Paradoxes aplenty within this serene, astute book, which will invite much discussion.
Three well-hewn essays by longtime Asia observer Smith (Japan: A Reinterpretation, 1997, etc.) explore the West’s heavy shadow over Japan, China and India, and new attempts to shake it off.
The author has trekked through these countries asking questions about what is “real” in their cultures and histories and what has been assumed from the West—or, what is often manifested as nostalgia for the old ways, and what emerges as ressentiment (“submerged sensation of impotence”) toward the forcibly new and modern. Since the 19th century, when modernization was introduced in these countries, the Asian self has divided, or “doubled,” into the modern self, which assimilated Western habits and notions of time, and the traditional, which treasured the indigenous and authentic. In “Calligraphy and Clocks,” Smith looks at the blatant effects of Westernization in places such as the village of Kitakyushu, Japan, transformed into a steel town by the postwar “Japanese miracle”; Guangzhou, China, the meeting between China’s past and future, where Deng Xiaoping is quoted as saying, “To get rich is glorious”; and Sandur, India (“the saddest village I have ever seen, though not the poorest by a long way”), where the textile manufacturing so valued by Gandhi has been superseded by mining. The Chinese elemental notions of li (the law of things) and qi (physical matter) have morphed into today’s driving concepts of ti (essence) and yong (function)—a transformation, writes Smith, that provides a key to understanding the Asian mindset. In “The Buddhas at Qixia,” the author examines each country’s manipulation of its past, including Japan’s alienation from nature and China’s amnesia of the Cultural Revolution. Finally, in “The Skyward Garden,” Smith challenges the Western obsession with a nation’s having a purpose, incompatible with Eastern ideals, and suggests rather that each country “will have to imagine itself anew.”
Paradoxes aplenty within this serene, astute book, which will invite much discussion.Pub Date: Aug. 31, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-375-42550-9
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Pantheon
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sharply different deconstruction of the prevailing orthodoxy, worthy of attention.
Leverett (International Affairs/Pennsylvania State Univ.; Inheriting Syria: Bashir's Trial by Fire, 2005) and his wife, Hillary, argue that, unless it changes, “the United States’ Iran policy is locked in a trajectory…that will ultimately lead to war.”
The authors take on what they identify as “a powerful mythology” that continues to influence U.S. policy toward the Islamic Republic—primarily, the proposition that because it is unpopular, the regime “is in imminent danger of being overthrown.” They offer an alternative to the prevailing view that Khomeini and his supporters hijacked the liberal revolution that began in 1978 and “betrayed the aspirations of those who actually carried out the campaign that deposed the shah.” The Leveretts take issue with American policymakers who propose that the U.S. should advocate the overthrow of the present regime in favor of liberal democracy. They believe in the possibility of negotiating with the present regime. The authors dispute the view that the mullahs have done nothing for the population and lack support, showing how literacy, health and medical care have been upgraded and the economy developed. They highlight present concerns about the Iranian nuclear program, which they claim are exaggerated. They identify the continuing influence of the neoconservatives, who brought about the second Iraq war, and “liberal internationalists,” who are ready to deploy military force in support of human rights. They believe that the time has come for an initiative like Nixon's visit to Beijing to begin a change in course.
A sharply different deconstruction of the prevailing orthodoxy, worthy of attention.Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-8050-9419-0
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Metropolitan/Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Oct. 6, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2012
Harari delivers yet another tour de force.
A highly instructive exploration of “current affairs and…the immediate future of human societies.”
Having produced an international bestseller about human origins (Sapiens, 2015, etc.) and avoided the sophomore jinx writing about our destiny (Homo Deus, 2017), Harari (History/Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem) proves that he has not lost his touch, casting a brilliantly insightful eye on today’s myriad crises, from Trump to terrorism, Brexit to big data. As the author emphasizes, “humans think in stories rather than in facts, numbers, or equations, and the simpler the story, the better. Every person, group, and nation has its own tales and myths.” Three grand stories once predicted the future. World War II eliminated the fascist story but stimulated communism for a few decades until its collapse. The liberal story—think democracy, free markets, and globalism—reigned supreme for a decade until the 20th-century nasties—dictators, populists, and nationalists—came back in style. They promote jingoism over international cooperation, vilify the opposition, demonize immigrants and rival nations, and then win elections. “A bit like the Soviet elites in the 1980s,” writes Harari, “liberals don’t understand how history deviates from its preordained course, and they lack an alternative prism through which to interpret reality.” The author certainly understands, and in 21 painfully astute essays, he delivers his take on where our increasingly “post-truth” world is headed. Human ingenuity, which enables us to control the outside world, may soon re-engineer our insides, extend life, and guide our thoughts. Science-fiction movies get the future wrong, if only because they have happy endings. Most readers will find Harari’s narrative deliciously reasonable, including his explanation of the stories (not actually true but rational) of those who elect dictators, populists, and nationalists. His remedies for wildly disruptive technology (biotech, infotech) and its consequences (climate change, mass unemployment) ring true, provided nations act with more good sense than they have shown throughout history.
Harari delivers yet another tour de force.Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-51217-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Spiegel & Grau
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
