Bøker av Ian Buruma

This sweeping, boldly original book describes the violence, racketeering and retroactive justice as well as the hope and optimism that erupted at the end of the Second World War.

A brilliant and insightful history of the special relationship between the UK and the USA, which Ian Buruma argues is now under threat with the election of Donald Trump and Brexit.

Ian Buruma's unflinching account of his journey into the heart of Tokyo's underground culture as a young man in the 1970s.

Ian Buruma's moving and powerful story of his grandparents' enduring love through the terror and separation of two world wars.

For eight years the president of the United States was a born-again Christian, backed by well-organized evangelicals who often seemed intent on erasing the church-state divide. In Europe, the increasing number of radicalized Muslims is creating widespread fear that Islam is undermining Western-style liberal democracy. And even in polytheistic Asia, the development of democracy has been hindered in some countries, particularly China, by a long history in which religion was tightly linked to the state. Ian Buruma is the first writer to provide a sharp-eyed look at the tensions between religion and politics on three continents. Drawing on many contemporary and historical examples, he argues that the violent passions inspired by religion must be tamed in order to make democracy work. Comparing the United States and Europe, Buruma asks why so many Americans--and so few Europeans--see religion as a help to democracy. Turning to China and Japan, he disputes the notion that only monotheistic religions pose problems for secular politics. Finally, he reconsiders the story of radical Islam in contemporary Europe, from the case of Salman Rushdie to the murder of Theo van Gogh. Sparing no one, Buruma exposes the follies of the current culture war between defenders of "e;Western values"e; and "e;multiculturalists,"e; and explains that the creation of a democratic European Islam is not only possible, but necessary. Presenting a challenge to dogmatic believers and dogmatic secularists alike, Taming the Gods powerfully argues that religion and democracy can be compatible--but only if religious and secular authorities are kept firmly apart.

'A Japanese Mirror is what the tourist who wants to see the real Japan - "through the looking glass" - should pack in his flight-bag.' TLS

In Wages of Guilt, Ian Buruma explores the duplicity of feeling towards World War II amongst the people of two very different participant countries: Germany and Japan. 'A comparative study of great subtlety and intelligence' Spectator

When Sidney Vanoven is sent to occupied Japan, in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, it is his dream posting. By day, he works in the censor's office watching Japanese films; at night he immerses himself in the sensual pleasures of Tokyo.