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2:46: Aftershocks: Stories from the Japan Earthquake
In just over a week, a group of unpaid professional and citizen journalists who met on Twitter created a book to raise money for Japanese Red Cross earthquake and tsunami relief efforts. In addition to essays, artwork and photographs submitted by people around the world, including people who endured the disaster and journalists who covered it, 2:46: Stories from the Japan Earthquake contains a piece by Yoko Ono, and work created specifically for the book by authors William Gibson, Barry Eisler and Jake Adelstein. “The primary goal,” says the book's editor, a British resident of Japan, “is to record the moment, and in doing so raise money for the Japanese Red Cross Society to help the thousands of homeless, hungry and cold survivors of the earthquake and tsunami. The biggest frustration for many of us was being unable to help these victims. I don’t have any medical skills, and I’m not a helicopter pilot, but I can edit. A few tweets pulled together nearly everything – all the participants, all the expertise – and in just over a week we had created a book including stories from an 80-year-old grandfather in Sendai, a couple in Canada waiting to hear if their relatives were okay, and a Japanese family who left their home, telling their young son they might never be able to return." If you'd like to make a donation to aid the victims of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, please visit the Japanese Red Cross Society website, where you can donate via Paypal or bank transfer (watch out for the fees, though!) or the American Red Cross Society, which accepts donations directed to its Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami fund (but only accepts donations made with U.S.-issued credit cards). And of course, if you like the book, please tell your friends, and tell them to give generously as well! Thank you! Japan really does appreciate your help!
93 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 2011
220 people are currently reading
947 people want to read
About the author
Jake Adelstein
14 books778 followersJake Adelstein has been an investigative journalist in Japan since 1993 and low-ranking Zen Buddhist priest since 2017--and is unlikely to ever achieve satori. That's okay. He's considered one of the foremost experts on organized crime in Japan and works as a writer and consultant in Japan, the United States and France. He is the author of Tokyo Vice: A Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan (Vintage) and has written two other books published by Marchialy in France.
𝗝’𝗔𝗜 𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗨 𝗠𝗢𝗡 𝗔̂𝗠𝗘 𝗘𝗡 𝗕𝗜𝗧𝗖𝗢𝗜𝗡𝗦 (I Sold My Soul For Bitcoins) 2019
𝗝’𝗔𝗜 𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗨 𝗠𝗢𝗡 𝗔̂𝗠𝗘 𝗘𝗡 𝗕𝗜𝗧𝗖𝗢𝗜𝗡𝗦 (I Sold My Soul For Bitcoins) 2019
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 113 reviews
November 20, 2016
I'm sure you've heard it said before that in order to try to make sense of something incomprehensible, it's best to start at its smallest components, and I think that is what this small volume does. It's impossible to grasp the whole of the massive tsunami in Tohoku that swept away so many lives, but we can at least try to approach it with the stories of individuals who were either directly or indirectly affected by the Tohoku earthquake of less than a year ago.
Less than a year ago?! Doesn't it seem longer ago than that? It's moved away from the (U.S.) news for the most part, and here, away from Japan, it's easy to forget it happened. Even visiting Japan, as I did this month and last month, it was easy to forget. The only damage I saw was in photos on my son's co-worker's cell phone. Tokyo looks fine (though I have nothing to compare it to and I've been told the city's not as 'illuminated' as it used to be) and I didn't visit the hardest hit areas.
This is an amazing little book. It was put together in only a week but that doesn't show. Speed was needed as all profits go to the Japanese Red Cross. It's beautifully formatted and includes photographs and wonderful illustrations, my favorites are by Linda Yuki Nakanishi -- her art is both poignant and hopeful.
Less than a year ago?! Doesn't it seem longer ago than that? It's moved away from the (U.S.) news for the most part, and here, away from Japan, it's easy to forget it happened. Even visiting Japan, as I did this month and last month, it was easy to forget. The only damage I saw was in photos on my son's co-worker's cell phone. Tokyo looks fine (though I have nothing to compare it to and I've been told the city's not as 'illuminated' as it used to be) and I didn't visit the hardest hit areas.
This is an amazing little book. It was put together in only a week but that doesn't show. Speed was needed as all profits go to the Japanese Red Cross. It's beautifully formatted and includes photographs and wonderful illustrations, my favorites are by Linda Yuki Nakanishi -- her art is both poignant and hopeful.
April 19, 2012
while certainly a moving account of the Great Tohoku Earthquake, I have to say that as someone who was living in Miyagi when the quake hit (thankfully I live near the mountains in the West of the prefecture, so my town wasn't affected by the tsunami), I was somewhat disappointed to find that the lion's share of the vignettes here were written by people far away from the epicenter: Tokyo, Chiba, Kanagawa, and even further afield. There were so many stories of people who were simply inconvenienced by the earthquake: they had to walk home from work, there were rolling blackouts, they felt the shaking, they were/are afraid of the radiation, worried about friends/family closer to the epicenter. Compared to even my own experiences (which were nowhere near as harrowing as what people on the coast endured), most of these didn't come anywhere near describing what went on those nightmarish days. I understand that the book was put together quickly in the days after the quake so as to get donations as quickly as possible, and that when these stories were being compiled most of us still had no power or any of the 'necessities' we've all come to take for granted and were just trying to get through each successive day. However, I think it's a shame that the people who were most affected - those of us who live in Tohoku, especially Miyagi and Fukushima - were so lightly represented within these pages.
August 31, 2011
First, I have to commend the authors and editors for putting this together so quickly and for a good cause. While I think the book is fairly good at describing how the earthquake affected people around the world and while some of the stories were very strong, I also thought there were several significant weaknesses.
