardcover books to haul around.

I saw this volume and had to do a little Snoopy Dance. Not only did I finally get to read "The Book of Five Rings", but I went on and read "Hagakure" and "Bushido". I feel like I have a real understanding, or at least as much as someone from the West can have about the Samurai's philosophy and way of life. Kudos to Amazon for finding this gem.

I own about 450 books on India and Indian culture, so when I say this is one of my 2-3 favorite books on India (the other probably being Meeting God by Stephen Huyler), it truly says something about this book.

The Sari is beautiful to look at, and fascinating to read. It draws us into women's lives in a way that is enlightening, personal, and does not play to Western preconceptions.

A cross between social antropology and coffee-table book, this book appeals on many levels. It has a ring of truth, drawn from hundreds of interviews with Indian women about their lives and their attitude towards the clothes they wear. It sets these individual attitudes squarely in the cultural milieu in which they belong.

I hope that it gets the wide readership it deserves.

I really enjoyed Mukulika Banerjee's look into the beautiful but often complicated world of the sari. It provides a great deal of information on regional customs. I was disappointed that the book did not contian more photos.

Mukulika Bannerjee's book, while easily accessible to Westerners with little to no knowledge of Indian clothing customs, also goes in-depth about the many levels of nuance attached to a deceptively simple 6-yard piece of unsewn cloth. She delineates cultural sentiments about what colors and styles are appropriate for unmarried girls, the new bride, middle-aged mothers, and widows. Sections include explanations of the many fabric styles, from ethnic handloom cottons and silks to garish polyester synthetics, along with discussions on what sort of woman is likely to wear each, and for what occasion. Fascinating real-life vignettes feature all sorts of sari wearers, from Hindu to Muslim and from the poorest villager to Bollywood stars and political leaders like Indira Gandhi. The many stunning color photographs make this book a real delight to the eyes as well as a great source of information on a topic rarely covered in the West.

I have had a deep interest in Indian and Pakistani dress for four or five years. I own and wear several saris and shalwar kamiz, but didn't know much about their history or the nuances of dress; this book changed that for me. I was looking for a well illustrated coffee table book, but got that and much more! I could barely put it down from the moment it was delivered. Although there is a lot of detail, it is written in a way that is interesting and easy to read. I highly reccomend it!

Scars and Stripes by American idol Red McDaniel paints a vivid picture of his life's greatest struggle as a POW in the Vietnam conflict after his plane was shot down.
Scars and Stripes written by Red himself puts you in a world that only he could describe. The book is interesting and factual filled with many tragedies and accomplishments to keep you reading.
As a reader I could only find one minor fault. Towards the middle of the book when Red has been held prisoner for his second year, the description becomes dragged out. The action slows down a little too much. I say this not in the least to discourage you from reading. I would advise anyone who likes biographies or stories about true survival to read either rent or buy it.
Red McDaniel gives descriptions and accounts anyone would like to hear and is altogether a good read.

Scars and Stripes is the emotional story of Eugene McDaniel and his seven year emotional rollercoaster in Vietnamese prisoner of war camps. McDaniels served in the Navy during the Vietnam War (965-1972), was shot down while flying an A6A jet on May 19, 1967, crushed two vertebrates after falling forty feet out of a tree (p. 25), captured by compassionless Vietnamese (p. 35), imprisoned, tortured and finally released seven years later on March 4, 1973. The ful range of emotions shine through this book and I shall write a review by focusing on the emotions.

LOVE was felt by McDaniel and his family after his release from the Hanoi Hilton; "All the black hours [in prison]... were gone and we had the sweet reality of faith rewarded, of enduring love fulfilled" (p. 170). His DESIRE was to forgive "Spot", his jailor/torturer; "Looking at him... I felt only a desire to share with him the innter, deeper secrets of God and His never-ending care" (p. 167). And JOY filled the soul of McDaniel when he entered his warm house after leaving the cold prison in 1973; "When I walked into the house with my family... I suddenly was too overwhelmed to absorb it" (p. 170).

