'A Slow Boat To Yokohama' is the tale of Syd Hoare who started judo in London in 1954 & then travelled to Japan to learn judo in the toughest schools in the world. After four years there he competed in the Tokyo Olympics. Syd lived with a Japanese family, became fluent in Japanese & draws many contrasts between Japan & Britain.

Reprint. Originally published: New York: Random House, c1984.

"In 1946, a remarkable woman secretly helped create Japan's new constitution, writing an article that mandated equal rights for all women in Japan. Few could imagine that Article 24 was the work of a 22-year-old Vienna-born, naturalized American woman of Ukrainian-Jewish descent who had gown up in Japan. Her name was Beate Sirota, and to this day she remains an idol for generations of Japanese women. This extraordinary biography includes a foreword by Beate, an in-depth look at her father, the world-renowned classical pianist Leo Sirota, personal diaries from the World War II era by her mother, Augustine, as well as a detailed overview of Beate's life, including the ongoing impact of her contributions to the Japanese constitution, as well as her personal impact on world culture fostered by four decades of dedication to introducing authentic dance, theater, and music of the Far East to American audiences"--Page 4 of cover.

So, the book is essentially my day-to-day activities of traveling from Tokyo, Japan to Shanghai China, and then the course of 4 months through China, including the Great Wall of China, the terracotta warriors at Xi'an, the granite cliffs along the Li River from Guilin to Yangshou, and finally leaving China via the modern city of Shenzhen to Hong Kong. As a side, the 1991 Rugby World Cup is going on in Europe, where I have included newspaper clippings and only two years after the Tiananmen Massacre. I have published my accounts on my Wordpress account in 2019.

The Third Tower Up from the Road is a humorous and entertaining collection of travel essays made up of old favorites as well as new commentaries from Kevin Dolgin’s popular McSweeney’s Internet Tendency column, Kevin Dolgin Tells You About Places You Should Go. The work celebrates the distinctive qualities of locales the world over, and each globetrotting essay focuses on a specific place, capturing the flavors and cultures through individual observations and exceptional experiences. Funny, irreverent, and insightful, these writings eschew the bland, touristy veneer experienced by most travelers as they seek to discover what is special and unique about each destination. Covering a wide range of places and interests, from unusual experiences and humorous traveler’s foibles to voyages that are intensely personal and moving, the selected columns include "The Best Falafel in the World: Beirut, Lebanon," "The Door to Hell: Paris, France," "Kafka’s Erotic Dream: Prague, Czech Republic," "The Nesting Habits of Roman Cars: Rome, Italy," "Of Romans and Pussycats: Provence, France," and "The Third Tower Up from the Road: Huanghuacheng, China." Also featured is "The Corsican Swallowtail: Corsica, France," which was nominated for a Pushcart Prize.

G e o r g e L a v r o v George Lavrov was born and raised in Yokohama, Japan, where he attended St. Joseph grade and high school. He is a graduate of San Francisco State University, with a major in international trade management with area specialization in Japan and the Pacific Rim. He is the author of The Pacific Rim--Threat or Promise, as well as various other articles dealing with Asian and international business. Being trilingual, he speaks English, Russian and Japanese. During 1975 to 1986, Lavrov was based in Tokyo where he represented American insurance interests. Since returning to the U.S., he has continued to work in the international arena, especially related to Asia and the Pacific Rim. Yokohama Gaijin is George Lavrov's personal story, told from his own eyewitness account. It recounts the horror of WWII carpet bombings of Japanese cities, including the tragic loss of his elder brother, Konstantin, who was killed instantly when a bomb from an American B-29 bomber made a direct hit on the Lavrov residence in Yokohama, Japan, on May 29th, 1945, the harsh wartime treatment of gaijin (foreign) residents of Japan and much more. It is the true story of a stateless White Russian and his family, as they coped through some of the most difficult times of the 20th century--the WWII period in Japan and the postwar years that followed. But it's also a story of faith and hope in the future--a future that spelled A M E R I C A and a successful career in the international business world.