The book could have been greatly strengthened by 1) more stories from people who were directly affected by the earthquake or by at least noting how far some of the writers were from the quake/ fukushima area by 2) allowing more time for submissions as the situation was still developing at the time when submissions appear to have been due. While the earthquake was certainly frightening, in many ways it was really the start of the story as the developing events at the nuclear plant and as logistical difficulties set in and by 3) including more stories from Japanese people. Most expats live in Tokyo and live fairly different lives from the Japanese around them. Apart from a couple exceptions or as side characters, the Japanese were notably missing.
Reading this book, many of the accounts were from a fairly good distance from the quake and the nuclear plants. I understand how it was nice to have little reaction vignettes from abroad and from southern Japan, but there were too many of them, especially given the lack of voices from areas more strongly affected by the quake.
Also, some of the inclusions were fairly insulting. While it's fine for a writer from Nagoya to be calm and collected and rip the foreign press for being sensationalistic and borderline unethical (given that this particular writer mainly cites the now disgraced TEPCO and Japanese Govt, this is perhaps not surprising. The foreign press has turned out to have been far closer to being right than the largely bought off Japanese press), it was quite another thing to be some distance north of Tokyo with your kids, hearing about explosions and fires at the plant almost every day while the government is using what are clearly desperation tactics, like flooding the plant with seawater and dropping water from helicopters. When I evacuated my family to Nagoya, Nagoya was lit up like nothing had happened and their TV was playing game shows, quite a different world from the place we'd come from.
While it is quite easy for a Londoner to talk about the media overhyping the situation, it was another thing to have the french, the germans and the brits all tell their people to leave. It was another thing to get hit by aftershocks constantly (we had ~100 earthquakes the size of the VA earthquake or, in many cases, much larger in the first 5 days) and to have to tell your kids to pretend they're sleeping on a boat because your apartment building never stops swaying. And it was another thing to live in a town where you couldn't find gas, batteries, candles, flashlights, bread, milk, rice, bottled water, diapers, toilet paper, and couldn't be sure when they'd show up.
In the end, the stories were hit or miss, with just too many misses. I'd love to see someone do a proper oral history of the earthquake/ tsunami/ nuclear situation as I think the stories are there. Something like Haruki Murakami's examination of the Sarin attacks, or a Studs Terkel-type approach. While this book is impressive in how quickly it was turned out, I think that same speed meant that they didn't have enough options in terms of the stories told, which is where this book suffers.
The book could have been greatly strengthened by 1) more stories from people who were directly affected by the earthquake or by at least noting how far some of the writers were from the quake/ fukushima area by 2) allowing more time for submissions as the situation was still developing at the time when submissions appear to have been due. While the earthquake was certainly frightening, in many ways it was really the start of the story as the developing events at the nuclear plant and as logistical difficulties set in and by 3) including more stories from Japanese people. Most expats live in Tokyo and live fairly different lives from the Japanese around them. Apart from a couple exceptions or as side characters, the Japanese were notably missing.
Reading this book, many of the accounts were from a fairly good distance from the quake and the nuclear plants. I understand how it was nice to have little reaction vignettes from abroad and from southern Japan, but there were too many of them, especially given the lack of voices from areas more strongly affected by the quake.
Also, some of the inclusions were fairly insulting. While it's fine for a writer from Nagoya to be calm and collected and rip the foreign press for being sensationalistic and borderline unethical (given that this particular writer mainly cites the now disgraced TEPCO and Japanese Govt, this is perhaps not surprising. The foreign press has turned out to have been far closer to being right than the largely bought off Japanese press), it was quite another thing to be some distance north of Tokyo with your kids, hearing about explosions and fires at the plant almost every day while the government is using what are clearly desperation tactics, like flooding the plant with seawater and dropping water from helicopters. When I evacuated my family to Nagoya, Nagoya was lit up like nothing had happened and their TV was playing game shows, quite a different world from the place we'd come from.
While it is quite easy for a Londoner to talk about the media overhyping the situation, it was another thing to have the french, the germans and the brits all tell their people to leave. It was another thing to get hit by aftershocks constantly (we had ~100 earthquakes the size of the VA earthquake or, in many cases, much larger in the first 5 days) and to have to tell your kids to pretend they're sleeping on a boat because your apartment building never stops swaying. And it was another thing to live in a town where you couldn't find gas, batteries, candles, flashlights, bread, milk, rice, bottled water, diapers, toilet paper, and couldn't be sure when they'd show up.
In the end, the stories were hit or miss, with just too many misses. I'd love to see someone do a proper oral history of the earthquake/ tsunami/ nuclear situation as I think the stories are there. Something like Haruki Murakami's examination of the Sarin attacks, or a Studs Terkel-type approach. While this book is impressive in how quickly it was turned out, I think that same speed meant that they didn't have enough options in terms of the stories told, which is where this book suffers.
November 14, 2020
Within these pages are anecdotes, drawings, and thoughts about the Tokyo earthquake. Clever presentation.
April 9, 2013
It's a hard book to say that you like given the content but it was an enlightening read especially since we had our own major earthquake about 2 weeks prior. There are things people never tell you about earthquakes and you're not sure if they're unique to you or not, it's reassuring to hear that people elsewhere have the same feelings and experiences. I don't feel I could have read this any earlier but now was definitely the right time.
June 6, 2012
Please forgive me for copying and pasting the review I wrote for Amazon here. I recently re-read this book. I think it stands as a powerful oral history of the disaster and its impact. I don't think we realized how long that impact would last.
