Reconstructing 3/11

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Our Man in Abiko has done it again. But this time, it's completely different. Quakebook was a fast and raw response, a time capsule of a moment, put together to help people in need by raising money and awareness. The immediacy of it was what made it compelling. In Reconstructing 311, Our Man asked journalists to take their time and go deep about the impact of the disaster on the fields that they know best. I helped edit this collection, and I learned something from every piece.
Philip Brasor gives a blow-by-blow of how Japanese news outlets covered the disaster and its aftermath, how they compared with the international media, and where both fell short. Reading about politics usually makes me itchy. (I probably shouldn't admit that.) But Michael Cucek's tale of how Prime Minister Naoto Kan saved the day is as fascinating and readable as it is controversial. I'm probably biased since I know and like Tohoku volunteer Jamie El-Banna, but I like the straightforward way he weaves a frank explanation of the problems facing communities trying to rebuild into stories of his life as an accidental full-time volunteer. (Check out this video of Jamie first, so you can read his piece in the appropriate British accent.) Jake Adelstein goes beyond the meme of convoys of yakuza driving supplies to evacuation shelters to untangle the history of disasters and organized crime in Japan, and in the process reveals a bit about his own relationship with the gangsters.
And that's just for starters.
This is an interesting book, and it's also an interesting kind of book, a stab at what the future of publishing and journalism might look like. It costs $2.99 and you are pretty much guaranteed to learn something about the situation in Japan now, a year ago, and in the future. Please buy a copy and ask someone else to, too. Still not convinced? Listen to what Our Man himself says about it.
Done? Now head on over to Amazon to download your copy.