Japan's Big Bang: The Deregulation and Revitalizatiion of the Japanese Economy

Book Description

Having spent nearly a decade in recession, the restructured Japanese economy is slowly beginning to grow again, and its systemic reforms are being put to the test. Now journalist and commentator Declan Hayes examines the fall and rise of Japan's economic infrastructure, starting with the giddy and elusive bubble economy that ultimately sapped the country and other Asian neighbors dry. Hayes explores the Western influence on Japan's economic crash, as well as its own faulty use of loans and credit lines secured with vastly over-valued real estate, and other contributors to its financial failures. From there he looks at today's Japan, restructuring its economy in accord with American and World Bank dicta, and dealing with the profound social changes necessary to recapture its economic momentum and ensure its continuing dominance as an economic superpower.

Customer Reviews:

As I am the author.......2005-10-02

I have to rate it highly. It was a good, well written book looking at the aftermath of the Bubble and the proposed Big Bang reforms. Unlike earlier books written when Japan was outperforming all its competitors, it did not stand in shock, awe and wonder at Japan Inc but instead painted its strengths and many weaknesses. Although controversial, none of the many facts it outlines can be seriously queried.
Because the Japanese game, as Gillian Tett's book, PM Koizumi's reform plans and Carlos Ghosn's epxerience, has, in many ways moved on, this book is probably now most useful as a historical summary of what drove Japan into its current round of reforms.

An important but difficult read.......2004-03-21

This is a detailed book. Almost too detailed. As a Professor of International Business in Tokyo's Sophia University the author is in a prime position to detail the woes of the Japanese financial system. And maybe that's where the problem with this book lies. He is a professor and not a writer. His insistence on using the expression "Big Bang" started to become a little annoying.

His main emphasis is to point the finger at the Ministry of Finance, the government department which is supposed monitor the economy, regulate the banks and other duties as well. But the Bank of Japan, Tokyo University, private banks, gangsters, construction companies and everyone else are included where necessary.

But the main problem with the book is that it is fairly technical and dry. As I am not an economics student, I had trouble understanding a lot of the financial terms and expressions used through out the book. There is little in the way of explanations or a glossary or index for the average reader to use.

For the parts that I could follow, it paints a dire picture of the continuing Japanese economic malaise. Even though the book is a few years old now, the indications presented in the book and the remedies are still valid today because reform in Japan is a slow moving beast.

straight talker indeed.......2003-05-01

Prof. Hayes is a well-known Tokyo-based commentator and financial expert. He is especially well-known for his straight talkimg, without being beholden to ideology, vested interests or other unseen affiliations that so often cloud the analysis and the work of others in business, finance and economics. He is very effective in dismissing the cultural argument as a reason for Japan's economic misery. That indeed is a fundamental point: financial disasters (though perhaps of smaller proportions) have happened before in other countries, and the causes were not cultural then... The book should be titled slightly differently, as those that expect detailed coverage of the big Bang reforms may be disappointed - but then again, those reforms can be listed up pretty quickly by anyone doing a 15 minute search on the internet. Hayes' value added is in the incisive analysis. That the book is highly readable and indeed very entertaining goes without saying for this author.

misleading title but an excellent book.......2000-10-22

I agree with the positive reviews of the previous posters. This book is incisive, penatrating, well written and Prof. Hayes has a solid grasp on his topic and has made it accessible to non-bankers and non-finance experts. But it should be pointed out that this book is NOT about the Big Bang. All you'll get about that in this book are phrases like "The Big bang will..." or "The Big Bang should..." or "The Big Bang ought to..." and mostly just in passing . Despite the fact that this book was published in 2000 its information seems to be current as of the third quarter of 1998. What this book does do and does very well is explain just how the Japanese economy got into the mess it is in and he answers the question of just how the world's largest banks and insurance companies managed to lose $700 billion by investing in real estate. And he lays the blame clearly at the feet of the Ministry of Finance's largely incompetant mandarins and the directors of Japan's banks who thought they could dominate global finance using the same tactics Toyota and Sony used to dominate the automobile and consumer electronics industries.

Straight shooter.......2000-09-13

When I saw that the Yomiuri had rubbished this book I knew it had to be good. I have previously used their feelance reviewer Scott Gordon as a counter barometer and he has yet to fail me. Gordon accuses Hayes of being a Japan basher (the old refrain on anyone who doesn't use Bridgestone's faulty tyres of Mitsubishi's faulty cars). The fact is that Japan's bust was the biggest in financial history, Japan's financial institutions are primitive and there is nothing magical in anything of that. Pathetic hacks like Gordon who hide behind the cultural argument - Japan's culture is different and therefore we should not use normal international metrics to judge her - have had their day. Japan tries to compete internationally. Hayes shows the myriad of handicaps she labors under - and he did this before the lateest scandals cropped up. Given what he has said in his book, the Mitsubishi and Bridgestone sagas are entirely predictable - as are the tirades of Gordon and other sad souls. A good, inforamtive and well written book.

