Mishima: A Biography


John Nathan - 1974
    In 1970 he startled the world by stepping out onto a balcony in Tokyo before an assembly of troops and plunging a sword into his abdomen; a disciple then beheaded him, completing the ritual of hara-kiri. John Nathan's riveting biography traces the life of this tortured, nearly superhuman personality. Mishima survived a grotesque childhood, and subsequently his sadomasochistic impulses became manifest -- as did an increasing obsession with death as the supreme beauty. Nathan, who knew Mishima professionally and personally, interviewed family, colleagues, and friends to unmask the various -- often seemingly contradictory -- personae of the genius who felt called by "a glittering destiny no ordinary man would be permitted."

EarthBound (Legends of Localization #2)


Clyde Mandelin - 2016
    Get ready for hundreds of pages filled with surprising revelations, inside information, obscure trivia, and universal cosmic destruction. This legend of localization doesn’t stink!

Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace


Harold Bloom - 1987
    A collection of seven critical essays discussing Tolstoy's novel, arranged in chronological order of their original publication.

With Love


Rod McKuen - 1970
    

The Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories


Theodore W. Goossen - 1997
    Beginning with the first writings to assimilate and rework Western literary traditions, through the flourishing of the short story genre in the cosmopolitan atmosphere of the Taisho era, to the new breed of writers produced under the constraints of literary censorship, and the current writings reflecting the pitfalls and paradoxes of modern life, this anthology offers a stimulating survey of the development of the Japanese short story.Various indigenous traditions, in addition to those drawn from the West, recur throughout the stories: stories of the self, of the Water Trade (Tokyo's nightlife of geishas and prostitutes), of social comment, love and obsession, legends and fairytales. This collection includes the work of two Nobel prize-winners: Kawabata and Oe, the talented women writers Hirabayashi, Euchi, Okamoto, and Hayashi, together with the acclaimed Tanizaki, Mishima, and Murakami.The introduction by Theodore Goossen gives insight into these exotic and enigmatic, sometimes disturbing stories, derived from the lyrical roots of Japanese literature with its distinctive stress on atmosphere and beauty.

Sengoku Jidai. Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Ieyasu: Three Unifiers of Japan


Danny Chaplin - 2018
    Into this tumultuous age of constant warfare came three remarkable individuals: Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582), Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598), and Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616). Each would play a unique role in the re-unification of the disparate, fragmented collection of warring provinces which constituted Japan in the sixteenth and early seventeenth-centuries. This new narrative history of the sengoku era draws together the epic strands of their three stories for the first time. It offers a coherent survey of the Azuchi-Momoyama Period (1568-1600) under both Nobunaga and Hideyoshi, followed by the founding years of the Tokugawa shogunate (1600-1616). Every pivotal battle fought by each of these three hegemons is explored in depth from Okehazama (1560) and Nagashino (1575) to Sekigahara (1600) and the Two Sieges of Osaka Castle (1614-15). In addition, the political and administrative underpinnings of their rule is also examined, as well as the marginal role played by western foreigners ('nanban') and the Christian religion in early modern Japanese society. In its scope, the story of Japan's three unifiers ('the Fool', 'the Monkey', and 'the Old Badger') is a sweeping saga encompassing acts of unimaginable cruelty as well as feats of great samurai heroism which were venerated and written about long into the peaceful Edo/Tokugawa period.

New Penguin Parallel Text: Short Stories in Japanese


Michael EmmerichSueko Yoshida - 2011
     Here is the perfect introduction to contemporary Japanese fiction. Featuring many stories appearing in English for the first time, this collection, with parallel translations, offers students at all levels the opportunity to enjoy a wide range of contemporary literature without having to constantly consult a dictionary. Richly diverse in themes and styles, the stories are by well-known writers-like Haruki Murakami and Banana Yoshimoto-as well as by emerging voices. Complete with notes, these selections make excellent reading in either language.

My Dinner With André


Wallace Shawn - 1981
    Andre Gregory is an intense, highly experimental theater director and playwright in search of life's meanings and spiritual revelations. His friend, Wally Shawn, is an actor and playwright living in New York who is more preoccupied with the search for his next meal. As Andre recounts his global journeys involving esoteric theatrical experiments and mystical adventures, Wally listens with more than skepticism, as his attitudes shift among wonder, puzzlement, admiration, and anger. What finally emerges is a sensitive portrait of a friendship that survives and transcends contransting assumptions about love, death, art, and man's continuing quest for self-fulfillment.

