This is very interesting book because of two things in general. First it is very fine crime story set in high tech world of 1990's. Characters are very well done especially Connor and Japanese businessmen involved in the incident.

Second is the whole talk about racism in this book. I think people need to learn the difference between the meaning of words "nationalism" and "racism". In my opinion Crichton is a staunch nationalist. It is interesting how people got concentrated around his portrayal of Japanese company doing business in America that they completely skipped the very unfavorable depiction of money grabbing American society that is willing to sell everything for a short term gain without thinking about the future. It is very clear how he feels about American industry losing its captains and primacy in the world because it is much easier to be a lawyer or banker and shuffle paper and play with stocks with someone else's money. Gains are high, risk is rather low (basically people who hired you are at risk) - whats not to like, right? Except that industry slowly decays until majority of goods is produced in some remote sweatshop. Which is all fine I guess for big-money-makers but in general when proverbial object hits the fan then it becomes very obvious that multiple countries are so interconnected that one wrong move and everybody goes to the bottom. Picture of America is anything but flattering in here but interestingly everybody went over this (which is even more disturbing to me).

Was Crichton wrong at the end? I guess he was but only in location of far eastern country (China anybody?) but again him being staunch nationalist that is expected and don't forget he wrote the book at specific time period when Japan was dominant. And keep in mind this is work of fiction.

Now lets look at Japanese - I don't get what is so wrong with depiction of them in this novel. They are big company ready to do whatever is necessary to achieve their goal. If this was American or any other company (Baldacci's Total Control comes to mind) nobody would say anything. They have different approach to business but this is due to cultural differences - and believe me there are definitely differences between the way West and East approach business. I wonder if book "Doing Business with Germans: Their Perception, Our Perception" in which American businessmen are instructed what to avoid when dealing with Germans (stick to business and skip all the familiarity, patting and talking about personal matters, be precise and specific etc) would also be marked as racist? Crichton's nationalism is reflected in his admiration for the way Japan society works and plans. Especially in regard to education and securing the foothold in the foreign markets from the start, knowing that it will pay out in the long run. Basically Crichton is wishing American economy had a same view of the future and its own work-force.

Japanese company in story is presented as an economic empire willing to obtain additional (and very crucial) piece of the world market. And if they have to work in individualistic America that cherishes money over everything else of course they will utilize every means possible to achieve their goals. When caught they will obey the word of the law but the aim is not to get caught. Therefore all the machinations are nothing so groundbreaking, nothing that was not seen in any other novel that has big business and multinational companies as its subject.

Story is good with sufficient number of twists to keep reader wandering what is going to happen. If you like a good thriller give it a try. ( )

Una novela explosiva sobre el imperialismo económico japonés. En la mejor tradición de los buenos thrillers, la historia arranca con el hallazgo de un cadáver, en esta ocasión el de una call-girl en el piso 45 de la torre Nakamoto, un rascacielos de Los Ángeles que alberga el cuartel general desde donde el coloso oriental l anza su invasión económica sobre Estados Unidos... Sol naciente es una de las novelas más trepidantes de Michael Crichton, célebre autor de Parque Jurásico, y su adaptación cinematográfica, protagonizada por Sean Connery, constituyó todo un acontecimiento

9-2

4/7/22

Saw the movie before reading the book but still not aware of some of the twists at the end. Good detective story. Enjoyed the relationship between the two officers and learning about the Japanese culture and thought processes. There were times, however, I felt like the plot was wrapped around an intense essay on the dangers of the Japanese taking over our economy. While I sensed this is a real concern, it bothered me to have to pause to hear the lectures, which is what they felt like at times. Still, a clever way to make a point. I would recommend the book — and the movie, which as I recall followed pretty closely. ( )