Friday, April 2, 2010

Edwin O. Reischauer remembered


Edwin O. Reischauer is a controversial figure to Japan scholars. Many believe he protected and mythologized postwar Japan. The result was an unrealistic picture of a modern world power. Reischauer's Japan was a wish hoping to be fulfilled. Nevertheless, the wartime intelligence analyst and peacetime professor and diplomat, for better or worse, has had a profound influence on generations of the Japan-interested.

Dr. George Packard, aide to Reischauer, former dean of SAIS, president of the US-Japan Foundation, and APP member, has written the first full-length biography of the legend. Due out mid-April, the book promises to be an important contribution to our understanding of the history of US-Japan relations and the sacrifices made for it.

Dr. Packard will be in Washington on the 15th to talk about his book and to sign copies.

EDWIN O. REISCHAUER AND THE AMERICAN DISCOVERY OF JAPAN. 4/15, 6:15-8:15pm, Washington, DC. Sponsor: Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies, SAIS. Speakers: George R. Packard, President, United States-Japan Foundation; Kent Calder, Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies and the SAIS Japan Studies Program. 

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