Bending Adversity, David Pilling
Bending Adversity, David Pilling
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Bending Adversity
Japan and the Art of Survival

Author: David Pilling

Narrator: Tim Andres Pabon

Unabridged: 14 hr 49 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Ascent Audio

Published: 04/01/2014


Synopsis

In Bending Adversity, Financial Times Asia editor David Pilling presents a fresh vision of Japan, drawing on his own deep experience, as well as observations from a cross section of Japanese citizenry, including novelist Haruki Murakami, former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi, industrialists and bankers, activists and artists, teenagers and octogenarians. Through their voices, Pilling captures the dynamism and diversity of contemporary Japan.

Pilling’s exploration begins with the 2011 triple disaster of earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown. His deep reporting reveals both Japan’s vulnerabilities and its resilience and pushes him to understand the country’s past through cycles of crisis and reconstruction. Japan’s survivalist mentality has carried it through tremendous hardship, but is also the source of great destruction: It was the nineteenth-century struggle to ward off colonial intent that resulted in Japan’s own imperial endeavor, culminating in the devastation of World War II. Even the postwar economic miracle—the manufacturing and commerce explosion that brought unprecedented economic growth and earned Japan international clout might have been a less pure victory than it seemed. In Bending Adversity Pilling questions what was lost in the country’s blind, aborted climb to #1. With the same rigor, he revisits 1990—the year the economic bubble burst, and the beginning of Japan’s “lost decades”—to ask if the turning point might be viewed differently. While financial struggle and national debt are a reality, post-growth Japan has also successfully maintained a stable standard of living and social cohesion. And while life has become less certain, opportunities—in particular for the young and for women—have diversified.

Still, Japan is in many ways a country in recovery, working to find a way forward after the events of 2011 and decades of slow growth. Bending Adversity closes with a reflection on what the 2012 reelection of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and his radical antideflation policy, might mean for Japan and its future. Informed throughout by the insights shared by Pilling’s many interview subjects, Bending Adversity rigorously engages with the social, spiritual, financial, and political life of Japan to create a more nuanced representation of the oft-misunderstood island nation and its people.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Daniel on December 27, 2021

Bending Adversity is a remarkable achievement. In combines quality on-the-ground journalism with synthesis of a wide range of secondary sources. The book is especially pleasant to read. I enjoyed the blend of first-person story-telling, interviews, and history. I'm hard-pressed to find anything wron......more

Goodreads review by Gavin on April 03, 2016

Any reader of Bending Adversity who has also read John Dower's Embracing Defeat will have a very hard time not comparing the two books. The titles share a structure and David Pilling makes several references to Dower's work. In the acknowledgements, he refers to Dower as his 'hero'. Unfortunately, t......more

Goodreads review by Patrick on July 28, 2015

Over the years I have read many books about Japan from foreign pundits, some good (classic books by old Japan hands such as Ian Buruma and Donald Richie among the best of those) and some not so good (TR Reid's Confucius Lives Next Door and Pico Iyer's The Lady and the Monk for example). Nonetheless,......more

Goodreads review by Brian on August 29, 2023

This is excellent journalism that weaves together decades of stories around one main insight. Pilling finds a theme in modern Japan, not so much of successful development but of perseverance in overcoming enormous disasters—earthquakes, tsunamis, nationwide devastation in war, “lost decades” of econ......more

Goodreads review by Joanka on November 16, 2017

3,5 stars It took me ages to read this book so that gives an impression it may not be very good. Which would be a lie – because it is. Pilling managed to present a very complex and detailed image of Japan, full of respect but he also doesn’t shy away from criticism. The book consists of several topics......more