"Fifteen years after Toyota announced it would build a manufacturing plant in the heart of the Bluegrass, Kentucky crafts are being used to help sell Camrys at car dealerships in Japan and sushi and Japanese condiments are widely stocked on grocery shelves in a number of cities across Kentucky. In early 2000, the state boasted more than 100 Japanese companies representing a total investment of more than seven billion dollars, employing more than 33,000 Kentuckians. Japan in the Bluegrass is the first book to focus on the regional and local impact of the globalization of Japanese businesses, particularly Toyota, in the United States. Fourteen American and Japanese contributors include geographers, political scientists, sociologists, and an economist, urban planner, and environmental scientist, and their essays go beyond the traditional exploration of politics and economics to examine the social, cultural, and environmental effects of Japanese investment in Kentucky. The authors examine the factors that brought these companies to this part of the United States, which range from a well-developed system of highways to cooperation from state and local governments to hefty incentive packages. They discuss the significant influence of Toyota and its suppliers on local communities in Kentucky as well as in Toyota City, Japan. Essays also cover the social and cultural shifts that have resulted from Japanese investment, including educational activities in public schools, the relationship between business and local media, and the integration of Japanese managers and their families into Kentucky communities.

This new introductory textbook provides an integrated, up-to-date introduction to the lands, people, and cultures of the non-Western world. Through a cross-cultural and multi-disciplinary approach, the book focuses on critical issues of development, environment, and cultural conflicts facing most areas of the non-Western world. Areas covered include China, Japan, Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, and sub-Saharan Africa. Each chapter focuses on one of these regions, framing within historical context the issues of geography, socioeconomics, politics, culture, environment, human rights, and gender. Illustrations and sidebar boxes augment the text.

On December 26, 2004, a massive tsunami triggered by an underwater earthquake pummeled the coasts of Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and other countries along the Indian Ocean. With casualties as far away as Africa, the aftermath was overwhelming: ships could be spotted miles inland; cars floated in the ocean; legions of the unidentified dead -- an estimated 225,000 -- were buried in mass graves; relief organizations struggled to reach rural areas and provide adequate aid for survivors. Shortly after this disaster, researchers from around the world traveled to the region's most devastated areas, observing and documenting the tsunami's impact. The Indian Ocean Tsunami: The Global Response to a Natural Disaster offers the first analysis of the response and recovery effort. Editors Pradyumna P. Karan and S. Subbiah, employing an interdisciplinary approach, have assembled an international team of top geographers, geologists, anthropologists, and political scientists to study the environmental, economic, and political effects of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The volume includes chapters that address the tsunami's geo-environmental impact on coastal ecosystems and groundwater systems. Other chapters offer sociocultural perspectives on religious power relations in South India and suggest ways to improve government agencies' response systems for natural disasters. A clear and definitive analysis of the second deadliest natural disaster on record, The Indian Ocean Tsunami will be of interest to environmentalists and political scientists alike, as well as to planners and administrators of disaster-preparedness programs.

" Japan is one of the most crowded countries on earth, with three-fourths of its population now living in cities. Tokyo is easily the most populous city on the planet. And yet, though closely packed, its citizens dwell together in relative peace. In America, inner-city violence -- often attributed in part to overcrowding -- is frequently emphasized as one of the great social problems of the day. What might we learn from Japan's situation that could be applied to our own as we approach the twenty-first century? In this collection an interdisciplinary group of international scholars seek to understand and explain the process and characteristics shaping the modern Japanese city. With frequent comparisons to the American city, they consider such topics as urban landscapes, the quality of life in the suburbs, spatial mixing of social classes in the city, land use planning and control, environmental pollution, and images of the city in Japanese literature. The only book on the subject, The Japanese City surveys the important literature and highlights the current issues in urban studies. The numerous photographs, maps, tables, and graphs, combined with the high quality of the contributions, offer a comprehensive look at the contemporary Japanese city. Contributors: William Burton, David L. Callies, Roman Cybriwsky, Kuniko Fujita, Theodore J. Gilman, Richard Child Hill, P.P. Karan, Robert Kidder, Cotton Mather, and Kohei Okamoto.

" From the busy streets of Tokyo to the secluded shores of Kyushu, from the volcanoes of Hokkaido to the temples of Kyoto, the treasured landscapes of Japan are brought to life in this concise visual guide. Drawing upon years of observation, Cotton Mather, P.P. Karan, and Shigeru Iijima explore the complex interaction of culture, time, and space in the evolution of landscapes in Japan. The authors begin with a discussion of the landscape's general characteristics, including paucity of idle land, scarcity of level land, and its meticulous organization and immaculate nature. They then apply those characteristics to such favorite subjects as home gardens, sculpted plants, and flower arrangements, but also to more mundane matters such as roadside shoulders, utility lines, and walled urban areas. This unique blending of physical and social sciences with humanities perspectives offers a unified analysis of the Japanese landscape.

This new introductory textbook provides an integrated, up-to-date introduction to the lands, people, and cultures of the non-Western world. Through a cross-cultural and multi-disciplinary approach, the book focuses on critical issues of development, environment, and cultural conflicts facing most areas of the non-Western world. Areas covered include China, Japan, Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, and sub-Saharan Africa. Each chapter focuses on one of these regions, framing within historical context the issues of geography, socioeconomics, politics, culture, environment, human rights, and gender.