Rising Sons and Daughters: Life Among Japan's New Young

By Steven Wardell

Book Overview

Until you read this unique book about Japan's New Young, don't place any bets on Japan's next moves. RISING SONS AND DAUGHTERS is the first look the West will get into the lives of Japanese teens. . .... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0963923099
• ISBN13: 9780963923097
• Release Date: January 1994
• Publisher: Plympton Pr Intl
• Length: 291 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 0.8" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

Almost a day by day view

Steven Wardell went to Japan without reading any of the hundreds of books about Japan. He went without any idea of how Japan would treat him. So what he writes seems to come to us without much editing by any pre-made belief. No filters are between us and the experiences he had day to day. All the details about school, family life and learning the language comes to us without any forethought. Compared to other books on Japan this is raw, unmolded, information and is full of insight that I doubt even Wardell realized was amazing for such a young writer. I would say that this is a must for anybody planning on going to Japan for ANY reason. Did find some humor in the fact that Wardell felt the need to explain everything, even what a corn dog was, and that when he met other exchange students one complained about how the Japanese, and I quote, Couldn't even speak English good, end of quote. Couldn't even speak English GOOD? Neither can the exchange students it seems. All in all, you need to get it. Used, paperback, in hardcover, any version you can. Just get it.

Wardell's book is a pure delight.

Steven Wardell's book is a pure delight and I've recommended itto friends of all ages. In Rising Sons and Daughters, we learn thatJapanese young people are preserving their country's tradition of respect for their elders while also creating their own identity as Japan's "Generation X". Like our own young people, they are bombarded with some of the excesses of "Western culture" - Clothing fads, rock groups, a culture of shopping, etc. What they seem to be developing, however, is a healthy hybrid of old and new that retains a firm foundation in good values. The Ando family members are wonderful, memorable people and Stevern Wardell writes poignantly about their lives and hopes of each of them.

A fascinating insight into the life of modern Japanese teens

I thoroughly enjoyed Rising Sons and Daughters. I don't know of any other book that looks at Japanese society from the point of view of its young people poised as they are between their parents' age-old Japanese culture of restraint and obedience to the will of the community, and their peers' adulation of Western culture. True to form, the "New Young" of Japan seem to be creating an "international" blend, as the Ando family demonstrates in this beautifully written book of vignettes of the private lives of members of this family. Steven Wardell is clearly a talented young author, adopted for some of his schooling into this family of four teens, and thus able to view family life in Japan from the inside out. A great read!