A Geek in Japan: Discovering the Land of Manga, Anime, Zen, and the Tea Ceremony

For every fan of manga, anime, J-pop, or Zen, A Geek in Japan is a hip, smart and concise guide to the land that is their source. Comprehensive and well informed, it covers a wide array of topics in short articles accompanied by sidebars and numerous photographs, providing a lively digest of the society and culture of Japan. Designed to appeal to the generations of Westerners who grew up on Pokemon, manga and video games, A Geek in Japan reinvents the culture guide for readers in the Internet age.

Spotlighting the originality and creativity of the Japanese, debunking myths about them, and answering nagging questions like why they're so fond of robots, author Hector Garcia has created the perfect book for the growing ranks of Japanophiles in this inspired, insightful and highly informative guide.

Working in Japan as a software engineer, the author has been writing the Spanish-language blog, Kirai--A Geek in Japan, since 2004. This volume draws on that material in order to provide a wide-ranging perspective on Japanese society and culture. Although manga (comics) and anime are prominently mentioned in the subtitle, such stereotypically "geeky" subjects actually occupy only a minority of the discussion, which includes explorations of traditional arts and disciplines, the social character and values of Japanese people, society and daily life, workplace issues, and tourism. The blog origins of the book are evident in the way that each individual subject is presented in brief, easily-digestible paragraphs, although the various individual subjects are grouped together by larger themes. The volume is illustrated with a large number of color photographs. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

For every fan of manga, anime, J-pop, or Zen, A Geek in Japan is a hip, smart and concise guide to the land that is their source. Comprehensive and well informed, it covers a wide array of topics in short articles accompanied by sidebars and numerous photographs, providing a lively digest of the society and culture of Japan. Designed to appeal to the generations of Westerners who grew up on Pokemon, manga and video games, A Geek in Japan reinvents the culture guide for readers in the Internet age.

Spotlighting the originality and creativity of the Japanese, debunking myths about them, and answering nagging questions like why they're so fond of robots, author Hector Garcia has created the perfect book for the growing ranks of Japanophiles in this inspired, insightful and highly informative guide.

Hector Garcia was born in Spain, in 1981. After earning his MS in software engineering and working for CERN in Switzerland, he moved to Japan, where he worked on voice recognition software and later for Digital Garage, developing the technology needed for Silicon Valley startups like Twitter and Technorati to enter the Japanese market. He has been living in Tokyo since 2004.