Blindside CL

by Eamonn Fingleton

In the first four years of this decade, Japanese exports rose 32%, the yen rose 27%, and Japanese employers created a net 3.2 million jobs. Though Japan is now the world's largest manufacturing... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0395633168
• ISBN13: 9780395633168
• Release Date: January 1995
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 406 Pages
• Weight: 1.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.3" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

An Eye Opener

I was speaking to a friend of mine who is in the insurance sector in Tokyo. During the course of our discussion, we came to the topic of economic slump and how people who visit Tokyo on business are led to believe that the slump is much larger and more devastating than what the press reports. My friend laughed it off and said the Japanese are good artists of deception and he went on to give me an example. India ( like most developing countries of the region ) takes loans from ADB. apparently ADB is funded by Ministry of Finance, Japan to a large extent. Now an ADB loan is used for infrastructure development like say laying of roads. Japanese cos. are given the contract for providing the raw material and equipment for the same like Mitsubishi Tar and Sumitomo cement and so on citing that Indian cos are below par for such raw material ( its a different matter that L & T cement is used in construction of airports in many countries ) Finally for the repayment of the loans, the Japanese Govt formally issues a soft loan to repay the ADB debt. In the larger scenario not only has the govt benefitted from this but Japanese cos also are benefitted in the longer run. So the money given out as loan by the govt reaches Japan through the Keiretsus.A lot of this may not be available in the open to be proved but is definitely the source of speculation and thus may never be proved.On reading Blindside such practices only come out in the open.Overall, one of the best books i have read - both in fiction as well as non-fiction.

Brilliant analysis of a World beating economic system

Brilliant analysis of a World beating economic systemReviewer: Patrick Walsh from Amsterdam, North Holland The NetherlandsDon't pay any attention to the detractors of this author.He lives in Japan.He has worked as a successful financial journalist around the world.His correct forecasting of the Japanese economy is on record (e.g. Euromoney Magazine).Has been widely praised (see two sites, unsustainable dot org and, fingleton dot net).Check out the above dot org site for current articles fromthis author.You will be surprised at the articles on there that deal with the press, who widely report a slump in Japan that never seems to happen - if Japan is in a slump, why such continued strong export performance in the hi-tech area?Japan may have "crippling" debts, but you can be sure its not foreign debt and, therefore much less of a problem, unlike the USA which is burdened by a debt with a large foreign component. Fingleton rightly points out in this book that the Japanese economy cannot be understood without looking at it in terms of a big picture. Read the content on the above sites, think a little, read this book and, his more recent work "In Praise of Hard Industries" and, you will be a lot farther along the road to understanding where the World economy is going.

<p> Required Reading: A Very Important Book

Fingleton is an alarmist, but that does not detract from his overall message. Alarms exist for a reason. Controversial books will always draw the ire of the mainstream, and this book is no exception. While Fingleton's specific numerical predictions (e.g., "The Year 2000") may fall short at times, this does not detract from his overall thesis.As an American residing in Japan, I have often marveled at the paradox of a Japan "suffering through a lethal recession" while still enjoying lower unemployment figures than those of the US, which is currently experiencing a resounding economic "boom".Having experienced the US recession in the early 1980's, I can personally attest to the fact that what is happening in Japan today is a "horse of a completely different color". In fact, using the standard definition of "recession", i.e., two straight quarters of economic contraction, the Japanese economy is not even in a recession, never mind a "lethal" one. Japan has yet to experience even a single quarter of economic contraction. Fingleton attempts to explain the current situation and why the West, and the US in particular, have consistently underestimated Japan's strengths and miscalculated her intentions, often with diasasterous consequences. To quote author James Fallows: "A generation from now, readers will recognize 'Blindside' as having offered crucial and prescient guidance... Those who read it now will be ahead of the game." Highly recommended. For additional reading on the subject, I also recommend R. Taggert Murphy's "The Weight of the Yen".

Money makes the World go round but BLINDSIDE explains why!

It is very difficult to usefully understand anything(the tree`s) unless one has an overall view (the forest) of what is going on. Fingleton has written a book which cuts through all the PR and armchair magazine analysis that has been done on Japan to produce a work which should be read by anybody who is wondering why they have been laid-off or why their garduate daughter can`t get a job. In my opinion his analysis goes a long way towards explaining why Japan will be economically stronger than many countries in the near future. I especially liked the way in which his opinion`s were balanced and pointed the finger at Western countries, particularly, America, for being slow to adapt to Japan`s revolutionary economic structures

anglo-america is still blind

Great book. I saw something on TV the other day about the Japanese conquest of Malaya and how the British underestimated the Japanese. Apparently we still do. Also as someone who speaks Japanese semi-fluently, it still amazes me to how little this culture and language is understood. Japan's economy is bigger than France, Italy and Germany's put together and whose languages we usually study. And actually I just wanted to see when this book might come out in paperback. Please let me know when it does at my e-mail address.