A SENSE OF ASIA

by Sol Sanders ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1969

The author is a journalist long acquainted with Asia. In the first section, called ""The Asians,"" he offers such observations as ""The Indian lives in the present"" and ""A Japanese garden is nature recreated in microcosm,"" plus comments on nationalism, elitism and bureaucracy. The rest of the book is devoted to American-Asian relations. Analysis of preeminent involvements like Thailand and South Korea is wanting, but there is a review of U.S. ""naivete"" in Vietnam. Sanders met Diem, was told in 1964 by Lodge to forget politics--military victories were the thing. His view of the future is a politer version of President Johnson's ""yellow dwarves"" concept: masses rendered mentally deficient by near-starvation will arise ""like thugs from the slums"" unless the U.S., already ""playing a godlike role"" in Asia, accepts her peculiar qualifications as ""the revolutionary who can change Asia's destiny."" It's an Old Hand's mixture of exhortation, anecdote, and generalization, with more information and misinformation per ounce than other recent blends (e.g. White, Middleton) but rather overpriced.

Pub Date: April 1, 1969

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Scribners

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1969

Categories: NONFICTION