I'm in no way an objective reviewer of this book since I contributed a piece to it and I know many of the people who brought it together. On March 11th at 2:46 pm, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, followed by massive tsunami devastated Japan and nuclear reactors in Fukushima Prefecture. The estimated death toll is expected to reach 40,000. It is a tragedy of such magnitude that it's hard to wrap your head around it. Numbers are numbers. They have no face; it is hard to feel for figures. Quakebook tells the story of this earthquake and the aftermath in art, essays, short memoirs, and photographs. Each story is moving its own way. There are accounts from those who directly suffered, those who were left in limbo waiting to find out if their loved ones were missing or dead. There are stories of those who could not but help leave Japan after the earthquake as well. Some of the essays are painful to read. The piece "Positive" is simply about one man watching a news broadcast of a rescue attempt going badly and how he could not watch the rest. If you read it, you'll understand why. There are some thing we do not want to know but perhaps should know. That's for each person to decide. It is not only a book of mourning; it is a book of hope. The book came into existence because one man felt like he could not stand by and do nothing. This book began with his idea and took shape through the hard work of many others. People made enormous sacrifices to make this book into a reality.
Amazon went to great lengths to ensure that all proceeds from this book go directly to the Japan Red Cross, which aids the victims in Japan in many ways. They are not taking a single cent. It is a tremendous act of corporate altruism.
The writing quality in the book is uneven. There are typos as well--the book was rushed together while the memory of the disaster was fresh in the minds of people and also because there are many who still need medical aid, food, blankets, support right now, not months later. Some entries are poorly worded but the sentiments are heart-felt. Yes, there is disparity in the quality of the writing. This is to be expected; this is not a book written by professional journalists or novelists.
These are pieces from Japanese citizens, foreign residents, bystanders, witnesses, journalists,artists, and people who are tied to Japan in often nebulous ways. What they have in common is a love for this country, Japan, and for humanity. All proceeds go to charity.
I'm very fond of Japanese proverbs and there's one that sums up this book quite beautifully. "Nasake wa hito no tame narazu". It's difficult to translate but what it means is this: the kindness we bestow on others benefits not only them but in some ways ourselves as well. I've often felt the best way to mourn the dead is to help those who remain. Reading this book is one way to do it.
I'm in no way an objective reviewer of this book since I contributed a piece to it and I know many of the people who brought it together. On March 11th at 2:46 pm, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, followed by massive tsunami devastated Japan and nuclear reactors in Fukushima Prefecture. The estimated death toll is expected to reach 40,000. It is a tragedy of such magnitude that it's hard to wrap your head around it. Numbers are numbers. They have no face; it is hard to feel for figures. Quakebook tells the story of this earthquake and the aftermath in art, essays, short memoirs, and photographs. Each story is moving its own way. There are accounts from those who directly suffered, those who were left in limbo waiting to find out if their loved ones were missing or dead. There are stories of those who could not but help leave Japan after the earthquake as well. Some of the essays are painful to read. The piece "Positive" is simply about one man watching a news broadcast of a rescue attempt going badly and how he could not watch the rest. If you read it, you'll understand why. There are some thing we do not want to know but perhaps should know. That's for each person to decide. It is not only a book of mourning; it is a book of hope. The book came into existence because one man felt like he could not stand by and do nothing. This book began with his idea and took shape through the hard work of many others. People made enormous sacrifices to make this book into a reality.
Amazon went to great lengths to ensure that all proceeds from this book go directly to the Japan Red Cross, which aids the victims in Japan in many ways. They are not taking a single cent. It is a tremendous act of corporate altruism.
The writing quality in the book is uneven. There are typos as well--the book was rushed together while the memory of the disaster was fresh in the minds of people and also because there are many who still need medical aid, food, blankets, support right now, not months later. Some entries are poorly worded but the sentiments are heart-felt. Yes, there is disparity in the quality of the writing. This is to be expected; this is not a book written by professional journalists or novelists.
These are pieces from Japanese citizens, foreign residents, bystanders, witnesses, journalists,artists, and people who are tied to Japan in often nebulous ways. What they have in common is a love for this country, Japan, and for humanity. All proceeds go to charity.
I'm very fond of Japanese proverbs and there's one that sums up this book quite beautifully. "Nasake wa hito no tame narazu". It's difficult to translate but what it means is this: the kindness we bestow on others benefits not only them but in some ways ourselves as well. I've often felt the best way to mourn the dead is to help those who remain. Reading this book is one way to do it.
November 14, 2011
The story of this book is amazing: a group of people united through Twitter to create a book about the terrible earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan early this year – all in a week. The number of people involved is amazing too: Yoko Ono, journalists from around the world, the people of Japan and others from around the world. Not everyone had a direct link with Japan, but they all cared and worried about the thousands affected. Simply, this book is an example of the caring side of the human spirit.
Why did I read this? I am a Japan-ophile myself, having visited the country on a prolonged visit and fallen in love with the people, the scenery, the culture in addition to studying Japanese for six years. I found the people incredibly kind – from the gentleman who showed me back to my hotel when I was lost (which was the completely opposite way to where he was going) and the schoolchildren at Genbaku Domu in Hiroshima. I wanted to support the Japanese Red Cross (from which the cost of the book went to).
This book conveys so many emotions – from terror, loss and shock to the happiness of being reunited with family and then again to some strangely funny moments. It really does cover the entire spectrum. It’s also put together really well – one moment you’ll be wiping away tears and the next you’ll be smiling through them. It also goes to show that this quake affected many people and the great way people joined together to help others. (I was in Singapore post-quake and the generosity demonstrated by store, school children and the community was impressive).
