Three Tigers, One Mountain: A Journey through the Bitter History and Current Conflicts of China, Korea and Japan

by Michael Booth

From the author of The Almost Nearly Perfect People, a lively tour through Japan, Korea, and China, exploring the intertwined cultures and often fraught history of these neighboring countries.

There is an ancient Chinese proverb that states, “Two tigers cannot share the same mountain.” However, in East Asia, there are three tigers on that mountain: China, Japan, and Korea, and they have a long history of turmoil and tension with each other. In his latest entertaining and thought provoking narrative travelogue, Michael Booth sets out to discover how deep, really, is the enmity between these three “tiger” nations, and what prevents them from making peace. Currently China’s economic power continues to grow, Japan is becoming more militaristic, and Korea struggles to reconcile its westernized south with the dictatorial Communist north. Booth, long fascinated with the region, travels by car, ferry, train, and foot, experiencing the people and culture of these nations up close. No matter where he goes, the burden of history, and the memory of past atrocities, continues to overshadow present relationships. Ultimately, Booth seeks a way forward for these closely intertwined, neighboring nations.

An enlightening, entertaining and sometimes sobering journey through China, Japan, and Korea, Three Tigers, One Mountain is an intimate and in-depth look at some of the world’s most powerful and important countries.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, China, Japan, Asia, Politics, Travel

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 16, 2020

About the author

Michael Booth is an English food and travel writer and journalist who writes regularly for a variety of newspapers and magazines including the Independent on Sunday, Condé Nast Traveller, Monocle and Time Out, among many other publications at home and abroad. He has a wife, Lissen, and two children, Asger and Emil.

In June 2010 Michael Booth won the Guild of Food Writers/Kate Whiteman Award for work in food and travel.

Reviews

[Sumit RK · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Two tigers cannot share the same mountain.” ~ Ancient Chinese Proverb

Three Tigers, One Mountain is a part travelogue, part history book exploring the long history of turmoil between China, Korea, and Japan. The author takes us on an informative and enjoyable journey through China, Japan, and Korea and also Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Written more like a travelogue, each chapter is based in a city and explores its associated history and its current state. The author gives the historical/political background of each country to give the reader an insight into the reasons based on history, politics & culture as to why there continues to be so much tension between these countries.

This is not purely a history book or a travel diary but also attempts to speak with a multitude of people from all walks of life including politicians, academics, former govt officials, and even YouTubers. The interviews were particularly interesting and a glimpse into the psyche of the citizens of each country. I really liked how it tried to understand viewpoints from all sides of the political spectrum. The history combined with these viewpoints painted a very comprehensive portrait of these countries, their citizens, and their complex, relationships with their neighbors.

This is not a history book. So, if you are looking for a deeper understanding of the historical issues between the countries, it may feel insufficient. Also the historical coverage, incl the post-WWII event feels light.

However, Booth does a good job of combining history with his own experiences to keep the readers engaged. This book was both informative and thoroughly entertaining. If you are interested in Asian History as well as exploring the countries and people, this book will be a good choice.


Many thanks to the publishers' St. Martin's Press and Edelweiss for the ARC.

[Mikey B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author outlines the main areas of contention between Japan, Korea (mostly South Korea as the author did not go to the North for obvious reasons) and China. And there is a lot of contention between these three different tigers! They are all economic giants competing economically world-wide.

Japan was a military force some years back – and their sins of violent expansion remain unresolved and unforgiven. Apologies are asked for from both China and Korea. Someone in Japan makes a gesture at reconciliation, but then one of the many right-wing groups in Japan counters this and the fires are re-kindled, again.

The author visits many museums and shrines such as the Yasukuni Shrine in Japan which is a memorial to Japanese war veterans including war criminals. There are some in Japan who have told the truth, but others attempt to gloss over atrocities committed - such as those at Nanjing in 1937.

The book has many historical vignettes and interviews presenting, many points of view. Sometimes the author goes overboard with historical comparisons and can be apologetic for the Japanese, as with the minimization and/or denial of the many atrocities committed by the Japanese during the Second World War, and the omission of these war-time atrocities from schools and textbooks. The Japanese government has refused compensation for war-related crimes time and time again.

I felt the author was biased towards Japan – Japan is cleaner, the people more polite, the food better… all less than subtle hints of favoritism that accumulate in the book.

I did not like the sentence at the beginning of the chapter “Seoul VI” – “protesters have been gathering here, just across the street from the Japanese embassy… to campaign on behalf of the women who they say were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II”. “the women who they say”. As if this may have happened, to cast doubt on. It is a fact that thousands of women and young girls from many Asian countries (Korea, China, the Philippines, Indonesia) were abducted, raped, and forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese Army. We will never know how many died during their incarceration; and many - due to shame and humiliation - have never been able to speak of what they underwent. There is a documentary film called “The Apology” which follows a group of Korean women, survivors of sexual slavery, who go to Japan to ask for an acknowledgement from the Japanese government of what occurred to them. A Japanese right-wing group yelled at them on the streets of Tokyo calling them “Korean whores” and other such names – this to 80+ year old women.

