- Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages
- Publisher: Meridian; Reprint edition (July 14 1995)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0452011566
- ISBN-13: 978-0452011564
- Product Dimensions: 20.1 x 13.7 x 2.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 295 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #502,002 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Buruma examines how Germany and Japan have separately dealt with the guilt they bear for acts committed during WWII.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Buruma, a native of Holland, established his credentials on the subject of Japan in Behind the Mask (1983). In this work, he examines how Japan and Germany have handled their collective memories of World War II. While Gordon Craig (The Germans, LJ 2/1/82) examined the ethnopsychology of the Germans with more scholarship, Buruma provides a timely comparative study of the Axis partners. Given the current fear of a reunified Germany full of skinheads in the streets, Buruma may surprise some with his conclusion that Germany is coming to grips with the past while Japan tries to ignore it. As a journalist, Buruma is prone to journalism's sins: sweeping generalizations and the absence of footnotes. Still, this insightful look at two major nations in the new world order will make a valuable addition to any library. Highly recommended.
--Randall L. Schroeder, Augustana Coll. Lib., Rock Island, Ill.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
--Randall L. Schroeder, Augustana Coll. Lib., Rock Island, Ill.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Artful Examination of the Human Cost of War,
This review is from: The Wages of Guilt: Memories of War in Germany and Japan (Hardcover)
Buruma's style has always been one of immediacy, providing the reader with a sense of the author's own intimate knowledge and devotion to the subject matter. "Wages of Guilt" is no exception: Buruma provides a thought-provoking and thorough examination of the deeply felt guilt over WWII crimes felt in Germany and the unique perspective of the Japanese toward their activities during the Pacific War (1939-1945). Buruma is particularly adept at discussing the latter, as his previous book, "Behind the Mask," displayed a remarkable insight into Japanese cultural mores. Here the author provides interviews and intriguing observations in his quest to discover how two diverse cultures could be guilty of such horrific crimes -- and how they have learned to deal with their past. Recommended for students of military history, philosophy, or for just trying to understand the human condition. David R. Bannon, Ph.D.; author "Race Against Evil."
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thought Provoking,
By Shogun Len "tokieyasu" (Arizona) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Wages Of Guilt (Mass Market Paperback)
This book is quite eye opening. It compares the memory and guilt of WWII in modern Germany and Japan. It looks at how the Germans of today and the Japanese of today look at their countries role in WWII and responsibilty for many atrocities. Readers will be shocked to see how many people in Japan show no remorse or understanding for their role in WWII. While, Germans tend to carry an intense amount of guilt for the war. This makes for some thought provoking reading. And unfortunately, as much as I love Japan and Japanese culture...my visits to Hiroshima confirm the thesis of this book
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.1 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews) 13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dealing with the Past,
By bibliomane01 - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Wages of Guilt: Memories of War in Germany and Japan (Hardcover)
Ian Buruma takes a look at the various ways in which the people of Germany and Japan have dealt with the legacy of the atrocities committed by their countries during World War II. His book was especially timely in the case of Germany because he began writing it shortly after the unification of the Federal Republic and the GDR, when discussion of Germany's past was widespread both at home and abroad. Buruma is also well qualified to comment on Japan because he lived there for many years and speaks the language.To summarise, the "The Wages of Guilt" finds that the German people, at least in the western part, have been more ready to come to terms with their war legacy than the Japanese. There are Nazi sympathizers and Holacaust deniers aplenty in Germany, but they seem to be confined to the fringes. In Japan, however, rightist elements remain powerful and the official line is to portray the war as an economically driven power struggle in which any excesses committed by the armed forces occurred in the heat of battle, thus denying any similarity to the behaviour of the Nazis. Moreover, Hiroshima and Nagasaki are viewed as atrocities on par with any act committed by the Axis powers; racism and a perverted scientific curiosity are among the motives attributed to America in its decisions to drop the bombs. Buruma explores the efforts to re-examine the war through the prism of German and Japanese reactions to Auschwitz, Hiroshima, Nanking, the war crimes trials, etc. and the result is a troubling and thought provoking meditation on the power of history and the psychology of escape. Check this one out, it's worth a look. 4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent analysis and perspective on an unresolved issue,
By historybuff - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Wages Of Guilt (Mass Market Paperback)
As much as many people would like to wash away the past, it comes back to haunt us. Germany, through its efforts to confront its past has made peace with its neighbors, while Japan trying to avoid any blame has tried to wash it away with denials and subterfuge, leaving bitterness and confrontation. It is also unfortunate that the West treats both with different attitudes, nazi camp guards are hunted down relentlessly while Japanese members of unit 731 who committed atrocities much worse than those nazi guards get away scot-free. We should examine why this warped sense of justice is allowed to flourish in our politically correct times. Why is the suffering of Asian people dismissed so readily? The dropping of the A-bomb on Japan should not cancel out all of Japan's responsibility for the blood shed by its minions in all of Asia. This book begins to open some of those puzzles which have remained beyond comprehension. Unfortunately even in our open society there are dark areas which free-tninking folks are afraid to tread. Read Tocqueville and his "t˙ranny of the majority" thesis and you will begin to comprehend.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Incisive and Beautifully Written,
By R. Brown "JapanVisitor.com" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Wages of Guilt: Memories of War in Germany and Japan (Hardcover)
Author of God's Dust, Buruma, a native of Holland, examines in this work how Japan and Germany have dealt with and manipulated their collective memories of World War II. In spite of the Dutch experience during the War, Buruma concludes that Germany has faced the past honestly and directly; Japan, on the other hand, continues to try to ignore or rewrite it. In school in the common language of modern Germany, young people are well attuned to and aware of the issues of the past. Young Japanese are either ignorant or indifferent to what their grandparents took part in. Buruma examines the issues of chauvinism, the history of nationalism, contemporary pacifism, and how Auschwitz and Hiroshima have been remembered and memorialized. Drawing on his childhood in Holland and the ten years he spent in Japan, Buruma is well positioned to comment on modern Germany and Japan. Highly recommended.
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