Preview
  • Pure Invention

  • How Japan's Pop Culture Conquered the World
  • By: Matt Alt
  • Narrated by: Matt Alt
  • Length: 11 hrs and 49 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (7 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Pure Invention

By: Matt Alt
Narrated by: Matt Alt
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $21.80

Buy for $21.80

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Today we take it for granted that Japan is a forge of the world's fantasies: the birthplace of Transformers and Pokémon, of food trends like ramen and artisanal whisky and cutting-edge manga and anime. But it wasn't always this way. The first Japanese products that trickled into the global marketplace after the Second World War inspired derision, not admiration. The three words Made in Japan were a punchline, a synonym for cheap trinkets from a defeated nation.

But when a steady drip of cheap novelties turned into a flood of high-quality consumer electronics and cars in the late 1970s and early 1980s, condescension turned into fury as Japan toppled cherished Western industries one after another. The nation then turned its attention to creating novel inessentials that we desperately coveted. From irresistible gadgets like the Walkman to Nintendo video games to adorable mascots, it produced products that possessed a unique, uncanny ability to grab our attention and nourish our dreams. Japan made itself rich after the Second World War by selling us the things we needed. But it conquered hearts by creating the things we wanted.

A wild and nostalgic history of the creators behind the gadgets, stories and ideas the world learned to love and need, as well as an exploration of the ripple effects and influence their ideas would come to have, Pure Invention is a detective story about an unsung chapter of globalisation that has touched us all and obsessed millions.

©2020 Matt Alt (P)2020 Hachette Audio UK
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about Pure Invention

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    6
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    4
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    5
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.