Splashdown Good to see Mir finally made its re-en…
Splashdown
Good to see Mir finally made its re-entry into the world without taking half of Australia with it… The Guardian has a nifty photo gallery of Mir in its heyday and its spectacular breakup as it descended through the stratosphere. Take a look at Spike’s review of Bryan Burrough’s Dragonfly if you’re interested in more on the madcap history of Mir.
It’s been a disappointing week for bookspotting on the Tube - Headhunters by John King turned up again, and Tony Parson’s Man And Boy, but there’s been nothing exciting and unusual - I don’t know why I’m surprised that the majority of people seem to be reading bestsellers… but I am.
However, I’ve finally finished The Yamato Dynasty, a superb account of the Japanese Imperial Family and Hirohito in particular, which describes the corruption rife within both pre and post-war Japan and the collusion of America’s business moguls to cover up Japanese war crimes and ensure Japan’s swift reinstatement to post-war prosperity. It makes for fascinating if disturbing reading, especially in its detailed explication of Japanese society, the divinity of the Emperor and accumulation of absolute power within a handful of Japan’s aristocratic families. Coupled with the usual story of greed being the international facilator to overcome all nationhood barriers, The Yamato Dynasty is a meticulously researched account that reveals a whole secret history about Japan over the last 100 years.
Next up is Matthew Collin’s This Is Serbia Calling, an account of B92, the rock’n'roll radio station that continued to operate within Belgrade throughout Milosovic’s 10 year rule. Collin is the author of the excellent Ectasy in British society history Altered State, so it should be good.
Other Splinters posts of interest:
- Lig In Japan
- The Shadow Of The Sun Excellent piece in The Ob…
- Sir Spike Continued One of my favourite things of…
- Non Fiction Title I Want
- Cuba Japan
