I was very disappointed in this book. I have lived in Japan for 6 years (and still do), married and taught on the JET Programme. As a former JET I was disheartened as this book does not paint an accurate picture of life in Japan as a JET. Granted people's experiences differ from prefecture to prefecture and from school to school, but Learning to Bow's anecdotes and observations about Japan are far too extreme and at times border on lies. Also the frequent use of sarcasm and satire is not in anyway humorous and portrays the author as "god's gift to English teaching". For anyone curious about life on the JET Programme, teaching English in Japan or life in Japan in general, I do not recommend this book.
This book is one of many written during the "Bubble Era" by "gaijin" (primarily Americans) who really knew next to nothing about Japan, yet somehow found a publisher, usually Japanese. Another of this quickie genre published about the same time was a book for teaching profanity to Japanese studying English."Learning to Bow" may by an accurate account of the author's experience living in Japan and teaching in the JET program. However, that's all it is. It's full of cliches, sweeping generalizations, and offers no insight into living in Japan or understanding the culture. What could the writer possibly know after only two years?
Stumbled across this recently and found it an agreeable and on-target accound of life in Japan, based on my own experience. Some parts soar, others drag, but one could say that about almost any biographical work that rings true. I've found one other memoir that more thoroughly nails shut the whole (surprisingly huge) "teaching in Japan from the male perspective" genre, but Feiler's book fills in a lot of blanks for those who wonder what it's like to live and teach in Japan, and does it in an engaging manner.