Джон Натан — новинки

Юкио Мисима — самый знаменитый и читаемый в мире японский писатель; прославился он в равной степени как своими произведениями во всех мыслимых жанрах (романы, пьесы, рассказы, эссе — более ста томов), так и экстравагантным стилем жизни и смерти (харакири после неудачной попытки монархического переворота). Автор предлагаемой вашему вниманию биографии Джон Натан близко знал Мисиму, переводил несколько его романов и получил от вдовы писателя доступ ко множеству уникальных материалов.

THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY BEHIND THE PEOPLE AND THE PRODUCTS

Formed in the wastelands of post-war Tokyo, Sony developed from an intimate family business into one of the greatest corporations of the twentieth century.

Based on an ideal of innovation, one of its greatest triumphs was the Trinitron colour television system. Over the years Sony maintained this ideal, taking recording into the digital age with the compact disc, transforming the way is listened to with the Walkman, and redefining computer games with the Playstation, among many other achievements. Visionary ideas are also risky – ventures such as Betamax and Discovision proved to be costly failures.

Sony matched its revolutionary technology with revolutionary methods of marketing – it was one of the first corporations to embrace globalization. So began a dramatic clash between two opposed views of reality, one rooted in Japanese native tradition and the other irreconcilably western. This is not unique to Sony – it is the definitive challenge of Japan's coming of age in the twentieth century.

The disastrous purchase of Colombia Pictures took Sony into a world for which it was unprepared, exacerbated by the cultural clash. This is the fullest analysis yet of this dramatic period, put together despite Sony's policy of silence about many of the details.

Japanese corporations are some of the most secretive business organizations in the world, and John Nathan is the first person to be granted access to the principals at Sony for this unique account of a hitherto closed world.