Book Description

"We expect law to get to the bottom of things. But if you ask lawyers, Does law get to the bottom of things?' they'll laugh. Lawyers watch other lawyers steal, lawyers watch other lawyers lie all the time." This exchange between lawyers in Lawyerland is true. Names have been changed, but as the author says, his book remains truthful rather than factual, filled with flagrant remarks and unsettling confessions of aberrant behavior and compromised morals. In America's crime-obsessed, law-obsessed society, this series of brilliant, searing, probing dialogues delivers a seldom-seen side of the law--the lawyers' perspectives. The conversations recounted in Lawyerland represent the whole spectrum of law--criminal, medical malpractice, employee relations, corporate finance, real-estate--and a range of ethnicities and genders. These lawyers are literate, articulate, and self-aware. They are masters of contradiction and rebuttal who have learned to navigate in an increasingly chaotic justice system. Lawyerland is sure to engross lawyers and non-lawyers alike--in fact, all who are fascinated by the complexities of our legal system.
Rave reviews and extensive press coverage for the hardcover edition.
Should appeal to a large audience of lawyers and would-be lawyers.

Customer Reviews:

Not Worth My Time.......2001-11-06

The subtitle should have been "What Lawyers Sometimes Talk
About When They Indulge in Aimless Chatter".
Knowing a fair amount about lawyers and law, I was anxious to
read the book, but I kept waiting for the informative parts;
up until about halfway.

Maybe the author quit interviewing lawyers and threw what he had
together to make a deadline for a promised 225 pages.
And maybe he was more interested in being literary than
informative. But in my considered opinion, the book was a waste
of my time, and would be so for most others. There are other
books about the realities of law, and in my opinion, any would
likely be a better choice.

This book could be edited from 225 pages to 100 without any
important loss to the reader. And those remaining 100 pages
would be of marginal value. The ubiquitous and gratuitous
descriptions of minutiae are maddening to someone with things
to do.

What was also disturbing to me was how many positive quotations
by readers were secured. Am I in a parallel universe, or is
there a system of mutual backscratching pervading the publishing
industry ?
Maybe there is automatic deference for a law professor.

I put myself at risk of legal harassment by writing this, but our
battered standards need some resuscitation in myriad ways.
Decide for yourself; read it at the risk of feeling betrayed.

Brings Studs Terkel and "Working" to mind........2000-06-09

What do you call a busload of lawyers plunging into a deep ocean from a high cliff?

A good start.

We've all heard the lawyer jokes. We've read the John Grisham novels, heard the horror stories about massive bills and dirty cheats, and tuned into the high-profile court cases on TV. (Remember OJ?)

We know how we feel about lawyers: They're high-priced ambulance chasers who are only out for themselves and money. They're slime. Right?

Author Lawrence Joseph takes a different approach with his 1997 nonfiction work "Lawyerland." He shows what the slime think of us.

"They all watch their lawyer TV shows, read these sh---y legal thrillers, like it's one big, suspenseful, meaningful endeavor," railes C. Oliver Robinson, one of the legal eagles interviewed in the book. "They hate lawyers more than anyone else in the world- but law? Law! They love the f-----g law! You see it in jurors' faces- even the most sophisticated and street smart. They're not only intrigued- they're impressed. Reasonable doubt- they go f------g bananas! Just say the words and their eyes change."

With "Lawyerland," Joseph takes the path created by Studs Terkel with "Working," the 1972 book in which Terkel intereviewed people in a number of different careers- the school teacher, the steel worker, the drugstore owner, etc.

In "Lawyerland," the result is a gritty, profanity-filled reality work that cuts deep into the heart of many aspects of the legal system. As the subtitle states, this is "What Lawyers Really Talk About When They Talk about Law."

Joseph interviews criminal justice lawyers, tax attorneys, judges, corporate deal makers and personal injury lawyers. And in a genius move, he simply sits back and lets them gab.

Boy, do they talk. They talk about everything under the sun- law and the morality (or lack thereof) within, rival firms, old associates, one-eyed monks, medical malpractice, the fact that Alexander Hamilton and assassin Aaron Burr (got milk?) were both lawyers, how to spot a lawyer in street clothes while riding the subway, and Herman Melville's leagal tale "Bartleby the Scrivener."