I grant that the author later in the chapter speaks of their incarceration, but always refers to them as “comfort women” – they were sex slaves. The statue of the young girl sitting next to an empty chair is called “The Statue of Peace”, a name I much prefer over the highly euphemistic term “comfort women”.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_...

What all this demonstrates is the high level of animosity that festers between these countries.

The author does point out that the very low birth rate of all three countries might preclude an outbreak of hostilities or war between their countries – as this would further diminish the youthful population.

A very good quote from page 301 (my book) –“There is a related school of thought that in Korean culture, whenever someone says sorry for some transgression, it gives the injured party the right to beat the guilty over the head in perpetuity – an apology is the beginning of external extortion”.

So overall the author paints a complex picture of these three countries – and he adds Taiwan (three chapters) and Hong Kong (two chapters). Nothing looks easy in the foreseeable future.

[Meike · Rating 4 out of 5]

In order to effectively convey the conflict-heavy past and present of China, Korea and Japan, British travel journalist Michael Booth roamed the three nations (including Hong Kong and Taiwan), visiting historic sights and talking to experts and average residents alike. The result is a text that (consciously) takes a very European view on the various crises and wars that have troubled that part of the world and how governments and electorates are dealing with the consequences today. Readers shouldn't expect a scholarly treatise or a scientific textbook: It's clearly a book directed at a broad audience without much prior knowledge, and it is interspersed with very subjective impressions and personal opinions, but this also means that the text is easily accessible and highly readable.

Booth considers the role of foreign interference and international politics in general, of occupation and colonialism, wars within the region, the politics of history (so how history is dealt with today, e.g. by politicians, in the media or in textbooks), current affairs and possible conflicts in the future. Obviously, there is a lot to unpack, and while the content is not hard to grasp, the reader has to pay close attention and follow Booth when he constantly changes his surroundings and his point of view, which is necessary in order to understand different perceptions within and between nations. Booth also cites several studies and books, among them classics like The Chrysanthemum and the Sword: Patterns of Japanese Culture and non-fiction like Pachinko.

All in all, this is certainly not a book that fulfills the standards of political science (and it does not aim to), but it is an interesting read for everyone who enjoys travel writing that offers a deeper look into the heart of a region.

[Daniel Goodman · Rating 1 out of 5]

An East Asia travelouge by a guy who can't help but let his preference for Japan color everything he describes... really disappointed by the poor representation of East Asia.

If you are unfamiliar with East Asia: Don't read this book, as it will not provide you with a fair / accurate representstion of the unique cultures he visits.

As someone who lives in Seoul, I found his chapters on Korea laughbly inaccurate... he seems to love attributing cultural phenomena shared between Korea and Japan, and implying they are exclusively Korean (if they are negative, that is). He also uses some troubling language to talk about Japanese sexual enslavement of Koreans during WWII - describing a protest outside the Japanese embassy as being dome by "women who claim to have been..." Really?

If you ARE familiar with East Asia: Don't read this book unless you want to be annoyed.

TL:DR: Author can't help but compare EVERYTHING to Japan, and clearly has thick rose colored glasses for the Japanese & Japanese culutre.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great title.

Everyone who lives in this part of the world is aware of the judgmental relationships Asians have with one another, yet this is the first book I've seen that has tried to explain the reasons behind some of them from a non-academic point of view. (In my experience, it is usually the academic historians who touch upon the societal after-effects of historical events in the last chapter or afterwords of their books, even though there are a lot more factors at play than history!) For that, the author deserves real credit.

However, whether you think the time reading this book was well spent or not, is going to depend very much on who you are, and that is one of the problems with the book, or at least it was for me. It wasn't obvious who the author saw as his readership.

If you're a newcomer to the region, this could be a book for you. Headed on a cruise to East Asia stopping at ports in Korea, Japan and China (as many of the international cruise ships' itineraries are arranged)? Tuck this book into a bag and bring it along. It's an easy read, perfect for dipping in and out of on a cruise ship deck and guaranteed to tempt passing strangers into conversation. And here's another target market: Having spent considerable time in the region in 'Regional Head office' jobs travelling around the region, often with a senior VIP in tow from a distant home office, it has always amazed me how blind casual visitors to a region can be about local or regional sensitivities. So if this could be you one day, again, this book would be a good place to start; at the very least it will help you avoid a major social faux pas such as raising your glass to the wrong height in a 'Cheers!" moment, and give you a light dose of regional history at the same time.

