Advanced Search Request a Book

ORDERS

Readings Orders 0

DEMANDS

Readings Demands 0

Pure Invention: How Japan Made the Modern World
[Paperback - 2021]
matt alt
Out of Stock
Availability in 2-4 weeks on receipt of order
List Price: £12.99
Our Price: Rs.1395 Rs.1255
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.140
Category: Business
Sub-category: Business - General
Publisher: Constable Uk | ISBN: 9781472131850 | Pages: 368
Shipping Weight: .280 | Dimensions: null
Notify

Description

The untold story of how Japan became a cultural superpower through the fantastic inventions that captured--and transformed--the world's imagination, from karaoke and the Walkman to anime and emoji.During the "economic miracle" of the 1970s and 80s, Japan seemed to exist in some near future, soaring on the superior technology of Sony and Toyota while the West struggled to catch up. Then a catastrophic 1990 stock-market crash ushered in what the Japanese call their "lost decades." The end of the boom times should have plunged Japan into irrelevance. But inPure Invention, Matt Alt argues that's precisely when things got interesting--when once again, Japan got to the future a little ahead of the rest of us.Japan made itself rich after the Second World War by selling the world what it needed, in the form of better cars, appliances, and microprocessors. But it conquered hearts through wildly creative pop culture that responded to modern life in new ways. As social compacts and safety nets evaporated, in rushed a revolution of geeky gadgets, gizmos, and flights of fancy. Hello Kitty, the Nintendo Entertainment System, and illustrated entertainment empires likePokémonandDragon Ball Zwere more than marketing hits. They transformed Japan into the world's forge of fantasies, and they transformed us as we consumed them: karaoke making everyone a star, emoji rewriting the rules of human communication, virtual game-worlds offering escapes from reality and new perspectives on it.By turns a nostalgia trip and a secret history,Pure Inventionis the story of an indelible group of Japanese craftsmen, artists, businesspeople, geniuses, and oddballs. It is also an unsung chapter of globalization, in which Japanese dreams formed a new blueprint for global pop culture--and may have created the modern world as we know it.

About the Author

Matthew Alt is a writer, translator and reporter. He is the author of several illustrated books about Japan. His writing has appeared in the New Yorker, Wired, Slate, the Independent and the Japan Times. He is the co-host of the TV show Japanology Plus on NHK World. He lives in Japan.

Bestsellers in Business

View All
Who Moved My Cheese? An Amazing Way To Deal With Change In Your Work And In Your Life
[Paperback - 1999]
dr spencer johnson
In Stock
List Price: £8.99
Our Price: Rs.1295 Rs.1165
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.130
Principles: Life And Work
[Hardback - 2017]
ray dalio
In Stock
List Price: £30
Our Price: Rs.7795 Rs.7015
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.780
Tools Of Titans: The Tactics, Routines And Habits Of Billionaires, Icons And World-Class Performers
[Paperback - 2016]
timothy ferriss
In Stock
List Price: £25
Our Price: Rs.4095 Rs.3685
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.410
Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? How To Drive Your Career And Create A Remarkable Future
[Paperback - 2018]
seth godin
Out of Stock
Availability in 2-4 weeks on receipt of order
List Price: £9.99
Our Price: Rs.2195 Rs.1975
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.220
Atomic Habits: An Easy And Proven Way To Build Good Habits And Break Bad Ones
[Paperback - 2018]
james clear
In Stock
List Price: £17.99
Our Price: Rs.3895 Rs.3505
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.390
The Laws Of Human Nature
[Paperback - 2019]
robert greene
In Stock
List Price: $25
Our Price: Rs.4995 Rs.4495
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.500
The Wealth Of Nations
[Paperback - 2003]
adam smith
Out of Stock
Availability in 4-6 weeks on receipt of order
List Price: $9.99
Our Price: Rs.2445 Rs.2200
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.245
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores The Hidden Side Of Everything
[Paperback - 2009]
steven d. levitt
In Stock
List Price: £5.99
Our Price: Rs.1395 Rs.1255
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.140
Rich Dad Poor Dad: What The Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That The Poor And Middle Class Do Not!
[Paperback - 2017]
robert t. kiyosaki
In Stock
List Price: $8.99
Our Price: Rs.2295 Rs.2065
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.230
Chip War: The Fight For The World's Most Critical Technology
[Paperback - 2022]
chris miller
On Demand
Availability in 2-4 weeks on receipt of order
List Price: £14.99
Our Price: Rs.4195 Rs.3566
Standard Discount: 15%
You Save: Rs.629
The World For Sale: Money, Power And The Traders Who Barter The Earth's Resources
[Paperback - 2022]
javier blas
In Stock
List Price: £10.99
Our Price: Rs.2395 Rs.2155
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.240
How Big Things Get Done: The Surprising Factors Behind Every Successful Project, From Home Renovations To Space Exploration
[Paperback - 2023]
bent flyvbjerg
Out of Stock
Availability in 2-4 weeks on receipt of order
List Price: £16.99
Our Price: Rs.3845 Rs.3460
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.385