His HATRED for the Vietnamese guards was dissolved by prayers; "I had once hated them for what they were doing to me in torture... yet I felt the need to pray for them" (p. 132). DISGUST was felt daily in the camp since the bodily injuries were gross; "My eardrum had ruptured when they struck me across the head with my shoe and it too was oozing blood" (p. 124). SADNESS was always present in camp for the guards were regularly cruel; "Each time I would drop my arms after hours of holding them up, they would beat me around the shoulders with a bamboo stick" (p. 109).

HOPE came to McDaniel one day when, "at the height of my three-day torture, I heard church bells coming from somwhere in downtown Hanoi... It had given me hope" (p. 120). DESPAIR filled the camps since the guards could care less about the American prisoners; "One of them told me, 'I am here to give you rations and bury you when you die'" (p. 49).

There was plenty to FEAR at the Hanoi Hilton; the guards "would take a dog and torture it to death for the sheer pleasure of inflicting pain. It got to us, because we did not know how far that streak in them would carry over to us in the torture room" (p. 54). COURAGE was demanded of McDaniel every day;"I felt that Christ was able to do more in methan if I had counted only on my strength and courage" (p. 172). Finally, the reader cannot help but become ANGRY due to the inconsistencies and unreasonableness of the Vietnamese guards; "The guards kept inflicting wounds- but at the same time they made sure I had medicine so I would not die" (p. 131).

Understanding the story of McDaniel and the full range of emotions triggered by his traumatic prison experience will possibly bring a person to an appreciation of his own emotional life, of the brave military men and women and of the federal republic of the USA.

Wonderfull book! It tells the story of my friend "Red" McDaniel of him being in the infamous HANOI HILTON were he was beaten severely. In the book, he tells how he got through those years of pure Hell with the help of God. If you are religous, POW-MIA reader, or someone who just likes a good book, I recommend that you read this book, it will truely move you.

The story of Eugene "Red" McDaniel is not only about a prisoner of war in Vietnam, it is the story of a hero who defied the odds and overcame extreme adversity.

Eugene McDaniel was shot down in 1967 and spent 5 years in captivity in North Vietnam's Hanoi Hilton, Zoo, and Zoo Annex prison compounds. While imprisoned, he made very aggressive strides to keep secret communications going between the prisoners even though such communicating was prohibited. In continued defiance of his captors, he paid a dear price.

McDaniel had the unfortunate distinction of being one of the most viciously tortured prisoners of the Vietnam war. Methods used on him were sadistic and barbaric and leaves you wondering how his jailors could possible treat another human being in this manner.

In the most trying of times, when all hope was lost and despair was complete, McDaniel turned to faith and prayer in God and was lifted up from the depths he was in. McDaniel was a constant source of optimism and strength for his fellow prisoners during confinement.

This book, outstanding in its message of courage, perseverance, and inspiration, will leave you knowing that no matter how difficult things can become, faith in God will always see you through.

A magnificent book from start to finish and definitely recommended to everyone.

Burton Watson, recognised as one of the finest translators of our time, gives us a selection of poems by an illustrious Chinese poet who lived in the 11th century. Many of the poems refer to Su Tung-P'o's travels as a government official in China. The poems are remarkable for their descriptions of the landscape and for their clear, concrete detail. The poet often has a light, playful touch. The poems reveal Su Tung-P'o as a compassionate man who, even though he suffered hardship, had a cheerful temperament. He asks questions still relevant to us all. There are poems that are warm and tender - others that reveal the influence of Taoism - and others such as "Dipping water from the river and simmering tea" that are artistic and touching. Jan Hutchison.

This is a fine little volume of poetry by Su Tung-p'o, one of the great poets of Sung Dynasty China, translated with the usual virtuosity by Burton Watson. As usual, too, Watson knows how to be scholarly without being pedantic: his introduction is appropriately brief and to the point, outlining the poet's life and his poetics nicely and so giving readers enough background information without delaying them too much from the wonderful poems that follow. In the same way, enough footnotes are included to clarify and contextualize without overburdening the poems with a morass of prose.