In many ways, this is a travelogue, but with a question that strongly influenced the itinerary. Although Booth writes as if his travels through the region were a casual jaunt, we know he had a purpose and a schedule with pre-arranged meetings (too many, from my point of view with long-term expats, but OK, languages were a barrier.) But for someone familiar with the region, this wasn't good enough. What you hear from people you've just met or have only known for a short time is very different from what you are going to hear (or detect) from say, your own parent or a very good friend, especially when the topic is as loaded as this one!

I also feel quite strongly that there should have been a chapter right at the beginning with more of the background history of the three countries. Scholar David Abulalfia covers this extremely well in just 30 or so pages (Chapters 10 and 11) in his The Boundless Sea: A Human History of the Oceans where his coverage of the tension between the three countries is beautifully described and sprinkled with such wonderful anecdotes as the note that the Emperor of Japan once sent to the Emperor of Tang China, "The Son of Heaven of the Land of the Rising Sun greets the Son of Heaven of the Land of the Sinking Sun".

I'm also quite sure that language would have been a barrier for author Booth. The choice of a word alone can convey a prejudice or judgment, and even the best translators sometimes have to just 'grab' at the word that comes to mind rather than choose the one with the right nuances. And even those who spoke to Booth in English rather than their native language: did they understand the word they would have chosen in its fullest sense? (I once had a conversation in China with a young man who kept referring to women as 'broads' until I told him that was a very old-fashioned and sexist word used a long time ago by American gangsters and policemen. Turned out he was a fan of old crime novels and had no idea of its connotations.) What did Booth miss in some of the conversations he had, I kept thinking.

I'm pretty sure there are going to be tomatoes as well as bouquets thrown, so I'm very curious to read what our Asian readers will have to say.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part travelogue, part investigative journalism, I had very high hopes for this narrative exploration of East Asia past and present. Booth visited Japan, South Korea, China, and Taiwan and interspersed goofy travel anecdotes with museum visits and interviews, bookended by historical analysis for context as an introduction and a conventional, vaguely hopeful epilogue. It's an admirable pitch for a book, but in execution I found it critically flawed.

The South Korea section was the worst. Booth spent far more time dabbling in cultural anthropology here than any of the other countries, which was puzzling. More troubling, most of the "problems" he identified in this section are not unique to South Korea. A hagwon by any other name is a juku or a buke that helps poor students survive the Suneung/nyūgaku shiken/gaokao. And that's just education. The pressure to conform; incestuous, corrupt megacorps; the de-emphasis of the individual in society; Confucianism's lingering values; I could go on and on. By mistakenly identifying these as specifically South Korean problems, it makes me suspect he has fundamentally misunderstood Chinese and Japanese society as well, which makes the whole book suspect.

There's also the vexation that I felt he didn't give Japan a fair shake. He spent a great deal of time talking about their historical sins (that's to be expected) and interviewed thugs, people of Korean descent, and hardcore right wingers...not exactly people who give a positive impression of Japan, and then moved on to Busan without giving any space for more moderate or even progressivist voices in contemporary Japan. The problem is the men and women he cherrypicked for representation are all margins of Japanese society, and the end result was feeling like this was a calculated move meant to give a bad impression/validate the terrible opinions of Japan that follow.

Moreover, I was thoroughly disappointed that he chose to end the chapter detailing his visit to the DMZ (the area separating North and South Korea) with school boy giggles recounting his visit to a penis themed amusement park. How could a journalist possibly think that was acceptable?

In short this is not a book I'd recommend to those unfamiliar with the region and its history. There are some very insightful tidbits here and there, but a whole lot of nonsense to sort through looking for them.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three Tigers, One Mountain: A Journey Through the Bitter History and Current Conflicts of China, Korea, and Japan, by Michael Booth, is an interesting journalistic travelogue about the history and reality of the animosity between three nations: Korea, Japan and China. This animosity has a long and complex history, and is often little known or evaluated in the Western world. Much head scratching ensues when trade disputes erupt between South Korea and Japan over microchips, and many seemingly confusing relationships ensue - such as South Korea and North Korea, technically at war, both applaud anti-Japanese statements at a diplomatic function, or China and Taiwan side together on the diplomatic front, and so on. Why do these events occur?

Booth travels through the region, starting in Japan, and working his way across the country, on to Korea, and then to China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. In each area he interviews academics, authors, everyday people, and expats to try and find out why such animosity exists. The findings are complex, highly cultural, and relate strongly to a troubled past, one where China was once the dominant Confucius power in a hegemonic sphere, where Japan violently invaded and attempted to colonize its neighbours, and were Koreans fought a bloody civil war that split its country into two. Where Taiwan remains a pawn in geopolitics, and begins to develop its own sense of culture separate from the mainland. And where Hong Kong looks to continue the democratic traditions its former colonizer only recently allowed itself. This is a fascinating book, where Korean expats in Japan write anti-Korean novels that are best sellers on the islands. Where history is a major part of how Koreans see themselves, and why they are so distrusting of their island neighbours, who share the same democratic politics, US backed alliance system, and the same belligerent neighbours - North Korea and China. In China, history is more complex and political, and fits into the countries narrative of rebirth, development and continuation. China feels it is facing its historic colonizers in Japan, and neocolonialist forces in the United States - a history that is not wholly unjustified.