This book is a must read for those who love Japan and want to help. Well done to those involved, you’ve got a great record of reactions to the quake.
Why did I read this? I am a Japan-ophile myself, having visited the country on a prolonged visit and fallen in love with the people, the scenery, the culture in addition to studying Japanese for six years. I found the people incredibly kind – from the gentleman who showed me back to my hotel when I was lost (which was the completely opposite way to where he was going) and the schoolchildren at Genbaku Domu in Hiroshima. I wanted to support the Japanese Red Cross (from which the cost of the book went to).
This book conveys so many emotions – from terror, loss and shock to the happiness of being reunited with family and then again to some strangely funny moments. It really does cover the entire spectrum. It’s also put together really well – one moment you’ll be wiping away tears and the next you’ll be smiling through them. It also goes to show that this quake affected many people and the great way people joined together to help others. (I was in Singapore post-quake and the generosity demonstrated by store, school children and the community was impressive).
This book is a must read for those who love Japan and want to help. Well done to those involved, you’ve got a great record of reactions to the quake.
March 15, 2012
(Percuma daripada Kindle Amazon).
Himpunan artikel/catatan pendek/peribadi daripada individu-individu yang terlibat secara langsung atau tidak langsung dengan peristiwa tsunami dan gempa bumi di Jepun pada 11 Mac 2011, pukul 2.46 petang. Seperti selalu, pihak media antarabangsa cenderung untuk mensensasikan berita yang disampaikan (sebagai pelaris), tidak terkecuali isu loji kuasa nuklear Fukushima Daiichi.
Sikap dan kesungguhan orang-orang Jepun untuk membina kembali negara mereka yang sering pula runtuh akibat bencana alam amat mengkagumkan. Majoriti mereka juga begitu tekal mempertahankan prinsip-prinsip moral - tidak kira betapa teruk pun krisis kewangan yang dihadapi, perbuatan mencuri masih bukan suatu pilihan.
Semoga ada sesuatu yang kita semua boleh pelajari daripada peristiwa ini.
Himpunan artikel/catatan pendek/peribadi daripada individu-individu yang terlibat secara langsung atau tidak langsung dengan peristiwa tsunami dan gempa bumi di Jepun pada 11 Mac 2011, pukul 2.46 petang. Seperti selalu, pihak media antarabangsa cenderung untuk mensensasikan berita yang disampaikan (sebagai pelaris), tidak terkecuali isu loji kuasa nuklear Fukushima Daiichi.
Initial reports of impending doom were sensationalist, scaring people in an already stressful situation. And it turns out the sensationalist media reports of instant death were completely contradictory to what nuclear experts were saying.
-Brent Stirling.
Big contrast: While the foreign media are obsessed with Apocalypses, the Japanese people are already talking of rebuilding.
-Vadim Zendejas.
Sikap dan kesungguhan orang-orang Jepun untuk membina kembali negara mereka yang sering pula runtuh akibat bencana alam amat mengkagumkan. Majoriti mereka juga begitu tekal mempertahankan prinsip-prinsip moral - tidak kira betapa teruk pun krisis kewangan yang dihadapi, perbuatan mencuri masih bukan suatu pilihan.
Of course, violent crime and petty theft are commonplace in Japan, as in any other country. I used to cover police as a reporter, so I know this well. But the majority of us, the people you see going about their daily business despite a sick, sinking feeling in the stomach, don't loot. Neither would you, right?
-Yuko Kato.
Semoga ada sesuatu yang kita semua boleh pelajari daripada peristiwa ini.
January 2, 2014
This book was written just two weeks after the Tohoku earthquake that hit Japan in March 2011. It is more of an anthology with voluntary contributions of people describing their experiences in relationship to the earthquake. I say "in relationship" for there are plenty of stories of people who were not in Japan by the time of the earthquake but still they share the way in which they were affected through the distance.
The book is relatively short and a very easy reading, the short essays allow for quick reading when one has some spare time making it a perfect book for people with few time for reading.
PROS: Diversity of writing styles and values represented in the writings. From explorations on faith, to strictly scientific concerns, the book makes justice to the worldviews of the authors.
CONS: It is clear that the book has a heavy North-American influence. I found it a bit disappointing not to have significant accounts of people who actually were in the place of the catastrophe. Most accounts are from people in Tokyo (many of them foreigners) and many others from people abroad. Yet again, since this book was compiled so fast I guess people in Sendai-Fukushima did not have the time to go around writing.
CONCLUSION: An excellent read if you are interested in Japan as a country or culture, or if you have a heart for compassionate efforts to humans in need.
The book is relatively short and a very easy reading, the short essays allow for quick reading when one has some spare time making it a perfect book for people with few time for reading.
PROS: Diversity of writing styles and values represented in the writings. From explorations on faith, to strictly scientific concerns, the book makes justice to the worldviews of the authors.
CONS: It is clear that the book has a heavy North-American influence. I found it a bit disappointing not to have significant accounts of people who actually were in the place of the catastrophe. Most accounts are from people in Tokyo (many of them foreigners) and many others from people abroad. Yet again, since this book was compiled so fast I guess people in Sendai-Fukushima did not have the time to go around writing.
CONCLUSION: An excellent read if you are interested in Japan as a country or culture, or if you have a heart for compassionate efforts to humans in need.
