Ian Buruma, a British-Dutch writer and academic, frequently turns his keen intellect to the cultures of Asia, with a particular focus on 20th-century Japan, a place he called home for many years. His essays and books delve into the cultural specificities and historical underpinnings that shaped this region. Buruma masterfully unpacks the complexities of identity and cultural encounters with incisive analysis. His unique perspective offers readers a profound understanding of the dynamic interplay between East and West.
Ian Buruma examines the seven months (in Europe) and four months (in Asia) that followed surrender of the Axis powers, from the fate of Holocaust survivors liberated from the concentration camps, and the formation of the state of Israel, to the incipient civil war in China, and the allied occupation of Japan. If construction follows destruction, 'Year Zero' describes that extraordinary moment in between, when people faced the wreckage, full of despair, as well as great hope.
For centuries Westerners have projected fan-tasies of a decadent, voluptuous East in contrast to the puritanism of their own cultures. A Japanese theatrical troupe performing in his native Holland in 1971 exposed the young Ian Buruma to these temptations, and soon he was off to Tokyo, a would-be libertine. The essays collected in The Missionary and the Libertine chronicle Buruma's sobering discovery that Asians often have equally distorted visions of the West. In these humorous and enlightening essays, Buruma describes the last days of Hong Kong, the showbiz politics of the Philippines, the chauvinism of the Seoul Olympics, the sinister genius of Lee Kuan Yew, the intricacies of Japanese sexuality, and much more. His portraits of Benazir Bhutto, Imelda Marcos, Satyajit Ray, and Corazón Aquino are classics of the journalist's art. Buruma shows that the cultural gap between East and West is not as wide as either missionaries or libertines, in East or West, might think. At home in both worlds, he has provided a splendid counterblast to fashionable theories of clashing civilizations and uniquely Asian values. By stripping away our fantasies, Buruma reveals a world that is all too recognizably human.
Ian Buruma's moving and powerful story of his grandparents' enduring love through the terror and separation of two world wars, through the letters they wrote throughout their sixty-year marriage. Bernard was stationed in India as an army doctor, while Win struggled through wartime privation to hold her family together, including twelve Jewish children they had rescued from Nazi Germany.
Travel, politics and society all meet in this account of Chinese rebels, written by a leading authority on Asia.
Original research and new translations highlight a crucial era in the life and artistic journey of a renowned German Expressionist. The book features previously unpublished artworks that provide insight into the complexities and challenges faced by the artist during this significant period.
Discusses the legacy of World War II and the complicated and very different ways Germany and Japan have dealt with it.
'A Japanese Mirror is what the tourist who wants to see the real Japan - through the looking glass - should pack in his flight-bag.' TLS
A brilliant and insightful history of the special relationship between the UK and the USA, which Ian Buruma argues is now under threat with the election of Donald Trump and Brexit.
The pivotal year of 1945 serves as a backdrop for a transformative global history, detailing how nations rebuilt and redefined themselves after the devastation of World War II. The narrative explores the significant political, social, and economic changes that shaped the post-war landscape, highlighting key events and figures that influenced the emergence of a new world order. Through a comprehensive analysis, the book captures the complexities and challenges faced by countries as they navigated this critical period in history.
This stunning work of precision, intelligence and humanity is now available in paperback.