[Rida 🍉 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perhaps the biggest issue with this book is that the author isn't clear what he wants this book to be - and who the target audience is. For people with no prior knowledge of this region, perhaps there is some benefit (although the author's bias is clear) but for anyone with some level of knowledge - there is nothing new to be gained here.

Booth's obvious bias towards Japan/Japanese culture sharply affected the trajectory of the following sections on South Korea and China (?). But the chapters on South Korea were particularly poor, Booth divests himself of the book's central aim to set upon a harsh anthropological deconstruction of South Korea - whilst participating in the very things he criticises (e.g. pointing out South Korea's tendency towards plastic surgery and then going for a procedure himself). What does he expect the reader to gain from this? Many of the *problems* highlighted with SK aren't unique to the country itself. The concluding section on Taiwan was marginally better but not enough to salvage the more problematic approach taken in its earlier chapters.

The tone of this book was also confusing - part travelogue style (think: a written version of a documentary), peppered with history and overly saturated with random anecdotes. The interviews Booth conducted with various people were insightful but once again, his own bias tainted parts of his works. It felt awkward to bounce between being comically goofy, spending most of the chapter on North Korea on a visit to Haesindang Park to writing about very deep topics (T/W: sexual assualt).

Lastly, the concluding remarks also felt disproportionate once again due to Booth's obsession with Japan - it didn't sit right with me that he felt the need to tell the South Koreans to be forgiving towards Japan for their historically fraught past colonial relationship - he has no legitimate moral authority to do so.

[Ejona Rexhepi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow! Where to start?
On the plus side, if you have no real knowledge about modern East Asian history, this does provide a good overview of the major events in the 20th Century.
However, that's pretty much the only positive of the book. The author clearly has a massive bias towards Japan and therefore every point he makes is with the base that Japan is superior to its neighbours/what the neighbouring countries of China and South Korea should aspire to be. The author keeps making sweeping generalisations about millions of people and then wonders how on earth there could be such animosity between these nations(!)
He arrives in Korea and is absolutely disgusted by the fact people use their phones, how dare they in one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world and then, can you believe it, men are wearing make up! I'm surprised the author didn't faint from shock at this point! He speaks about plastic surgery in Korea but doesn't think to mention the euro centric beauty standards that might have helped push this increase. He starts mentioning random facts that have nothing to do with the relations between the three counties just so that he can have something to be grumpy about.
Some points aren't even well researched, he mentions how there aren't a lot of tattoos in Japan but there are loads in Korea - but doesn't mention that it's still illegal to be a tattooist unless you have a doctor's degree.
He at one point basically tells the comfort women to get over it and calls traditional dress pyjamas.
There is a point where the author goes through all the important historical facts but this only warrants one page. He struggles to compliment one of the other nations, without making it about Japan.
Overall, this book doesn't seem to be why don't these nations get on with each other, but why don't they get on with Japan. There's very little, if any, look into China's relationship with Korea. I only have basic knowledge about Korea, so I would suggest if you know about the history and relations of these countries, don't pick this book up it'll just irritate you.

[Emily Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to the publisher for sharing this ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.

This is a topic that already interested me, if you can't tell by my having read it. All the more so after spending a holiday in China two years ago and another in Japan at the end of last year. Despite being interested for a long time and being (somewhat) well-read in translated Chinese, Japanese and Korean literature I felt woefully lacking in actual knowledge. Reading Three Tigers, One Mountain was my attempt at remedying that and it absolutely delivered.

This wasn't an info-dump of East Asian history—something I was nervous about going in—but also a travelogue and comedic commentary. This made it such a pleasure to read and very digestible. I genuinely laughed out loud multiple times while reading and constantly sent my husband passages that I found funny or enlightening. I am all the more grateful for the comedic relief given the violent and often horrific history in East Asia, something the author definitely did not shy away from.

The structure itself is most similar to a travelogue with the author traveling through the three countries (plus short stops in Hong Kong and Taiwan) Japan, (South) Korea and China. Each chapter is based in a city and explores its associated history and its current state. I found the interviews particularly interesting and loved learning more about not just the history but how contemporary citizens feel about it. I was pleased to see the author really did his due diligence in exploring the various conflicts from all angles and from many perspectives, be it class, age, race or nationality. This painted a very comprehensive portrait of these countries and citizens and their complex, and often contradictory relationships with their history and neighbors.