July 7, 2011
I loved this book. I lived in Japan and I really felt that this book captured many of the feelings that the ex-pats have - the intense connection one feels to this country after living there, even if it is briefly. I liked that each entry was short and highlighted a personal experience, but as you continued to read the book, you could see common threads and themes. I was surprised at some of the themes and issues that came out - the feelings about leaving or not leaving and how people felt about those who left. The whole concept of the book was amazing, too. I think this is a book that anyone and everyone would enjoy and connect with - and should take the time to read. It made a big event very personal and highlighted many issues that were pertinent for all of us to consider. I particularly found it interesting to see the themes of how media coverage was done vs. social media - it was an amazing look at how our world is changing with communication. The money for this book goes to charity, but for some reason, it was available for free on kindle - I was kind of bummed not to pay, as i wanted the money to go to their charity, but maybe Amazon is donating?
May 8, 2012
Having been through the earthquake that is written about in this book, it brought back many vivid memories of March 11, 2011. This book shouldn't be taken as a professionally written book by an author, it is a collection of experiences by people who lived through the disasters or were indirectly affected by it. I almost participated in it, but didn't get around to it. A lot of what is written in this book shows how varied the experiences were. It is well worth the read to see what it was really like.
While it isn't professionally written, although some of the contributors are published authors, it doesn't detract from how important this book is. It was created as a way to generate money to be donated to the relief efforts in the Tohoku region of Japan. It took only one week to make the first draft, which is extremely impressive. Our Man in Abiko did an amazing job coordinating the entire project and editing this book.
Don't expect amazing narrative or prose when reading this, but please read it to see what it was like to experience a 9.0 magnitude megathrust earthquake and the resulting tsunami and nuclear disaster. Highly recommended!
While it isn't professionally written, although some of the contributors are published authors, it doesn't detract from how important this book is. It was created as a way to generate money to be donated to the relief efforts in the Tohoku region of Japan. It took only one week to make the first draft, which is extremely impressive. Our Man in Abiko did an amazing job coordinating the entire project and editing this book.
Don't expect amazing narrative or prose when reading this, but please read it to see what it was like to experience a 9.0 magnitude megathrust earthquake and the resulting tsunami and nuclear disaster. Highly recommended!
October 25, 2011
I found the book to be littered with a lot of petty observations and concerns. At times it just made me mad... The guy who mentions holding contempt for the Japanese for eight years and then smiling in a coffeeshop after the quake because he now feels Asian was particularly insulting. I was also annoyed by the lack of humility from the reporter that just peddled his old narrative. But to the book's credit, the opinions expressed seem honest.
The idea is interesting, but it would have been a lot more socially relevant if it hadn't been rushed--as it stands, most of the opinions are those of tech-savvy people who spend their time on Twitter, most not even from Japan. But sadly, people tend to forget about tragedies and natural disasters when the media moves onto something else, so you can't fault the people who put this together for trying to help out as quickly as they could.
The idea is interesting, but it would have been a lot more socially relevant if it hadn't been rushed--as it stands, most of the opinions are those of tech-savvy people who spend their time on Twitter, most not even from Japan. But sadly, people tend to forget about tragedies and natural disasters when the media moves onto something else, so you can't fault the people who put this together for trying to help out as quickly as they could.
Want to read
May 5, 2011KINDLE EBOOK FOR EARTHQUAKE/TSUNAMI RELIEF IN JAPAN
It's $9.99 and the full amount goes to the Red Cross. Donate and download HERE.
ONE HUNDRED PERCENT of the price you pay (net of VAT, sales and other taxes) goes to the Japanese Red Cross Society to aid the victims of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. If you'd like to donate more, please visit the Japanese Red Cross Society website, where you can donate either via Paypal or bank transfer (watch out for the fees, though!) or the American Red Cross Society, which accepts donations directed to its Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami fund (but only accepts donations made with U.S.-issued credit cards).
It's $9.99 and the full amount goes to the Red Cross. Donate and download HERE.
ONE HUNDRED PERCENT of the price you pay (net of VAT, sales and other taxes) goes to the Japanese Red Cross Society to aid the victims of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. If you'd like to donate more, please visit the Japanese Red Cross Society website, where you can donate either via Paypal or bank transfer (watch out for the fees, though!) or the American Red Cross Society, which accepts donations directed to its Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami fund (but only accepts donations made with U.S.-issued credit cards).
April 13, 2011
I got the tissues ready when I started to read this book. This isn't a history book, it's a capture of an afternoon that we are still dealing with. People are still living out of schools and community league halls, they are still identifying bodies, and the brave workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant are still risking their lives to keep us safe. My heart still hurts for my adopted country.
It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be to read this book. I only resorted to tissues once, when reading the poignant story Positive. The art and writing combine to send a massive message of hope, which Japan desperately needs right now.
It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be to read this book. I only resorted to tissues once, when reading the poignant story Positive. The art and writing combine to send a massive message of hope, which Japan desperately needs right now.
August 21, 2011
This short 82 page epistolary was gathered from Tweets in the aftermath of the Japan earthquake and tsunami. I am humbled by the courage and selflessness of the Japanese people during this catastrophe. IMO Americans would be rowdy, rude and frozen, waiting for the government to bail them out. My favorite part of the book was the chapter on signs. A dog who had always slept upstairs with the children began refusing to go upstairs 2 days before the earthquake hit and still won't go upstairs. Birds acted strangely, landing in droves and fighting amongst themselves.
This book was compiled in order to raise funds for the Japanese Red Cross, so readers can help in these extraordinary times.
This book was compiled in order to raise funds for the Japanese Red Cross, so readers can help in these extraordinary times.