The conversations are fast and furious, filled with banter amongst colleagues or rivals, and thoughts on the profession.

What makes "Lawyerland" so hard-hitting and mesmerizing, however, is that these are real people, with real names, like Urquart and Voorhees. This is real life, and Joseph doesn't shy away, even if the result is rarely pretty.

What do you call a nonfiction piece that reveals law from a lawyer's prespective, sin and all?

A very good start, indeed.

Superb, searing portrait of lawyers and the human condition.......1999-09-12

Written in the tradition of Camus's "The Fall," this truth-telling novel brings the reader face-to-face with the angst, anger, and moral ambiguities that pervade lives lived in the shadow of the legal system. Beautifully and compellingly written; a stunning achievement

Lawyerland: What Lawyers Talk About When They Talk About Law

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My Old Pan Disappeared
Lawyers will completely identify with this book's subjects
New insights?
A phenomenon--a lawyer's eye and a poet's voice

Lawyerland: What Lawyers Talk About When They Talk About Law
Lawrence Joseph
Manufacturer: Farrar Straus & Giroux (T)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0374184178

Amazon.com

Lawyer, law professor, and published poet Lawrence Joseph has an uncanny ear for dialogue, and in Lawyerland he reproduces conversations he's had with attorneys practicing in New York City. His unorthodox technique involves extensive and lively quotation that reads at times like a Mamet play, and Joseph readily admits, quoting the late New Yorker writer Joseph Mitchell, that the book is "truthful rather than factual, but solidly based on facts." Names and some factual details have been changed, but the interview subjects relate their stories and do provide the gritty texture of how these lawyers view themselves and their insular world. In eight separate chapters, each devoted to a practitioner of a specific legal specialty, Joseph presents the people who keep the system working in all their profane, cynical, and exuberant glory.

Customer Reviews:

My Old Pan Disappeared.......2005-08-08

My previous review remained on this site for years,
then disappeared for some unknown reason.

Let me restate that the book is worse than junk !

Lawyers will completely identify with this book's subjects.......2002-04-05

I can't really understand others' criticism of this rather fine book. As a current law student, it was a breath of fresh air to hear members of my future profession discuss their work in the context of everyday practice. The author has made no claim that this book will teach laymen anything about the law or the specifics of how it is practiced. It is simply a collection of insights related to the lifestyle which accompanies a career in the legal profession. For those of us soon to tread those waters, I highly recommend it.

New insights?.......2000-08-16

I have just finished Lawyerland and have only one comment: IT'S JUNK! I have learned absolutely nothing new about New York lawyers, except that the drivel from their mouths rivals only that of Eddie Murphy live on stage. Apparently foul language is an everyday thing in New York but to be used by supposedly educated men and women is a turn-off. Furthermore, the rambling "stream of conciousness" blather of several of the interviewees was a joke! I don't know how the literary critics could have recommended this book to the general public. Unless the ulterior motive was to show the reader that lawyers are actually WORSE characters than we perceive them to be. As if that were possible. I will henceforth do my best to persuade anyone who asks for my opinion on this book to bypass it.

A phenomenon--a lawyer's eye and a poet's voice.......1997-06-05

The Amazon synopsis is right on. You may not like the people you meet here (Phoebe-Lou obviously didn't, I found them a more mixed crew) but you learn a great deal about the law when you learn the attitudes and dispositions of those who tend the machine. True, Lawyerland won't help you write your own will ("one does not learn anything definite about the law")--but then, that's not the point. The genre is unique--truthful, not factual--and the writing is wonderful

Book Description

Conventional agriculture has attempted to exploit arable land by applying chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and irrigation water. These practices become increasingly tenuous as they exhaust our supplies of fossil fuels, deplete aquifers and raise concerns about the safety of food and the overall effect of agriculture on the quality of rural life.

The contributors to this volume believe that instead of changing the environment, we can change the adaptation of the plants that we grow in it. Genetic improvement of crop plants for stress conditions and for less favorable environments is a cost-effective way to develop future sustainable agricultural systems. There area number of favorable genetic traits that can be incorporated into crop plants, thus making them more hardy and more productive.

Eighteen noted researchers currently working in plant breeding and related fields bring together the best thinking about achieving crop improvement—especially the development of new genetic combina-tions—to create a sustainable agriculture.