This book was really all I could hope for, being both information dense and thoroughly entertaining. The author truly did an excellent job. If this topic is at all interesting to you it's absolutely worth the read!

[MiA · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a book that aims at exploring not one ancient culture but three. I will refrain here from calling that shared geographic region "the Far East" because the term is exclusive and euro-centric. The idea of the book seems to be very ambitious. I do know little about the history of China, Japan, and Korea— maybe far less of the latter; however, uniting the three nations that have a shared history of antagonism and conflict in one book resulted in skimming over each nation's history and culture to the extent of decontextualization.

The book is in part Booth's reflections on history and geography, part travelogue, part reportage. Going into this book, I felt like I needed a more comprehensive understanding of the region before I could fully appreciate the arguments and interviews presented here. I wouldn't recommend this title for beginners like myself; it's not an introduction to understanding the region, nor is it an in-depth analysis of the source of conflict between all three countries.

Additionally, you might want to keep in mind that this is a book told from a white-western perspective. The projection of how the Chinese, Korean and Japanese are perceived by western eyes is more palpable than how the Chinese, Korean and Japanese perceive themselves. Also, with a large dose of political commentary, I'm not sure if the book was best placed in the travel genre. I'm not also sure if the author was best placed to write this book. Michael Booth, whom I understand to be a travel and food writer, isn't really an expert on international relations; not to mention that there was a not so indiscernible level of bias, or maybe even infatuation, with Japan.

I tried to put my concerns about this book as clearly and objectively as possible and hope they are received with the same spirit in which they are given.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my eGalley.

[Azjatycka Półka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bardzo cenię sobie taką narrację, która nie mówi o krajach Azji Wschodniej w samych superlatywach. Bo choć łączy nas zainteresowanie tymi krajami, warto mieć w głowie ich pełny obraz, bo są to państwa jak każde inne - ze swoimi wadami i zaletami. Ciemne karty w historii tych krajów nie zniknęły, ich mieszkańcy mają swoje przywary, codzienność nie jest taka, jak w serialu.

Autor udał się w podróż po Japonii, Korei Południowej, Chinach i Tajwanie, by zobaczyć, co dzieli te kraje i zyskać perspektywę wszystkich stron konfliktów.

Trzeba pamiętać, że mimo wszystko to wciąż jest reportaż i trochę tej reporterskiej subiektywności tu znajdziemy. Ale, co jest dla mnie bardzo na plus, Booth jednak stara się unikać patrzenia na omawiane kraje z wyższością. Może czasem zdarza mu się powielać stereotypy i niefortunnie wyrazić, ale w większości rzetelnie omawia zagadnienia.

Plusem jest również, że jest to pozycja bardzo aktualna bo z 2020 roku. W tak dynamicznie zmieniających się krajach, gdzie konflikty są tylko ciągle podsycane i mogą eskalować w każdej chwili, jest to bardzo ważne, by takie pozycje były szybko tłumaczone i wydawane.

Choć dla mnie na przykład wiedza o tych konfliktach nie jest szczególnie zaskakująca, było sporo informacji, które dla mnie były nowe i interesujące. Ta książka pozwala także ułożyć sobie pewne informacje w głowie, a fakt, że przyglądamy się tym konfliktom z różnych stron sprawia, że obraz staje się pełniejszy. Może zdecydowanie poszerzyć horyzonty czytelnika, dać mu spojrzenie na ten rejon z nowej perspektywy.

Do tego Was zachęcam - do poszerzania horyzontów.

A więcej o książce na blogu:https://azjatyckapolka.wordpress.com/...

[Wykrakane · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dawno nie byłam tak sfrustrowana książką.

Chociaż autor ma bardzo dużą wiedzę na temat tych trzech krajów, to sposób, w jaki je opisuje pozostawia wiele do życzenia. Jest to książka bardzo subiektywna – autor KOCHA Japonię, wszystko do niej porównuje, nic nie jest lepsze od Japonii, Korea i Chiny się nawet do Japonii nie umywają. Nawet gdy mowa jest o japońskich zbrodniach wojennych, znajdą się kontrargumenty typu: ~ Japonia nie jest jedynym krajem, który dokonywał takich strasznych czynów ~ czy ~ według mojego informatora (a informatorów ma sporo, oczywiście niewymienionych z imienia i nazwiska) liczba ofiar była znacznie zawyżona i w ogóle reakcje są przesadzone.

Narracja prowadzona jest bardzo dziwnie, obok niemal reporterskich fragmentów o masakrach wojennych mamy prywatne opinie na temat obrzydliwego jedzenia czy problemów żołądkowych autora. Boomerskie i uprzedzone nastawienie skutkuje fragmentami, takimi jak ten:
,,Młodzi Koreańczycy płci męskiej są natomiast pochłonięci bez reszty troską o swój wygląd zewnętrzny. Wyglądają na ludzi, którzy zdecydowanie za długo sterczą przed lustrem w łazience".

