{"product_id":"you-gotta-have-wa-9780307455970","title":"You Gotta Have Wa","description":"A hilarious, informative, and riveting account of Japanese baseball and the cultural clashes that ensued when Americans began playing there professionally. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn Japan, baseball is a way of life. It is a philosophy. It is \u003ci\u003ebesuboru\u003c\/i\u003e. Its most important element is \u003ci\u003ewa\u003c\/i\u003e--group harmony--embodied in the proverb \"The nail that sticks up shall be hammered down.\" In this witty and incisive book, Robert Whiting gives us a close-up look at \u003ci\u003ebesuboru\u003c\/i\u003e's teams, obsessive ritualism, and history, as seen through the eyes of American players who found the Japanese approach--rigorous \u003ci\u003epre\u003c\/i\u003egame practices, the tolerance for \u003ci\u003etie\u003c\/i\u003e games, \u003ci\u003einjured \u003c\/i\u003epitchers encouraged to \"pitch through the pain\"--completely baffling. With vivid accounts of East meeting West, involving Babe Ruth, Ichiro Suzuki, Bobby Valentine, Japanese home run king Sadaharu Oh, and many others, this lively and completely unique book is an utter gem and baseball classic.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRobert Whiting is the author of \u003cb\u003eYou Gotta Have Wa\u003c\/b\u003e and is one of the very few Westerners to write a regular column in the Japanese press. He has appeared as a commentator in documentaries about Japan and on such shows as \u003ci\u003eLarry King Live\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe MacNeil-Lehrer Newshour\u003c\/i\u003e. He has also written for \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSports Illustrated\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSmithsonian\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eNewsweek\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eU.S. News and World Report\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eTime\u003c\/i\u003e, among other publications. He lives in Tokyo.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Knopf Publishing Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51749275697426,"sku":"9780307455970","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_c42600fb-1c1a-4574-bac9-0bb9f72e8cc2.jpg?v=1764074816","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/you-gotta-have-wa-9780307455970","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}