{"product_id":"a-bridge-of-words-views-across-america-and-japan-9781611720785","title":"A Bridge of Words: Views across America and Japan","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eProlific, award-winning translator of classical and modern Japanese poetry Hiroaki Sato recorded his thoughts on American society in mainly two columns across 30-plus years, collected here for the first time.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis anthology of over 60 of Sato’s commentaries reflect the writer’s wide-ranging erudition and his unsentimental views of both his native Japan and his adopted American homeland. Broadly he looks at the Pacific War and its aftermath and at war (and our love of it) in general, at the quirks and curiosities of the natural world exhibited by birds and other creatures, at friends and mentors who surprised and inspired, and finally at other writers and their works, many of them familiar—the Beats and John Ashbery, for example, and Mishima—but many others whose introduction is welcome. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSato is neither cheerleader nor angry expatriate. Remarkably clear-eyed and engaged with American culture, he is in the business of critical appraisal and translation, of taking words seriously, and of observing how well others write and speak to convey their own truths and ambitions.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eJapan Times\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eMainichi Daily News \u003c\/i\u003ecolumnist, Hiroaki Sato, has left us with a thought provoking, educational and entertaining anthology of his columns, ranging from 1984 to 2017.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e—\u003cb\u003ePaul de Vries, Japan Forward\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"These pieces, most of which appeared originally as columns in the Mainichi Daily News and the Japan Times, have a conversational informality that allows for unexpected digressions and interjections. “I am prejudiced against golfing courses and golf courses,” he announces, and explains why. He quotes a scientist’s argument for limiting wild geese populations— “When you see geese, they’re eating or they’re defecating”— and immediately responds: “Isn’t that what we human beings do as well, too well?” The back and forth is continual, and continually energizing.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e—\u003cb\u003eGeoffrey O’Brien\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAuthor’s Note\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePart I: Wars \u0026amp; Consequences\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePart II: Birds and Animals\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePart III: Teachers and Friends\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePart IV: Talking about Books and Such\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Stone Bridge Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51359726240087,"sku":"9781611720785","price":16.19,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781611720785.jpg?v=1754125525","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/a-bridge-of-words-views-across-america-and-japan-9781611720785","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}