Jeśli zaś chodzi o redakcję: nad tą książką – oprócz tłumaczki – pracowało trzech redaktorów oraz korektorka. Jeśli chodzi o tłumaczkę, bardzo irytowała mnie transkrypcja, którą wybrała (nie jest to błąd, natomiast gdy czytałam o seulskiej dzielnicy Kangnam –chociaż wszyscy kojarzą Gangnam – czułam poirytowanie, a takich momentów było wiele). Co do tłumaczy... nazwisko Czang Kaj-szeka (jak widzimy w przypisie) zdecydowano zapisywać takiej formie, gdyż lepiej znana jest polskim czytelnikom, co nie jest konsekwentne, gdyż o Kim Ir Senie używane jest niepopularne w Polsce (chodź poprawne) Kim Il Sung. Dodatkowo, wydaje mi się, że chodź jedna osoba z zespołu redakcyjnego powinna wpaść na pomysł zamienienie przelicznika jen/won – funt na złotówki.

Po lekturze, chociaż rzeczywiście dowiedziałam się czegoś nowego, mam mieszane uczucia. Przede wszystkim dlatego, że nie wiem, czy to, co przeczytałam jest prawdą, czy subiektywną wersją historii autora.

[Nicki Markus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Until recently I knew little about Asia. However, a newly awakened interest in Japan and modern Japanese culture led me to request this book and I found it incredibly interesting and enlightening. I learnt many new things about these three countries and their relationships, and Booth's fun storytelling/travel guide approach made it a light and enjoyable read. Several times I laughed aloud at his jokes and witty commentary, and I felt his discussion was nicely balanced, always considering both sides of every issue. I finished feeling I had a better understanding of the complex relationships between these countries and it has left me interested to learn more. A solid four stars, and I recommend Three Tigers, One Mountain to anyone interested in Asian history and culture.

I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Lynsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this. A nice, not too heavy, exploration of the complex history and relationships between these countries. I liked that the author included a lot of reflections based on his own encounters, linking those back to the history. All very interesting. Still loads to learn!

[Noah Weiser · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such an interesting and fascinating book about the history and dynamics between South Korea, Japan, and China. Perfect mix of current events, history, politics, and everyday people.

[Jitse]

Author heads out on a journey through Japan, Korea and China, a physical journey through the lands but a historical journey while at it. Author has a crush on Japan but is open about that and deserves the benefit of the doubt. The Japan section, say the first third of the book, is both positive of Japan but at the same time justly critical. Critical of its military and colonial history, even a little critical of Japan today. Often labelling the latter under far rightism, but okay, we give him that. As long as their football fans are shown to be cleaning up their own mess in the stadiums after the game, we keep an eye closed for the same people waving the Rising Sun flag. Because they ask us so politely, we keep an eye closed for the annual Yasukuni visits by their (prime-)ministers, glorifying a history of war, death and torture.

Author moves onward to Korea and this is where the book takes a bleak turn. I’m guessing the author arrives in Korea with some kind of physical dissatisfaction. Itchy balls, noisy stomach, a rough night, homesick, wet socks. From the get-go Korea is described as a country where author has bad experiences, instead of a country with its own history and culture. Unlike in Japan, compared to Japan, but when in Japan. The Korean worker at the petrol station only fills up the author’s tank, but does not wipe his window as is common in…right…Japan. Korean lady in the restaurant is forcefully helping author by picking his dinner from the menu, even though he wants something else. There are so many concrete apartment blocks in Korea, it feels as if… There are, he’s right, there are so many, there are too many, but for good reasons. I am annoyed by now.
First author’s rental car turns out to be a prototype self-driving car to the surprise of the author. But then, when reminded to keep hold of the steering wheel after a few seconds, it’s not self-driving enough. After the umpteenth time he refers to certain food by the name of its Japanese equivalent (just call the thing a dumpling dude, if you can’t research that in Korea it’s called mandu, and not gyoza!), I decide to end the misery and switch to Irish punk halfway my exercise.

I never made it to the Chinese part of the book, but seeing that one of the covers of the book has four flags for Three Tigers, I rest assured, author’s opinion on the China-Taiwan conflict can’t be too progressive. Given Japan’s presence in Taiwan’s recent history, I think I know the ending of the story and where that stems from.

Audiobook listen.
Did not want to finish.
Should have known better.

[George1st · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part travelogue, part history, part reportage, Michael Booth here examines the complex and fraught relationship between the three “tiger” nations. Travelling through Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, the author will give the reader an insight into the reasons based on history, politics, culture and ethnicity as to why there continues to be so much tension between these intertwined lands. This is a complex story but by speaking with a multitude of people from all walks of life including politicians, academics, those effected by wartime atrocities and ordinary people both young and old we get some understanding of why there is so much enmity and mistrust. The one thing that unites North and South Korea it is their mutual antipathy towards Japan.

