Overview

Much hearsay surrounds North Korea and the intentions of Kim Jong-il. But B.R. Myers, an analyst of North Korean politics, argues that much of this knowledge' is wrong, maintaining that there is more discourse on North Korea's nuclear programme than on the motivation behind it. Drawing on decades worth of research on Worker's Party ideology and propaganda, Myers shows how Kim Jong-il's regime is guided by a paranoid, race-based nationalism with roots in Japanese fascist thought.'

Full Product Details

9781933633916

Table of Contents

Reviews

Electrifying... finely argued and brilliantly written. --Christopher Hitchens, Slate <br> Provocative... A fascinating analysis. --Dwight Garner, The New York Times <br> A scary... close reading of domestic propaganda [that] goes a long way toward explaining the erratic behavior and seemingly bizarre thought processes of Dear Leader Kim Jong Il. --The Wall Street Journal <br> Myers' book is worth buying and reading. -- The Quarterly Review<br> <br> North Korean propaganda (the other pillar of which is a sort of race-based nationalism) is surprisingly effective at engendering a significant degree of mass support, B.R. Myers writes in The Cleanest Race, the definitive book on the subject. --The Atlantic <br> There are few books that can give the world a peek into the Hermit Kingdom. The Cleanest Race provides a reason to care about how those in North Korea see themselves and the West. It is possibly the best addition to that small library of books on North Korean ideology. <br>--Andrei Lankov, Far Eastern Economic Review <br> Myers renders great service to the global foreign policy establishment with his lucid and well documented profile of the North Korean polity. If only it were made mandatory reading for all the stakeholder leaders, particularly the American establishment, who feel compelled to deal politically with North Korea. Maybe then, Myers' wisdom might lead them to adopt the only possibly policy toward North Korea that will work: that of 'benign neglect.' <br> --Mike Gravel, US Senate 1969-1981 <br> In his new survey of North Korean propaganda, The Cleanest Race, B.R. Myers insists that the ongoing support of the North Korean public for the regime doesn't reflect any great faith in communism. Instead, he argues, it is rooted in a kind of paranoid racial nationalism adapted from the Japanese fascism that flourished before World War II.... Myers feels that the racialism at the heart of the regime's ideology wil

Electrifying... finely argued and brilliantly written. <br>--Christopher Hitchens, Slate<br><br> Provocative... A fascinating analysis. <br>--Dwight Garner, The New York Times <br><br>A scary... close reading of domestic propaganda [that] goes a long way toward explaining the erratic behavior and seemingly bizarre thought processes of Dear Leader Kim Jong Il. <br> --The Wall Street Journal <br> <br> There are few books that can give the world a peek into the Hermit Kingdom. The Cleanest Race provides a reason to care about how those in North Korea see themselves and the West. It is possibly the best addition to that small library of books on North Korean ideology. <br>--Andrei Lankov, Far Eastern Economic Review<br><br> Myers renders great service to the global foreign policy establishment with his lucid and well documented profile of the North Korean polity. If only it were made mandatory reading for all the stakeholder leaders, particularly the American establishment, who feel compelled to deal politically with North Korea. Maybe then, Myers' wisdom might lead them to adopt the only possibly policy toward North Korea that will work: that of 'benign neglect.' <br> --Mike Gravel, US Senate 1969-1981<br><br> In his new survey of North Korean propaganda, The Cleanest Race , B.R. Myers insists that the ongoing support of the North Korean public for the regime doesn't reflect any great faith in communism. Instead, he argues, it is rooted in a kind of paranoid racial nationalism adapted from the Japanese fascism that flourished before World War II.... Myers feels that the racialism at the heart of the regime's ideology will sustain it even as it fails to provide the prosperity it promises. <br>--Laura Miller, Salon.com

Author Information

B.R. Myers was born in New Jersey and raised in Bermuda, South Africa and Germany. He has a Ph.D. in North Korean Studies from the University of Tubingen in Germany. His books include ""Han Sorya and North Korean Literature"" (Cornell East Asia Series, 1994) and ""A Reader's Manifesto"" (Melville House, 2002). At present he directs the international studies department at Dongseo University in South Korea. In addition to writing literary criticism for the American magazine ""The Atlantic,"" of which he is a contributing editor, Myers regularly contributes articles on North Korea to the ""New York Times,"" ""Wall Street Journal"" and academic publications.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available