Su has sort of helped Watson out on this, though, because his poems are for the most part very straightforward and accessible, appealing directly to our sensibilities. There is nothing so very convoluted or obscure about them that would require lots of annotation (in contrast, say, to poetry like that of Li He (as seen in Goddesses, Ghosts and Demons (Poetica)). This is not to say that Su's poems are shallow or simplistic. Far from it. They include within themselves depths and depths of feeling and insight by someone who was clearly moved by the world around him, someone who had seen his shares of life's ups and downs, someone who as a layperson practiced Buddhist meditation and fine-tuned his spirit thereby but who was far from adverse from inspiring himself with spirits of a more liquid nature. Indeed, the poems give every impression that this poet would've been a great guy to hang out with, perched somewhere on the ridge of some mountain temple, looking out over the landscape, sharing a few bottles of wine and a good laugh. In a way, the poems themselves travel over the centuries and give the reader just such an experience.

SELECTED POEMS OF SU TUNG-P'O : Translated from the Chinese by Burton Watson. 148 pp. Port Townsend, WA : Copper Canyon Press, 1994. ISBN 1-55659-064-4 (pbk.)

Burton Watson has always struck me as an eminently civilized scholar and as a fine translator. Unlike certain others, he wears his scholarship lightly, and doesn't overburden the text with extraneous matter. His many translations from Chinese and Japanese Literature are of uniformly high quality, and are well worth having as they are books one often wants to returns to.

The present book, after a typically brief but interesting and informative introduction which provides all we really need before diving into the poems, gives us translations of 105 of Su Tung-p'o's poems, lightly annotated and beautifully printed on spacious pages.

Su Tung-p'o is one of China's greatest poets, and Watson has outdone himself here. The wrapper includes a highly laudatory appreciation by Gary Snyder, and it's easy to see why. Watson has always been a brilliant translator, and a true artist with words, but in this book he has lifted himself into the ranks of the very best, and has produced translations indistinguishable in quality from those of Snyder himself.

Here, as an example of his marvelous control of tone, thought, feeling, image, rhythm, and sound, are the opening lines of poem 52 (with my obliques added to indicate line breaks) - 'Reading the Poetry of Meng Chiao' :

"Night : reading Meng Chiao's poems, / characters fine as cow's hair. / By the cold lamp, my eyes blur and swim. / Good passages I rarely find - / lone flowers poking up from the mud - / But more hard words than the Odes or Li Sao - / jumbled rocks clogging the clear stream, / making rapids too swift for poling. / My first impression is of eating little fishes. . . . " (p.70).

What we find here is what Burton Watson, in his 'Columbia Book of Chinese Poetry' (1984), has described as "a freshness and immediacy that is often quite miraculous" (p.3).

Not poems about airy notions and exalted abstractions, then, but poems describing events from daily life, poems recording the scenes of a journey, poems expressing grief, joy, boredom, or irritation as here, poems both serious and funny and by someone who is in many ways like ourselves.

Su Tung-p'o's is a wholesome poetry, a poetry that cleanses and refreshes the sensibility, and that translates us from the technoid madness of our own chaotic world to something more human and hence more nourishing. There's real food for the spirit in these poems. Watson has done them full justice. Sensitive readers would be unwise to pass them by.

The amazing thing about Su Tung-p'o is how modern he feels. Part of this is the translation by Burton Watson, but most of it is a reminder that the human condition has not changed a lot in 1000 years. We still miss our friends, marvel at the beauty of nature, feel the bittersweet loneliness of travel, and live in special moments. An excellent collection.

For anyone who has lived in Japan, there are way way too many books that attempt to explain away what we witnessed as severe problems via complex cultural blah-blah about the "Japanese exception."

The great value of this book is to explain the corruption and autocratic impulses as the product of a rather straightforward politican machine - there is nothing exceptional that offers anything of intrinsic value beyond understanding it for what it was: just a moment in time that a corrupt leader, Tanaka, was able to create a seat for himself at the center of power. As Schlesinger argues, with all that power, the great failure of Tanaka was that he did so little with it in terms of serving the public interest: instead, it just served him and his cronies. As such, now that the machine has been watered down, many needed reforms are far more difficult to implement (and the need for remedies, after decades of neglect, is worse than ever).