Mutations, in vitro and Molecular Techniques for Environmentally Sustainable Crop Improvement

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Mutations, in vitro and Molecular Techniques for Environmentally Sustainable Crop Improvement

Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1402006020

Book Description

This publication contains the results of an FAO/IAEA Co-ordinated Research Project (CRP) on Radiation Induced Mutations and Other Advanced Technologies for the Production of Crop Mutants Suitable for Environmentally Sustainable Agriculture. Induced mutation techniques and other biotechnological approaches are major tools for creating variability and selection of stress-resistant or tolerant genotypes. Additionally, scientists have become intensely interested in mutations as a means to widen and deepen our understanding of genome structure and gene function.

Impacts of food crop improvement research in Africa (SPAAR Occasional Papers Series, No. 1)

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Impacts of food crop improvement research in Africa (SPAAR Occasional Papers Series, No. 1)
Mywish K Maredia
Manufacturer: Special Program for African Agricultural Research
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0006R4BHU

Book Description

The series of review articles presented in this book summarizes the recent state of the art in lipid research in a comprehensive way. The authors provide a general overview of this field and draw the reader’s attention to the most recent investigation. Biochemical, cell biological and biophysical aspects of the four major groups of lipids in eukaryotic cells, namely glycerophospholipids, sterols, sphingolipids and storage lipids, are reported and discussed. The experimental systems addressed are mammalian, plant and yeast cells as the most prominent and currently best studied systems in lipid biochemistry, cell and molecular biology.

Book Description

A unique introductory text on quantum mechanics, from basic principles to historical perspective.
* Includes description of the historical developments that led to the discovery of QM, often left out of other textbooks.
* Emphasizes basic concepts that were essential in this discovery, placing them in context and making them more understandable to students.
* Written in an easy-to-understand style and assuming no prior knowledge of the topic, this book provides a solid foundation for future study of quantum chemistry.
* Includes problem sets for student use.

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Book Description

The advent of lasers in the 1960s led to the development of many new fields in optical physics. This book is a systematic treatment of one of these fields--the broad area that deals with the coherence and fluctuation of light. The authors begin with a review of probability theory and random processes, and follow this with a thorough discussion of optical coherence theory within the framework of classical optics. They next treat the theory of photoelectric detection of light and photoelectric correlation. They then discuss in some detail quantum systems and effects. The book closes with two chapters devoted to laser theory and one on the quantum theory of nonlinear optics. The sound introduction to coherence theory and the quantum nature of light and the chapter-end exercises will appeal to graduate students and newcomers to the field. Researchers will find much of interest in the new results on coherence-induced spectral line shifts, nonclassical states of light, higher-order squeezing, and quantum effects of down-conversion. Written by two of the world's most highly regarded optical physicists, this book is required reading of all physicists and engineers working in optics.

Customer Reviews:

Very well writen book on Quantum Optics.......2002-01-14

This book is a self contained one on Quantum Optics. It gives systematic treatment of nearly very aspects of this field, good mathematical description of some methods and idea and even some historical developments of the topics. Though it seems a huge volume, it is really worth reading for EVERY beginner in this field. With this book, one does not need to look for other references to understand the topics.

A good reference for quantum optics research.......2000-03-31

This book is like an encyclopedia of quantum optics. Its a good book to have on your shelf as a reference but to learn the subject, its a little overwhelming.

Quantum Theory of Optical Coherence: Selected Papers and Lectures

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Outstanding Achievement

Quantum Theory of Optical Coherence: Selected Papers and Lectures
Roy J. Glauber
Manufacturer: Wiley-VCH
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 3527406875

Book Description

A summary of the pioneering work of Glauber in the field of optical coherence phenomena and photon statistics, this book describes the fundamental ideas of modern quantum optics and photonics in a tutorial style. It is thus not only intended as a reference for researchers in the field, but also to give graduate students an insight into the basic theories of the field.

Written by the Nobel Laureate himself, the concepts described in this book have formed the basis for three further Nobel Prizes in Physics within the last decade.

Customer Reviews:

Outstanding Achievement.......2007-06-06

This is an outstanding book and my only complaint is Prof. Glauber did not produce it earlier. With respect to to his earlier papers from the 60's, they have been put in the context of today's terminology making them easy to read. The other aspects of the book fill a gap which is unfortunately missing in the quantum optics litertaure, or al least difficult to find in one place. The field of quantum theory in optical coherence is an important area of optics which does not receive, in my opinion, sufficient attention. This is particularly true in biomedical optics. This book has been badly needed.