October 11, 2011
I can't believe I waited so long to read this book. I lived in South Korea during the Earthquake and I felt so helpless to do anything; I was so close but I felt like I was a world away. I was glued to Twitter as everything unfolded. I was thankful when I started seeing tweets and getting emails from my friends in Japan. This books made something that I felt so disconnected with come a little bit closer. It moved me -- no doubt about that. I definitely recommend this book as an eye opener to how people think about tragedy, and how human co-operation and perseverance are some of our greatest traits as a species.
January 3, 2012
Short reflections portray the dread of people who were there, the guilt of those who survived and the helpless concern of many around the world. Very moving.
Many of the reviews here show disappointment that the thoughts were not of those who were actually impacted by the disaster. Come on, people... This book was put together quickly, compiling tweets and emails in the first couple of weeks after March 11, and was intended to help with the Red Cross effort. Don't you think the actual survivors were still a little involved and overwhelmed with their own efforts to put their lives back together? Maybe in the years to come, we will hear their accounts and cry some more...
Many of the reviews here show disappointment that the thoughts were not of those who were actually impacted by the disaster. Come on, people... This book was put together quickly, compiling tweets and emails in the first couple of weeks after March 11, and was intended to help with the Red Cross effort. Don't you think the actual survivors were still a little involved and overwhelmed with their own efforts to put their lives back together? Maybe in the years to come, we will hear their accounts and cry some more...
September 18, 2017
When the devastating Tohoku earthquake hit Japan in March 2011, I remember watching the news in horror while frantically reaching out to my friends all over Japan as well my brother (who happened to be there for work at the time) while feeling very very helpless being so far away. This book, all its contents written and collected within a single week beginning 18 March 2011, was created to raise money for the relief efforts needed after the earthquake and tsunami. In short essays, artwork and photographs it captures the experiences of many people affected by the disaster while also promoting a message of staying strong in its wake.
March 20, 2012
To write a review of this book would be highly pointless, coming from me, the editor. I will say this though, it's still worth a read. And if you still give a crap about Japan and its predicament one year on, try reading my latest anthology, Reconstructing 3/11, available as a kindle book from Amazon. This time, it's a bit different, it's eight chapters of 3,000 or so words each, by eight folk with insights into what really happened and what has been left undone. And yes, I did shamelessly give my own books five stars. They are quite good, you know.
July 28, 2012
I read this in one sitting and I'm glad I didn't break the readings a part. This collection is full of personal accounts from the March 2011 earthquake that hit Japan. Interestingly, not only does it have a lot of internal accounts, but some external ones as well. One thing I really loved about this collection was the focus on how foreign media interpreted the quakes and how much a lot of these authors felt was wrong or misinformed information.
This book is moving, sad, but full of so much honesty and truth. Highly recommended!
This book is moving, sad, but full of so much honesty and truth. Highly recommended!
January 12, 2025
Out of all the tweets, blog posts, Facebook updates and everything in between, which flew around in the initial couple of weeks following the beginning of the quakes in Japan on March 11th. 2011, something coalesced together - partly intended as a record of note of the event and those affected by it, whether locally or internationally, and partly intended as a form of fund raising effort for those survivors of the tsunami, with the side-effect of raising awareness of what actually happened.
That thing was the #quakebook - â€2:46 : Aftershocks : Stories from the Japan Earthquake“ brought together by a cadre of essentially Japan based bloggers and Twitter fanatics, led by the most certainly not attention seeking @ourmaninabiko. I say that because even though it’s simple enough to find out who he is, he’s made a keen point with reporters and others not to be named in the media, and largely it seems like they’ve complied.
The book is currently only available as an e-book, for 9.99USD from most versions of Amazon, so I’ve just read mine in a single sitting, taking just a couple of hours.
This has been of interest to me, not just as a form of donation whilst receiving something, but because I myself was in much the same situation as many of the people whose accounts are in there, having been on the 20th floor of an office building in central Tokyo when the quakes began. What @ourmaninabiko and his team has done is capture a cross section of experiences from inside the country and from the outside, looking in. I suspect what I found most interesting were those entries which were not like my experience.
To start off, one of the passages which struck me was that by Andy Heather writing from Kyoto:
“But what hurts is the idea that the earthquakes were like seeing a loved one getting beaten and being unable to stop it.â€
One of the topics, certainly in the foreign community, was of those who left Japan in the week or two following the M9 quake the - ‘flyjin’ - and one of those was @sandrajapandra / Sandra Barron, who I began to follow on twitter the day after the quake for news and opinion, and who surprised me by announcing she was moving to LA, with obviously mixed emotions. Her account in Aftershocks (’Leaving’) was the first time I realised why she’d left. It’s an interesting and personal debate. (Addendum – I should note she did return to Japan a few weeks later.)
If there’s one thing everyone should know who maybe (fortunately) has not been in that situation where you’re on the fringe of a massive disaster, and with options, is that everyone should do what they feel is right for them. There’s no value in duress or forcing people into a position - things are tense enough as it is.
The book isn’t all Twitter users and bloggers, some of the writers are noted professionals, and it’s worth mentioning their contributions. Truthfully, with Yoko Ono, whilst I appreciate her support, I found her contribution overly self promotional, with little to add.
Jake Adelstein however, a well known true crime writer and reporter in Japan, juxtaposed a case he was reporting on of a (completely not quake related) double suicide in the face of personal debt, against the disaster in Tohoku and the sacrifices people are making there to keep the country safe. For the two debtors, no one in their apartments knew them, no one at work knew them. No one missed them or even claimed their ashes. In Tohoku whole communities sheltering each other in turn. The effect is almost hypnotic, and echoed something I’d wondered about just after the quake - how this would effect Japan’s infamously high suicide rate.That entry, ‘Muenbotoke’ is worth the price of admission.