Having as a starting point Matthew Perry's journey to Japan in 1853, we see how the opening up of the country destabilised the existing centuries old equilibrium and hierarchy of Japan, Korea and China. Japan would now proceed on a path of militarism and expansion that would lead to the brutal conquest of Korea and much of Eastern China.The continual animosity towards Japan is examined in detail particularly the perceived reluctance (debatable) of it issuing a genuine apology. What does not help the situation is the revisionism of history practised by all sides and disputes of contested islands. Add into the mix the far from straightforward story of Taiwan (a place where Japan is viewed quite favourably) and the relationship between North and South Korea and China and Hong Kong and you have a most fascinating story that will the give the reader a much better understanding of the current affairs of East Asia.

[Preethi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really learnt a lot from this book - the intertwined history of the three countries - Japan, Korea, China is laid out with good historical context (albeit from a white man’s perspective, which probably was a good way to be neutral too), and with enough details on what is happening currently.
Even as someone with introduction to Korean culture thanks to the K-dramas I’ve been watching since 2020, there were plenty of aspects I had no idea about and which enriched my understanding of Korea. As for China, it was good to read about the points where China wasn’t the bully in the early 1900s.
The real learning was about Japan - I’d been wondering how the public perception for Japan is that it is a peace-loving country when they were one of the perpetrators of the WW II- this book gives enough context on the atrocities Japanese military is responsible for, the current temperature for alt-right conversations in Japan and the temperament of the normal people amidst it all.

Strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in Asian history.

[Carmen Naíde · Rating 5 out of 5]

Half history book, half travelogue. Highly recommend as it is quite informative but easy to digest, full of interesting facts and witty remarks that make you laugh.

Booth travels through Japan, South Korea, China and Taiwan visiting important historic landmarks and interviewing people deeply connected to such issues: they run museums, campaign, research, write about them, are ambassadors, anthropologists or politicians. He also met with veterans, victims of war crimes, of torture and oppression.

The relationship between these countries is quite frankly a huge messy web of political issues and war grudges. Nonetheless, Booth did a great job going through the combination of historical conflicts between each Tiger.

[Nikos Dunno · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting read, especially since I wasn't aware of many of the historic facts mentioned that have contributed to the modern day conflicts of those countries. Not sure that it's not biased as it's a description of an outsider foreigner looking in, but luckily it takes into consideration opinions of the locals that are expressed via random encounters or prearranged interviews. I absolutely agree with the conclusion of the universality of human nature that can create similar events regardless of the topology and geography.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting travelogue around East Asia, although the framing and tone bothered me. The journey is definitely a subjective one, the narrator speaks like a seasoned japanophile from a western country, and much of the book the dedicated to the exploring the japanese war crimes that still comes up in East Asian diplomacy. It feel like the author is on a soul searching journey to redeem himself of the guilt that, the culture he idolizes is not always thought of as perfect by their neighbors. After all, the Japanese are "just so nice how could anyone not like them?". And I think that's what bothered me, the insistence on on reminding Korean and Chinese to not only forgive, but also "forget", so that the westerner like him won't have to think about things like 20th century Japanese history. Further complicating my feelings for the book, is that the narrator clearly wasn't interested in the people and culture of Korea or mainland China, cultures which I guess is not quite as "nice". It's also no surprise then, that he took a much better liking to the likes of Hong Kong and Taiwan, post-colonial states of East Asian descent, made much more palatable by the west.

The first paragraphs of the chapter on mainland China was based in Harbin and not for pages did he even mention anything about the city, instead describing in detail of the war crimes of the Japanese at Unit 731. Granted it is a story worth telling and re-telling, but as someone from the region and having Harbin as one of my favorite cities in the world, the history of the city being reduced to victimhood by the Japanese was disappointing. Very little was gone over in the Manchukuo period, and the narrator is even mentioned at the very end how since "so little of China" was occupied, the antagonism of the japanese was different that of the Koreans. To someone who's from the region, it was particularly strange to hear. I guess the regional differences within china was quite interesting enough to explore, even though the man was in the middle of a former Japanese puppet state, that the rest of China didn't experience, that still having effects on inter-regional relations within china today.

In the end, the book just isn't written for me. Where as I was looking forward to a dissection of the Chinese-Japanese-Korean venn diagram and the various combinations of intersections, instead what I got was a book helping the narrator and his fellow japanophiles to come to terms with how the Japanese war crimes are viewed by their neighbors. The book concludes then, exactly as disappointing as one would think, Korea should forgive and forget, and join their democratic East Asian brothers in fighting against China instead.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the premise of "Three Tigers, One Mountain" a lot more than the actual book.