Suspiria de Profundis and Other Writings


Thomas De Quincey - 2007
    Best known for his command of the psychological fantasy story, De Quincey produced stories of the curious and obscure, but always with the traditional Romantic emphasis on feeling. His masterwork, "Confessions of an English Opium Eater" (1821), stemmed from his own laudanum addiction, and was followed by "Suspiria de Profundis", a collection of essays which continued to capture the same dark brilliance as in "Confessions". The collection was originally published in fragmentary form, and remained unfinished upon De Quincey's death in 1859. This edition includes "The Affliction of Childhood," a reflection on the death of the author's two sisters in childhood, "Levana and our Ladies of Sorrow," one of his best-known works about the Roman goddess of childbirth, and "The English Mail-Coach," on the "grandeur and power" of the English mail-coach system.

Ivo Andric: Bridge Between East and West


Celia Hawkesworth - 1985
    The book covers the full range of his work, including verse, essays and reflective prose as well as fiction. Celia Hawkesworth also provides an account of Andric's life, and the cultural history of his native Bosnia.>The story of the vizier's elephant --The bridge on the Žepa --In the guest-house --Death in Sinan's tekke --The climbers --A letter from 1920 --The house on its own : introduction --Alipasha --A story --The damned yard

Hematology: Clinical Principles and Applications


Bernadette F. Rodak - 2002
    Hemostasis and coagulation theory, testing, and instrumentation are also thoroughly discussed. Beautiful full-color illustrations throughout the text enhance comprehension and allow students to realistically visualize hematology concepts.Detailed, full-color illustrations appear near hematology concept discussions to visually support comprehension and recognition.Opening Case Studies present real-life scenarios to apply concepts presented in each chapter.Learning Objectives and Review Questions work together to list expected outcomes and then test those concepts for each chapter.A Bulleted Summary highlights the key concepts at the end of each chapter.Hematology/Hemostasis Reference Ranges inside the front and back covers provide quick reference.Three new chapters detail significant information: An Overview of Clinical Laboratory Hematology, Hematology in Selected Populations, and Monitoring Anticoagulant Therapy.All chapters have been revised to feature the most current technology and research updates.The included Glossary of Terms and consistent pedagogy ensure a cohesive, effective tool for learning.Two well-respected editors contributed more significantly to this third edition: George Fritsma shared his expertise for the Hemostasis section and Kathy Doig managed the pedagogical features.

No-No Boy


John Okada - 1956
    He attended the University of Washington and Columbia University. He served in the US Army in World War II, wrote one novel and died of a heart attack at the age of 47. John Okada died in obscurity believing that Asian America had rejected his work. In this work, Okada gives the perspective of a no-no boy, a Japanese-American man who would neither denounce his Japanese heritage nor fight for the U.S. Army during WWII. This novel takes place after the main character spent two years in a Japanese internment camp, and two years in prison after saying no when asked to join the U.S. Army. Okada's novel No-No Boy shows the internal and external struggles fought by Japanese-Americans in that time period, be they no-no boys or not.

A Pale View of Hills


Kazuo Ishiguro - 1982
    Retreating into the past, she finds herself reliving one particular hot summer in Nagasaki, when she and her friends struggled to rebuild their lives after the war. But then as she recalls her strange friendship with Sachiko - a wealthy woman reduced to vagrancy - the memories take on a disturbing cast.

Haruki Murakami Goes to Meet Hayao Kawai


Hayao Kawai - 2016
    While their extended talk took place at a particular location at a particular moment in history, much of the content is timeless and universal. After popular acclaim in Japan, the transcript now makes its first appearance in English.Topics from the Contents: The Meaning of Commitment Words or Images? Making Stories Answering Logically versus Answering Compassionately Self-Healing and Novels Marriage and 'Well-digging' Curing and Living Stories and the Body The Relationship between a Work and its Author Individuality and Universality Violence and Expression Where are We Headed?

Unbeaten Tracks in Japan


Isabella Lucy Bird - 1885
    The Japan she describes is not the sentimental world of Madame Butterfly but a vibrant land of real people with a complex culture and hardscrabble lives.