William Gibson, the cyberpunk freak who probably turned me most on to Tokyo as a brand, contributes something totally Gibson - what is your memory of Tokyo and Japan? A man sitting naked, totally still, on the edge of a table in an open window, as seen by Gibson from a taxi speeding past on a raised expressway. It’s not notably quake related, but perhaps captures the something ‘other’ of Japan.
In all then, it’s a well rounded and a well meaning collection, pulling together many facets of the disaster in one place. In some ways something like this may be worth updating over the years as people look back on the effect the event has had on Japan, and will continue to have.
If there’s a question on the work, it’s that there seems to be few accounts from Japanese in the tsunami hit areas, or from the Fukushima exclusion zone, but given the time frame it was put together, it would’ve been difficult to include these, and still get it out for the world to read. Perhaps in a retrospective in a year or so these will be included. A paper, and Japanese language version is also in the works.
Overall then, even if you ignore the charitable nature of the work, it’s worth the money and the read to get a feel for what these events do to the people, beyond what the rather dumb and crass mass media has failed to achieve. The brief nature of many accounts actually increases the impact, there’s no time for dwelling, just the basic emotional facts behind an event which took over 20,000 people away in just a few hours, and left a nation digging it’s heels in for years to come.
[Taken from my blog - http://wp.me/pKv78-lF ]
That thing was the #quakebook - â€2:46 : Aftershocks : Stories from the Japan Earthquake“ brought together by a cadre of essentially Japan based bloggers and Twitter fanatics, led by the most certainly not attention seeking @ourmaninabiko. I say that because even though it’s simple enough to find out who he is, he’s made a keen point with reporters and others not to be named in the media, and largely it seems like they’ve complied.
The book is currently only available as an e-book, for 9.99USD from most versions of Amazon, so I’ve just read mine in a single sitting, taking just a couple of hours.
This has been of interest to me, not just as a form of donation whilst receiving something, but because I myself was in much the same situation as many of the people whose accounts are in there, having been on the 20th floor of an office building in central Tokyo when the quakes began. What @ourmaninabiko and his team has done is capture a cross section of experiences from inside the country and from the outside, looking in. I suspect what I found most interesting were those entries which were not like my experience.
To start off, one of the passages which struck me was that by Andy Heather writing from Kyoto:
“But what hurts is the idea that the earthquakes were like seeing a loved one getting beaten and being unable to stop it.â€
One of the topics, certainly in the foreign community, was of those who left Japan in the week or two following the M9 quake the - ‘flyjin’ - and one of those was @sandrajapandra / Sandra Barron, who I began to follow on twitter the day after the quake for news and opinion, and who surprised me by announcing she was moving to LA, with obviously mixed emotions. Her account in Aftershocks (’Leaving’) was the first time I realised why she’d left. It’s an interesting and personal debate. (Addendum – I should note she did return to Japan a few weeks later.)
If there’s one thing everyone should know who maybe (fortunately) has not been in that situation where you’re on the fringe of a massive disaster, and with options, is that everyone should do what they feel is right for them. There’s no value in duress or forcing people into a position - things are tense enough as it is.
The book isn’t all Twitter users and bloggers, some of the writers are noted professionals, and it’s worth mentioning their contributions. Truthfully, with Yoko Ono, whilst I appreciate her support, I found her contribution overly self promotional, with little to add.
Jake Adelstein however, a well known true crime writer and reporter in Japan, juxtaposed a case he was reporting on of a (completely not quake related) double suicide in the face of personal debt, against the disaster in Tohoku and the sacrifices people are making there to keep the country safe. For the two debtors, no one in their apartments knew them, no one at work knew them. No one missed them or even claimed their ashes. In Tohoku whole communities sheltering each other in turn. The effect is almost hypnotic, and echoed something I’d wondered about just after the quake - how this would effect Japan’s infamously high suicide rate.That entry, ‘Muenbotoke’ is worth the price of admission.
William Gibson, the cyberpunk freak who probably turned me most on to Tokyo as a brand, contributes something totally Gibson - what is your memory of Tokyo and Japan? A man sitting naked, totally still, on the edge of a table in an open window, as seen by Gibson from a taxi speeding past on a raised expressway. It’s not notably quake related, but perhaps captures the something ‘other’ of Japan.
In all then, it’s a well rounded and a well meaning collection, pulling together many facets of the disaster in one place. In some ways something like this may be worth updating over the years as people look back on the effect the event has had on Japan, and will continue to have.
If there’s a question on the work, it’s that there seems to be few accounts from Japanese in the tsunami hit areas, or from the Fukushima exclusion zone, but given the time frame it was put together, it would’ve been difficult to include these, and still get it out for the world to read. Perhaps in a retrospective in a year or so these will be included. A paper, and Japanese language version is also in the works.
Overall then, even if you ignore the charitable nature of the work, it’s worth the money and the read to get a feel for what these events do to the people, beyond what the rather dumb and crass mass media has failed to achieve. The brief nature of many accounts actually increases the impact, there’s no time for dwelling, just the basic emotional facts behind an event which took over 20,000 people away in just a few hours, and left a nation digging it’s heels in for years to come.
[Taken from my blog - http://wp.me/pKv78-lF ]
April 27, 2014
Eyewitness reports mixed with photos and art and comments from people both in Japan at the time and people watching in horror via the internet as the earthquake and following tsunami devastated Fukushima and large parts of northern Japan.
Some are gripping, some banal.
Overall I can see the point of the book, to bring awareness and raise funds and can understand the lack of 'good' writing and editing since time was of essence.
Glad I read it.
Some are gripping, some banal.
