Book Review: Far East, Mass Persuasion in Communist China
| DOI | 10.1177/002070206502000228 |
| Published date | 01 June 1965 |
| Author | C. P. Fitzgerald |
| Date | 01 June 1965 |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
272
INTERNATIONAL
JOURNAL
With
the
exception
of
the
contributions
of
the
editors,
this
book
contributes
hardly
anything
to its
apparent
purpose.
It
adds
little
to
what
we
know
of
Japan
and Turkey
from the ordinary
independent
monographic studies.
We
are
confronted
by
an
orderly
juxtaposition
of
chapters
about
Japan
and Turkey. Each
writer
appears
to
be
unaware
even
of
his
immediate
counterpart,
even
sometimes
of
the
intentions
of
the
conference
and
of
the
editors.
The
contributors
are
not
only
apparently unaware
of
the
country
with
which
their
opposite
numbers
are
dealing,
but
go
so
far
as
to
show
not
the
slightest
interest
in
the
other's approach,
or
the
material
presented
accordingly.
In
a few
cases
the
writers
on
Japan
even
make
references
to
what
we
may
call
primitive
societies,
but
not
once
to Turkey.
Writing
on
the
Turkish
side,
Professor
Roderic
H.
Davison
appears
to
be
the
exception
by
mak-
ing
reference
to
and
extrapolations
from
the
attitude
of
a
Japanese
diplomat
towards
the
Turkish
transformation.
The
reference
concerned
the
role
of
the
Western
interference
in
the
Turkish reforms.
Clearly
not
realizing
the
importance
of
the
factor
upon
which
he
is
touching,
Davison
assumes
the
necessity
of
European interference
into
the
Turkish
reforms
and
takes for
granted
that
this
contributed
positively
to
the
process
of
modernization
in
Turkey.
Fortunately
for
the
other-
wise
specializing
and
non-specialist
reader,
this
matter
is
taken
up and
dealt
with
more adequately
by
the
editors
in
their
conclusion.
On
the
whole, one
wonders
how
those
invited
to
participate
in
the
conference
giving
rise
to
this
publication
managed
so
successfully
to
remain
non-conversant
with
one
another.
The irony
is
that
the
real
product
of
the
conference
might
as
well
have
been
realized
without
either the
expense
of
the
conference
or
the
effort
put
into
the papers
delivered
there,
because
neither from the
point
of
view
of
substance,
nor from
a
methodological
standpoint,
can
the
reader
find
a
complete
justification
for
the
conclusions
of
the
editors
exclusively
and
necessarily
arising from
the
contents
of
the
book's
main
chapters.
Monographically,
the
chapters
on
Japan
are
first-class
and
could
serve as
stimulating
models
for
students
of Turkey.
The
chapter
on
Japanese
education
by
R.
P.
Dore
stands
out
among
these
and
is
of
immense
value, speaking
comparatively.
The
chapters
on
Turkey
are
of
unequal
value,
some
good,
some
inadequate,
some
misleading,
and
some
verbose
and
irrelevant
to
the
main
theme.
A
comparison
of
the
two
sets
of
papers
show how
far
Western
scholarship
regarding
Japan
has
advanced
and
how
little
is
still
known
about
Turkey.
We
recommend
the
volume
both
for
the
contributions
of
the editors
and
for
the
stimuli
that
it
may
give
to
individual
and comparative
studies
in
respect
not
only
Turkey
and
Japan
but
also
in
respect
to
any
non-Western
country.
McGill
University
NIYAZI
BERKES
MASS
PERSUASION
IN
COMMUNIST
CHINA.
By
Frederick
T.
C.
Yu.
1964.
(New York:
Frederick
A.
Praeger.
Toronto: Burns
&
MacEachern.
viii,
186pp.
$6.00)
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