{"product_id":"so-lovely-a-country-will-donald-keene-9780231151467","title":"So Lovely a Country Will Never Perish: Wartime Diaries of Japanese Writers","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe attack on Pearl Harbor, which precipitated the Greater East Asia War and its initial triumphs, aroused pride and a host of other emotions among the Japanese people. Yet the single year in which Japanese forces occupied territory from Alaska to Indonesia was followed by three years of terrible defeat. Nevertheless, until the shattering end of the war, many Japanese continued to believe in the invincibility of their country. But in the diaries of well-known writers including Nagai Kafu, Takami Jun, Yamada Futaru, and Hirabayashi Taiko--and the scholar Watanabe Kazuo, varying doubts were vividly, though privately, expressed. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDonald Keene, renowned scholar of Japan, selects from these diaries, some written by authors he knew well. Their revelations were sometimes poignant, sometimes shocking to Keene. Ito Sei's fervent patriotism and even claims of racial superiority stand in stark contrast to the soft-spoken, kindly man Keene knew. Weaving archival materials with personal recollections and the intimate accounts themselves, Keene reproduces the passions aroused during the war and the sharply contrasting reactions in the year following Japan's surrender. Whether detailed or fragmentary, these entries communicate the reality of false victory and all-too-real defeat.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Donald Keene\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0231151462\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780231151467\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Columbia University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/28\/2010\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 192\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.85lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.30h x 5.60w x 0.90d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/14\/2010 pg. 46\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 12\/01\/2010","brand":"Donald Keene","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":43946361913599,"sku":"9780231151467","price":24.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/products\/img_48356c05-f9f6-4053-8849-10e0c31bc0c3.jpg?v=1681512711","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/so-lovely-a-country-will-donald-keene-9780231151467","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}