© Columbia University Press
Chronicles of My Life: An American in the Heart of Japan
May, 2008
Cloth, 208 pages, 36 illus.
ISBN: 978-0-231-14440-7
$27.95
/ £16.95
"The history is fascinating, and the literary life Keene has doggedly carved out of it, remarkable." — Andrew Monahan, TIME, Asia edition
"[An] engaging and eloquent memoir." — Robert Elegant, Times Literary Supplement
"Gratifying . . . Picaresque . . . [A] lovely and gracious memoir." — Roland Kelts, Bookforum
"As arguably the most important person in the creation and establishment of Japan studies in the West, Donald Keene—as well as the work he has produced and the work he has inspired—is certainly deserving of a book-length autobiography. Chronicles of My Life presents a clear view of the arc of an important scholar's life, his involvement with Japan, and the situations that led him to and the events that led him through its study." — Stephen Miller, assistant professor of Japanese, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
"A beautifully written narration of the formation of a scholar/'life artist' that traces the boyhood and early influences of Donald Keene, his gradual awakening to an awareness of other cultures and languages, his introduction to the Chinese and then the Japanese language and culture, his military service during World War II, and his later interactions with many of the major figures of the Japanese literary world of the latter half of the twentieth century." — Laurel Rasplica Rodd, professor of Japanese, University of Colorado