| Chronicles of My Life: An American in the Heart of Japan Contributor(s): Keene, Donald (Author), Yamaguchi, Akira (Illustrator) |
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ISBN: 0231144415 ISBN-13: 9780231144414 Publisher: Columbia University Press OUR PRICE: $24.26 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: November 2009 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Biography & Autobiography | Personal Memoirs - History | Asia - Japan - History | Modern - 20th Century |
| Dewey: B |
| Physical Information: 0.5" H x 5.5" W x 8.2" (0.55 lbs) 208 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - Japanese |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: "I sometimes think that if, as the result of an accident, I were to lose my knowledge of Japanese, there would not be much left for me. Japanese, which at first had no connection with my ancestors, my literary tastes, or my awareness of myself as a person, has become the central element of my life." In this eloquent and wholly absorbing memoir, the renowned scholar Donald Keene shares more than half a century of his extraordinary adventures as a student of Japan. Keene begins with an account of his bittersweet childhood in New York; then he describes his initial encounters with Asia and Europe and the way in which World War II complicated that experience. He captures the sights, scents, and sounds of Japan as they first enveloped him, and talks of the unique travels and well-known intellectuals who later shaped the contours of his academic career. Keene traces the movement of his passions with delicacy and subtlety, deftly weaving his love for Japan into a larger narrative about identity and home and the circumstances that led a Westerner to find solace in a country on the opposite side of the world. Chronicles of My Life is not only a fascinating tale of two cultures colliding, but also a thrilling account of the emotions and experiences that connect us all, regardless of our individual origins. |