Overall I can see the point of the book, to bring awareness and raise funds and can understand the lack of 'good' writing and editing since time was of essence.
Glad I read it.
October 8, 2016
Outstanding! Insightful, truthful, alarming, and so, so real.
A real insight into the devastation, both mental and physical. Well worth reading. While it may be haunting, you see the love of man for his fellow man and that is a rare glimpse and one we should see and hear about on the news more and more and not just in times of disaster.
A real insight into the devastation, both mental and physical. Well worth reading. While it may be haunting, you see the love of man for his fellow man and that is a rare glimpse and one we should see and hear about on the news more and more and not just in times of disaster.
January 29, 2019
It was insightful to read so many points of view of the same event, I found many parallel thoughts with what I experienced on the Mexico City earthquake.
I would have liked to read more POVs from locals, that's all.
I would have liked to read more POVs from locals, that's all.
January 30, 2022
This book is a set of stories compiled from people who suffered in the 3/11 Japan earthquake, directly or indirectly.
I started reading this book only because it was free in my Kindle Unlimited subscription. Later, I realised almost 11 years have passed since the disaster. I began to see the stories in a new light.
Some stories beautifully convey the emotions those people were feeling, during the quake or in the following weeks. The epiphanies of life, the fear for the future, the gathering of strength, the waiting for some news from loved ones, the patriotism shine through most of the stories.
"From outside, we may act calm and cheerful to the point of seeming creepy. But so understand: We are crying inside, we are greeting our teeth, often literally. " - Yuko Kato ~ Underneath
It has been mentioned multiple times in the book, that the compilation and editing of stories was a quick job. Kudos to the editors. But it left me wanting more, and not in a good way. Some of the stories left me without closure. As an afterthought, I do realise, those stories may not have had an end at the time.
I have had my epiphanies and learnings from some of these stories, especially because I am reading this book 11 years after and in the middle of an epidemic. They gave me quiet strength that, Life Goes On.
I started reading this book only because it was free in my Kindle Unlimited subscription. Later, I realised almost 11 years have passed since the disaster. I began to see the stories in a new light.
Some stories beautifully convey the emotions those people were feeling, during the quake or in the following weeks. The epiphanies of life, the fear for the future, the gathering of strength, the waiting for some news from loved ones, the patriotism shine through most of the stories.
"From outside, we may act calm and cheerful to the point of seeming creepy. But so understand: We are crying inside, we are greeting our teeth, often literally. " - Yuko Kato ~ Underneath
It has been mentioned multiple times in the book, that the compilation and editing of stories was a quick job. Kudos to the editors. But it left me wanting more, and not in a good way. Some of the stories left me without closure. As an afterthought, I do realise, those stories may not have had an end at the time.
I have had my epiphanies and learnings from some of these stories, especially because I am reading this book 11 years after and in the middle of an epidemic. They gave me quiet strength that, Life Goes On.
April 10, 2021
Its been 10 years since the devastating effects of the Japanese Earthquake and tsunami that hit the Tōhoku region, and apart from the horrifying imagery on the news, I didn't know much else about the incident or the handling of the environmental disaster.
This book, whilst it has to be rewarded for its intent, written immediately after the accident, I have to say I was disappointed with the amount of individuals who were not even in Japan writing about the disaster. Sure you have a unique insight, in that you lived in Japan for 10 years, but I wanted more stories from those who were directly affected by the disaster.
However, it is a fascinating bit of social commentary from a group of people and their feelings straight after the disaster. Some of the stories are engaging, but due to the many different authors the quality does differ.
If you are looking for an in-depth historial account of what happened in Japan, the clean-up efforts and the aftermath to those living within the 30km, this isn't that. However, it has to be commended that this book was written to support the Japanese Red Cross.
This book, whilst it has to be rewarded for its intent, written immediately after the accident, I have to say I was disappointed with the amount of individuals who were not even in Japan writing about the disaster. Sure you have a unique insight, in that you lived in Japan for 10 years, but I wanted more stories from those who were directly affected by the disaster.
However, it is a fascinating bit of social commentary from a group of people and their feelings straight after the disaster. Some of the stories are engaging, but due to the many different authors the quality does differ.
If you are looking for an in-depth historial account of what happened in Japan, the clean-up efforts and the aftermath to those living within the 30km, this isn't that. However, it has to be commended that this book was written to support the Japanese Red Cross.
April 11, 2018
Un texto disonante, por un lado nos podemos encontrar con los relatos conmovedores de los sobrevivientes de tal tragedia, y por el otro, está plagado de comentarios banales e incluso frívolos de aquellos individuos que se sentían con la necesidad de volverse protagonistas de la desgracia de otros, a pesar de encontrarse del otro lado del mundo. Probablemente tal hecho, nos muestra el ominoso malestar de la cultura, en que a pesar de la desgracia, así como existen individuos capaz de los actos de heroísmo y solidaridad más memorables, también hay quienes sienten el ímpetu de levantar la voz e intentar volver todo evento acerca de ellos.
October 29, 2017
Mostly okay, but several of the stories were more self-serving and insulting (eight years of contempt to smiling and 'feeling Asian', and the hack rehashing an old bit of irrelevence, in particular), taking something away rather than adding to it.
September 2, 2023
Humanity in the face of adversity, personal accounts by those who experienced the Great East Japan Earthquake that resulted in a tsunami & the Fukishima nuclear disaster.
Proceeds from the book in aid of the Japanese Red Cross. 🇯🇵
Proceeds from the book in aid of the Japanese Red Cross. 🇯🇵
July 10, 2017
So interesting to get inside someone's life like this.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 113 reviews