The untold story of how Japan became a cultural superpower through the fantastic inventions that captured—and transformed—the world’s imagination.“A masterful book driven by deep research, new insights, and powerful storytelling.”—W. David Marx, author of Ametora: How Japan Saved American StyleJapan is the forge of the world’s fantasies: karaoke and the Walkman, manga and anime, Pac-Man and Pokémon, online imageboards and emojis. B...

Ninja Attack! introduces dozens of unforgettable real-life ninja straight out of the annals of Japanese history—many of whom are all but unknown outside their home country.Ninja masters. Solo assassins and operatives. Femme fatales as deadly as they were beautiful. Swordfighters out of legend. And the Shogun and warlords who commanded them. Each individual in this graphic novel is profiled with a full-page manga-style drawing and a dossier brimming with to...

'Amazingly well researched, fabulously informative and an awful lot of fun. If you love Japanese culture or are just curious to know more I can't recommend this book highly enough' Jonathan Ross'A nerd- and generalist-friendly look at how Japan shaped the post-World War II world, from toys to Trump . . . A non-native's savvy study of Japan's wide influence in ways both subtle and profound' KirkusThe Walkman. Karaoke. Pikachu. Pac-M...

Yokai Attack! is a nightmare-inducing one-stop guide to Japan's traditional monsters and creepy-crawlies.Yokai are ethereal sorts of beings, like ghosts, nearly always encountered at night; everyone has their own take on how they might look in real life and what sorts of specific characteristics and abilities they might have. This book is the result of long hours spent poring over data and descriptions from a variety of sources, including microfilms of eig...

Yurei Attack! is a nightmare-inducing one-stop guide to Japan's traditional ghosts and spirits.Surviving encounters with angry ghosts and sexy spectres. Haunted places. Dangerous games and how to play them. And more importantly, a guided tour of what awaits in the world of the dead.Yurei is the Japanese word for "ghost." It's as simple as that. They are the souls of dead people, unable—or unwilling—to shuffle off this mortal coil. Yurei are many th...

The untold story of how Japan became a cultural superpower through the fantastic inventions that captured—and transformed—the world’s imagination.“A masterful book driven by deep research, new insights, and powerful storytelling.”—W. David Marx, author of Ametora: How Japan Saved American StyleJapan is the forge of the world’s fantasies: karaoke and the Walkman, manga and anime, Pac-Man and Pokémon, online imageboards and emojis. B...

'Amazingly well researched, fabulously informative and an awful lot of fun. If you love Japanese culture or are just curious to know more I can't recommend this book highly enough' Jonathan Ross'A nerd- and generalist-friendly look at how Japan shaped the post-World War II world, from toys to Trump . . . A non-native's savvy study of Japan's wide influence in ways both subtle and profound' KirkusThe Walkman. Karaoke. Pikachu. Pac-M...

This fascinating history tells the story of the people of Japan, from ancient teenage priest-queens to teeming hordes of salarymen, a nation that once sought to conquer China, yet also shut itself away for two centuries in self-imposed seclusion.First revealed to Westerners in the chronicles of Marco Polo, Japan was a legendary faraway land defended by a fearsome Kamikaze storm and ruled by a divine sovereign. It was the terminus of the Silk Road, the furthest end ...

WATCH THE ANIMATED SERIES ON APPLE TV+#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A GOODREADS CHOICE AWARD WINNER FOR HUMORStraight from the mind of #1 New York Times bestselling author of NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette and 99 Stories I Could Tell Nathan W. Pyle, Strange Planet is an adorable and profound universe in pink, blue, green, and purple, based on the phenomenally popular Instagram comic of the...

"Stunning. Sean McFate is a new Sun Tzu." -Admiral James Stavridis (retired), former Supreme Allied Commander at NATOAn Economist Book of the Year 2019Some of the principles of warfare are ancient, others are new, but all described in The New Rules of War will permanently shape conflict now and in the future. By following them Sean McFate argues, we can prevail in this era of unconventional warfare...

Distinguished Professor Abraham Ascher offers an impressive blend of engaging narrative and fresh analysis in this perennially popular introduction to Russia.Newly updated on the 100th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution, Russia: A Short History begins with the origins of the first Slavic state, and continues to the present-day tensions between Russia and its neighbours, the rise of Vladimir Putin, and the increasingly complex relationship with the United States.

The astonishing, hitherto unknown truths about a disease that transformed the United States at its birthA horrifying epidemic of smallpox was sweeping across the Americas when the American Revolution began, and yet we know almost nothing about it. Elizabeth A. Fenn is the first historian to reveal how deeply variola affected the outcome of the war in every colony and the lives of everyone in North America.By 1776, when military action and political ferment ...