Yankees in the Land of the Gods: Commodore Perry and the Opening of Japan

This is a highly readable and interesting historical account of the West's first encounters with Japan. And by "first" I literally mean the earliest recorded encounters of Westerners either attempting or achieving to set foot on the Japanese Islands. Author Booth Wiley has done some immaculate research here and lays this early history out in a narrative which is easily read and engaging. The apex of the historical tale is the role of Commodore Perry in opening Japan to the Western world, but this is about so much more than Perry's own adventures. Fundamental aspects of early Japanese culture and characters come to life and are given an invaluable historical context, including even the minute details of how each local region treated these mysterious foreigners. It is also filled with excellent original illustrations, maps and photos of the encounters, including Japanese art depicting the sunken-eyed, large-nosed Westerners.

This is a terrific book--fascinating, charming, insightful--about a chapter in American history most people know little about. We're wasting time and money on bad Pearl Harbor movies, but this is a story that begs to be filmed. It has everything.