This is the product of a truly intelligent and thoughtful journalist. I knew him briefly in Japan, and was always impressed with his clear sightedness and willingness to question anything, in addition to his humor. It is a great pleasure to read this book and recognise the original mind that I knew.

Warmly recommended.

Concise and well written, it opens up postwar Japanese politics. Incredulous happenings! Maybe we should send some of our congressmen to Japan to check this out.-- Short shrift is given, however, to the all-pervading involvement with, and use of, the criminal organisations where the police seem powerless. Also, it should have photographs of the main actors to make it more three-dimensional.

This is a far better book than the more theoretical approach by Karel van Wolferen in 'The Enigma of Japanese Power'.
After reading this book there is no enigma anymore.

Jacob M. Schlesinger reveals extremely clearly how the Japanese system worked and who pulled the strings. He shows that Japanese politics in the last half of the 20th century was firmly controlled by four men, with Kakuei Tanaka as the most predominant tycoon.

Tanaka's tactics were very simple: use his home base as a platform for his political career by lavishy spending state money in his election district and by buying votes; use his financial clout to control the Japanese majority party; become still richer by corrupting the state bureaucracy, bid-rigging (200 % and more margin) and briberies (by private companies).

In fact, the author shows clearly that the whole system was controlled by a corrupt oligachy.
The men in power were not afraid of racket type interventions. One example: the ruling government proposed stiff taxes on automobiles. After the automobile industry paid heavy contributions to the party in charge, the bill was watered down.

This book is an exemplary analysis of a corrupt political system. Not to be missed.

Why has Japan changed its prime ministers with such frequency through much of the post-war period? Why did those prime ministers seem powerless to affect real change to the political system? "Shadow Shoguns" answers these questions by way of a brilliantly told story of the Liberal Democratic Party's most powerful political faction called the "gundan".

The story of the "gundan" - which means "army corps" -- is primarily the story of the man who created and ruled over it for much of the 70s and 80s, Kakuei Tanaka. Jacob Schlesinger spends more than half of "Shadow Shoguns" examining Tanaka's life, including his roots in the construction business, his entry into politics, how he made money work for him in consolidating political power, and finally, his fall from power.

Tanaka was a fascinating figure. In many ways he was a combination of LBJ and Boss Tweed. His appetite for power and money was huge, and his experience in the construction industry gave him the ability to amass both. Coming from one of the poorest prefectures in Japan, he fought hard to bring huge pork barrel construction projects back to his constituents, and they in turn gave him unflinching support even when he was charged with crimes and became a national symbol of corruption.

A scandal removed Tanaka from the prime minister's seat in 1974, but due to his constituents' support, it did not remove him from the parliament. From then until the mid-80s, Tanaka would be the power behind the throne, using money from construction projects to strengthen his faction, and his faction to strengthen his hold over national politics.

What finally removed Tanaka from his position as leader over Japan's most powerful faction was not angry voters, other factions or their political leaders, but his own underlings. Tanaka had attracted some of the most talented politicians in Japan to his faction, and handling those egos was a full-time job. After a stroke in 1985, Tanaka was unable to reassert his power, and three of his protégés (Shin Kanemaru, Noburu Takeshita, and Ichiro Ozawa) wrenched the faction away from him.

The final third of the book focuses on those protégés, their strengthening of the faction, and finally the fall of their machine as Japan's economy began to flounder. As Schlesinger tells it, the success of the faction was always predicated on continued strong economic growth. When the Japanese economy faltered throughout the early 1990s, so did the mechanism by which the "gundan" governed Japan.

This is a book that gives vivid life to a political system and to politicians many people find boring. Schlesinger shows that because Japan's most capable and interesting politicians operated out of the limelight for much of the last three decades, their story is a compelling one as well as the key to understanding the history of the modern Japanese political system.