A both definitive & highly enjoyable book on how modern Japan works from Asia expert David Pilling FINANCIAL TIMES BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2014' An affectionate beautifully written & counter-intuitively optimistic take on the country which stresses Japan's ability to reinvent itself' (Gideon Rachman Financial Times) Despite years of stagnation Japan remains one of the world's largest economies & a country which exerts a remarkable cultural fascination David Pilling's new book is an entertaining deeply knowledgeable & surprising analysis of a group of islands which have shown great resilience both in the face of financial distress & when confronted with the overwhelming disaster of the 2011 earthquake & resulting tsunami Bending Adversity is a superb work of reportage & the essential book even for those who already feel they know the country well