'The next Bill Bryson' (New York Times) explores international
relations past and present between three East Asian countries -
Japan, South Korea and China - in this lively, absorbing travelogue
'Two tigers cannot share the same mountain' - Chinese proverb
China, Korea and Japan are the neighbours who love to hate each
other. But why? Europe has forgiven Germany's war crimes, why can't
Japan's neighbours do likewise? To what extent do the ongoing
state-level disputes about island ownership, war history,
controversial shrines and statues, missile systems and military
escalation reflect how the people of these countries regard each
other? They have so much to gain from amicable relations, so why do
they seem to be doing their level best to keep the fires of hatred
burning? The Chinese, Koreans and Japanese are more than
neighbours, they are siblings from a Confucian family. They share
so much culturally, from this ancient philosophy with its
hierarchical, bureaucratic legacy, to rice-growing, art,
architecture, chopsticks, noodles and much more which has been
passed down from China over millennia. In turn, China has modelled
much of its recent industrial and economic strategy on Japan's
post-war manufacturing miracle, and adores contemporary Korean
popular culture. Yet still East Asia festers with a mutual
animosity which frequently threatens to draw the world into a
twenty-first-century war. In his previous international
best-seller, The Almost Nearly Perfect People, Michael Booth set
out to explore the Scandinavian tribes and what they think of each
other. In this new book, which blends popular anthropology,
history, politics and travel, the subjects are these Asian tigers
that have endured occupation, war and devastation to become among
the richest, most developed and powerful societies on Earth. In
this deeply researched, revealing book, he sets off on a journey by
car, boat, train and plane through all three countries, ending up
in a fourth, Taiwan. Here, he hopes to find a positive story but
instead discovers the Taiwanese are not merely in conflict with the
Chinese, but they also harbour another, less well-known but still
bitter grudge towards an East Asian neighbour.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!