Quantum Interference and Coherence: Theory and Experiments (Springer Series in Optical Sciences)

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Quantum Interference and Coherence: Theory and Experiments (Springer Series in Optical Sciences)
Zbigniew Ficek , and Stuart Swain
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0387229655

Book Description

This book brings together and discusses for the first time detailed analyses of the experiments with trapped ions, experiments on quantum beats, coherent population trapping, electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT), electromagnetically induced absorption, creation of dark-states polaritons, subluminal and superluminal light, realization of a Fock state, and interference experiments in atom optics on atom grating, momentum distribution, and atom tunneling. This book is unique in many respects and will fill a gap in the literature.

Laser Physics and Applications: Laser Fundamentals (Landolt-Bornstein: Numerical Data and Functional Relationships in Science and Technology - New Series)

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Laser Physics and Applications: Laser Fundamentals (Landolt-Bornstein: Numerical Data and Functional Relationships in Science and Technology - New Series)

Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

The three volumes VIII/1A, B, C document the state of the art of "Laser Physics and Applications". Scientific trends and related technological aspects are considered by compiling results and conclusions from phenomenology, observation and experiments. Reliable data, physical fundamentals and detailed references are presented.

In the recent decades the laser source matured to an universal tool common to scientific research as well as to industrial use. Today the main technical goal is the generation of optical power towards shorter wavelengths, shorter pulses, higher efficiency and higher power for applications in science and industry. Tailoring the optical energy in wavelength, space and time is a requirement for the investigation of laser-induced processes, i.e. excitation, non-linear amplification, storage of optical energy, etc. According to the actual trends in laser research and development, Vol. VIII/1 is split into three parts: Vol. VIII/1A with its two subvolumes 1A1 and 1A2 covers laser fundamentals, Vol. VIII/1B deals with laser systems and Vol. VIII/1C gives an overview on laser applications.

Customer Reviews:

"The God of Love his eyes upon me cast ...".......2004-03-08

This review relates to the volume -Geoffrey Chaucer:
Love Visions/The Book of the Duchess; The House of
Fame; The Parliament of Birds; The Legend of Good
Women-, Penguin Classics, Translated with an Introduction
and Notes by Brian Stone. 1983. 262 pp.
This volume is a modern English translation of Geoffrey
Chaucer's four "love visions." As Brian Stone says in
the Introduction: "The four long poems presented in
translation span nearly the whole of Chaucer's working
life. *** Chaucer was the fourteenth-century [Middle]
English poet who, basing his work on that of his French
and Italian peers and also, like them, on the work of
the classical and late Latin poets, created highly
original narrative poems, with a skill in story-telling
in which he equalled , if not surpassed his masters.
Ovid, whose outlook on women and sense of the great
variety of life including the absurd, make him of the
ancients most akin to Chaucer, may beat him for
sensuousness and richness of detail, and Virgil and
Dante for high seriousness and epic scope, but Chaucer
offers a subtle humour which enhances the seriousness
and complexity of what he has to say, as well as a
kaleidoscopic range of tone and subject matter."
Each of the four poems has an excellent Introduction.
The four poems are: "The Book of the Duchess"; "The
Book of Fame" (which is subdivded into 3 Books); "The
Parliament of Birds [Fowles]" (the shortest of the
poems); and "The Legend of Good Women", which has
a Prologue; then meeting of Chaucer with an angry
God Of Love who threatens to take revenge on Chaucer
for writing poorly about the powers of Love, and
causing wise people to withdraw from Love's rule,
thinking that "a person is a perfect fool/Who loves
intensely with a burning fire." Then Queen
Alcestis intervenes on Chaucer's behalf and tells
the God of Love to be "more reasonable" (a lovely
bit of irony). Chaucer has offended the God of

Book Description

In this study, Norman Klassen shows how Chaucer explores the complexity of the relationship between love and knowledge through recourse to the motif of sight. The convention of love at first sight involves love, knowledge, and sight, but insists that the claims of love and the realm of the rational are in strict opposition. In the metaphysical tradition, however, the relationship between love, knowledge and sight is more complex, manifesting both qualities of opposition and of symbiosis, similar to that found in late medieval natural philosophy. The author argues that Chaucer is unorthodox in exploiting the possibilities for using sight both to express emotional experience and to accentuate rationality at the same time. The conventional opposition of love and knowledge in the phenomenon of love at first sight gives way in Chaucer's development of love, knowledge, and sight to a symbiosis in his love poetry. The complexity of this relationship draws attention to his own role as artificer, as one who in the process of articulating the effects of love at first sight cannot help but bring together love and knowledge in ways not anticipated by the conventions of love poetry.NORMAN KLASSENis a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada postdoctorial fellow at the Centre for Medieval Studies and the Department of English Language and Literature at the University of Minnesota.

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Love Visions
Geoffrey Chaucer
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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