{"product_id":"9781957363578","title":"The Last Yakuza","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Last Yakuza\u003c\/em\u003e tells the history of the yakuza like it’s never been told before in this gripping, true crime story by the author of \u003cem\u003eTokyo Vice.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMakoto Saigo is half-American and half-Japanese, living in small-town Japan. He has two talents: playing guitar and picking fights. When his dream of being a rock star fails to materialize, he turns to the only place where you can start from the bottom and move up through sheer performance, loyalty, and brute force—the yakuza.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSaigo, nicknamed Tsunami, quickly realizes that even within the organization, opinions are as varied as they come, and a clash of philosophies can quickly become deadly. One screw-up can cost you your life, or at least a finger.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe internal politics of the yakuza are dizzyingly complex, and between the ever-shifting web of alliances and the encroaching hand of the law that pushes them further and further underground, Saigo finds himself in the middle of a defining decades-long battle that will determine the future of the yakuza.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWritten with the insight of an expert on Japanese organized crime and the compassion of a longtime friend, investigative journalist Jake Adelstein presents a sprawling biography of a yakuza, through post war desperation, to bubble-era optimism, to the present. Including a cast of memorable yakuza bosses—Coach, the Buddha, and more—this is a story about the rise and fall of a man, a country, and a dishonest but sometimes honorable way of life on the brink of being lost.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Jake Adelstein","offers":[{"title":"Scribe Publications |  Paperback \/ softback | Trade paperback (US) |  2023-10-27","offer_id":44230082429183,"sku":"9781957363578","price":32.95,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0329\/9075\/7001\/files\/BNCImageAPI_cb6daae5-bb73-45ed-bd60-b5f48f272481.jpg?v=1700681736","url":"https:\/\/riverbookshop.com\/products\/9781957363578","provider":"River Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}