Reviews for Outside Broadway: History of the Professional Theater in Newark, New Jersey From the Beginni...

The average rating for Outside Broadway: History of the Professional Theater in Newark, New Jersey From the Beginni... based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2016-11-03 00:00:00 Jeffrey Walker I read first three chapters so far. His heavily pro-American view gives a feeling that you are still in the cold war (but it is a recent dissertation!). He also underestimates the superficiality of American influence in South Korea, missing the strong Japanese element below the surface. UPDATE: I finished the book and found it arrogant and frustrating. He tells you what Americans want to hear. There are no Koreans, really, in his narrative, maybe except Park Chung-hee. In his explanation, the anti-American feeling among the Koreans comes out of the blue. Some reviewers think this book shows how US occupation could be a splendid success. If this is a success story of democratization (ya right that's thanks to American efforts), apparently it takes 40 years.

Review # 2 was written on 2017-08-13 00:00:00 Jay White An excellent New History of the Cold War that succinctly covers the interaction between Americans and South Koreans in the construction of South Korea especially in regards to its economic rise and political struggles. This book reminds me of a shorter version of John Dower's superb Embracing Defeat about the interaction between Japanese and American political and social forces in the reconstruction of Japan after WWII. Sometimes this book is a bit lacking in convincing arguments about how the US or South Koreans influenced a particular change, but overall it is very illuminating about the changes occurring in South Korea and why the relationship is a bit rocky from time to time.