I was looking forward to learning more about these countries and their relationship with each other, and while the book focused on this as well, the author also wrote this partly as a travelogue which didn't really work for me. The issues the novel focused on - for example war crimes such as genocide and sexual abuse - didn't really mesh well with the author getting plastic surgery for no real reason. It was just an odd combination.

Also, I think the book could have done with an introductory chapter on the most important historical events concerning these countries. The author occasionally references events that he just presumes the reader to already have knowledge about.

[Reagan Crook · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my history professors recommended this book to me a couple years ago and I am so glad I finally read it!

Michael Booth seamlessly connects his personal travels around East Asia with the history of each of the countries, throwing in fun little anecdotes here and there. It ranges from lighthearted topics like the history of ramen noodles, to much heavier subjects like the Rape of Nanjing. Booth tackled these tragedies with grace and respect, and somehow was able to stay hopeful. This book was both fun and informative, and I learned a lot about these countries and how they got to their current relationships with each other. Some people, understandably, still harbor hate due to the war, colonization, and crimes against humanity committed by some of these countries. But on the bright-side, the younger generation seems geared towards more peace and good feelings, letting go of the grudges held by their parents and grandparents.

We can learn from the past to inform our future and I feel this book is a great example of that. I couldn’t help but draw several parallels to our current political climate in America. Misogyny and xenophobia are (unsurprisingly) not limited to the U.S. How much of that is natural human instinct and how much is learned behavior? There were plenty of little philosophical questions like this sprinkled throughout this book.

This book was also a great reminder to reexamine where we get our information. How biased are our sources? From news, to books, to our country’s history curriculum, bias is going to exist. The best way to overcome it is stepping outside the comfort of our personal bubbles and listening to people who are different than us.

[Dovide · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part history&poltics, part travelogue, “Three Tigers” attempts to make sense of the complicated history and residual animosities between Japan, Korea, and China. While I appreciated the various viewpoints recounted in the multiple interviews peppered throughout, a neutral or scholarly work this is not. Booth comes off as quite partial to Japan and this bias is present in much of his analysis.

Overall, the book offers an interesting (if Eurocentric) view of East Asia’s contemporary history with some compelling insights and perspectives, but it is not one I’d recommend to anyone unfamiliar with the region and its complex history.

[Theo Paraskeva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finished audiobook during a layover.

This is an okay primer into the history of conflict between China, Japan, and Korea, but realistically this is more of a travel diary than a history book. It’s a very nuanced topic but a problem with history as it gets more recent is that people have much stronger feelings and biases and in this case the author shows pretty clear favoritism for Japan - he doesn’t really shy away from the horrors committed during WWII but also just kinda shrugs like “welp, what are you gonna do?”

Also history here is like still happening, hearing reference to Shinzo Abe as PM is wild knowing what happened to him. I wonder how that would have been covered by the author.

[Scottsdale Public Library]

How much do you know about the cultural relationships between East Asian countries and its’ people? In this fascinating read on that very issue, we learn how they share core values from Confucianism; how China has modeled a great deal of its’ economic strategies on post-war Japan; and everyone’s love of Korean Pop culture. So, why is there still so much animosity between them when there is so much to gain from each other? Certainly, the horrendous horrors of war have created scars that will not heal.
Generally, an entertaining, enlightening, and just plain fun, book that will capture your imagination and screeching with laughter now and then. -Anna Q.L.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

International relations is a topic that tends to be both fascinating and complicated, and the fraught relationships between Japan, South Korea, China and Taiwan with their centuries of contentious history and manifold grievances are perhaps even more complicated than most. In a book that is part travelogue, part journalistic enquiry, Booth shares both his own impressions from travelling to these East Asian countries and the results of extensive research into the histories, hearts and minds of their people. Fascinating and quite informative.

[Niels · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deels reisverslag, deels geschiedenisboek. Het boek geeft een korte samenvatting van de culturen en de gedeelde historie van de "drie tijgers" China, Korea en Japan. Het laat daarbij zien hoe deze factoren een (soms door politici gecultiveerde) splijtzwam vormen en voor ophef zorgen. Het verhaal wordt verteld aan de hand van de reis die de auteur maakt door de landen krijgt daardoor een eigen karakter en zelfs humor. Waarschijnlijk is dit boek hierdoor ook het enige dat naadloos weet te schakelen tussen de Koreaanse DMZ en Haesindang Park.

[James Hinchcliffe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Told from various social perspectives, the book delves into the author's personal journey through Japan, Korea, China, and Taiwan, providing valuable insights and shedding light on aspects I had never considered before. It offers a unique angle that taught me a great deal about Asian geopolitical relationships, making it highly recommended for anyone who, like me, may be relatively naive on the subject. However, one aspect that could be improved is the book's depth, as it felt a bit too light in its exploration of the topics.