Overview
Ā
āA masterful bookĀ driven by deep research, new insights, and powerful storytelling.āāW. David Marx, author ofĀ Ametora: How Japan Saved American Style
Japan is the forge of the worldās fantasies: karaoke and the Walkman, manga and anime, Pac-Man and PokĆ©mon, online imageboards and emojis. But as Japan media veteran Matt Alt proves in this brilliant investigation, these novelties did more than entertain. They paved the way for our perplexing modern lives.
In the 1970s and ā80s, Japan seemed to exist in some near future, gliding on the superior technology of Sony and Toyota. Then a catastrophic 1990 stock-market crash ushered in the ālost decadesā of deep recession and social dysfunction. The end of the boom should have plunged Japan into irrelevance, but thatās precisely when its cultural clout soaredāwhen, once again, Japan got to the future a little ahead of the rest of us.
Hello Kitty, the Nintendo Entertainment System, and multimedia empires like Dragon Ball Z were more than marketing hits. Artfully packaged, dangerously cute, and dizzyingly fun, these products gave us new tools for coping with trying times. They also transformed us as we consumed themāconnecting as well as isolating us in new ways, opening vistas of imagination and pathways to revolution. Through the stories of an indelible group of artists, geniuses, and oddballs, Pure Invention reveals how Japanās pop-media complex remade global culture.
This book title, Pure Invention (How Japan Made the Modern World), ISBN: 9781984826718, by Matt Alt, published by Crown (June 22, 2021) is available in paperback. Our minimum order quantity is 25 copies. All standard bulk book orders ship FREE in the continental USA and delivered in 4-10 business days.
Unlike Amazon and other retailers who may also offer Pure Invention (How Japan Made the Modern World) books on their website, we specialize in large quantities and provide personal service, from trusted, experienced, friendly people in Portland, Oregon. We offer a Price Match Guarantee, and QuickQuote form, to make purchasing quick and easy.
Prefer to work with a human being when you order Pure Invention (How Japan Made the Modern World) books in bulk? Our Book Specialists are standing by Monday-Friday 8-5 PST, ready to help!