Tokyo Underworld: The Fast Times and Hard Life of an American Gangster in Japan

Whiting, Robert

ISBN 10: 0375724893 / ISBN 13: 9780375724893

Published by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2000

Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Seller Inventory # G0375724893I3N00

Synopsis:

"A fascinating look at some fascinating people who show how democracy advances hand in hand with crime in Japan."--Mario Puzo

In this unorthodox chronicle of the rise of Japan, Inc., Robert Whiting, author of You Gotta Have Wa, gives us a fresh perspective on the economic miracle and near disaster that is modern Japan.

Through the eyes of Nick Zappetti, a former GI, former black marketer, failed professional wrestler, bungling diamond thief who turned himself into "the Mafia boss of Tokyo and the king of Rappongi," we meet the players and the losers in the high-stakes game of postwar finance, politics, and criminal corruption in which he thrived. Here's the story of the Imperial Hotel diamond robbers, who attempted (and may have accomplished) the biggest heist in Tokyo's history. Here is Rikidozan, the professional wrestler who almost single-handedly revived Japanese pride, but whose own ethnicity had to be kept secret. And here is the story of the intimate relationships shared by Japan's ruling party, its financial combines, its ruthless criminal gangs, the CIA, American Big Business, and perhaps at least one presidential relative. Here is the underside of postwar Japan, which is only now coming to light.

About the Author: Robert Whiting lives in Tokyo.

Bibliographic Details

Title: Tokyo Underworld: The Fast Times and Hard ...
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Publication Date: 2000
Binding: Paperback
Condition: Good
Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket