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67th out of 96 books
—
20 voters
The Blue-Eyed Salaryman: From World Traveller to Lifer at Mitsubishi
Why on earth would anyone give up a life on the open road for the regimen of a vast Japanese conglomerate? And is it really so different in Japan from everywhere else? Niall Murtagh spent years as a world traveller - hitchhiking to Istanbul, bussing to Kathmandu and crossing the Atlantic in a home-built yacht. In 1986 he closed the door on his adventurous life and settled...more
Paperback, 224 pages
Published
February 1st 2009
by Profile Books
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The Blue-Eyed Salaryman is Niall Murtagh's account of his decade-plus working for Mitsubishi in Japan. After graduating from university in 1980, the Irishman spent much of the next decade backpacking around the world, but an offer of free graduate education led him to Japan. When he got his PhD in computer science, he interviewed with Mitsubishi and was hired for one of the consortium's research labs. From circa 1990-2003, he lived the life of a Japanese salaryman, an unusual opportunity for a f...more
I with Niall had been more detailed about his life leading up to Mitsubishi, though I suppose it would have been out of place in a book about being a salaryman. It's just his globetrotting sounded so interesting!
Niall's take on Japanese university and then work was very interesting. I already know a great deal about the culture, but reading about it from a Western POV was intriguing. I'm so used to Japanese daily life seeming normal in the story that being reminded it's quite different from what...more
Niall's take on Japanese university and then work was very interesting. I already know a great deal about the culture, but reading about it from a Western POV was intriguing. I'm so used to Japanese daily life seeming normal in the story that being reminded it's quite different from what...more
Bought this a few weeks ago and apparently forgot to register it. Very good read - another different look at life in Japan, almost the male version of The Accidental Office Lady.
A frog in a well knows not the ocean indeed, really made me think of Japan in general.
"Foreign students are visitors. Visitors should not stay too long in faraway places or they will forget to go back." Really sums up the ex-pat life well and makes me wonder about the future of some Nova fossils.
"Your hobby is something...more
A frog in a well knows not the ocean indeed, really made me think of Japan in general.
"Foreign students are visitors. Visitors should not stay too long in faraway places or they will forget to go back." Really sums up the ex-pat life well and makes me wonder about the future of some Nova fossils.
"Your hobby is something...more
Great book for getting an insight as to what it is like working as a foreigner for a traditional Japanese company. It's mixed in with an autobiography although he is light on the personal stuff and generally only presents it when it ties in with what's going on in the company. He is quite humorous and his Irish thinking is a fun contrast to the conservative world he is presenting. He often quotes conversations and situations near-verbatim, although I did wonder how many of these may have been sk...more
Easy to read tale of personal experience as salaryman in Japan. Interesting to read so soon after PayPal Wars which is about the Bay Area startup scene in the early 2000s. Very different cultures.
Murtaugh's book is alright, but not fantastic. Gets a bit repetitive and even if it's a story about personal experience I never really felt I got to know him.
I would also have liked to have a bit more info about Mitsubishi and about the actual work he did.
Murtaugh's book is alright, but not fantastic. Gets a bit repetitive and even if it's a story about personal experience I never really felt I got to know him.
I would also have liked to have a bit more info about Mitsubishi and about the actual work he did.
I am incredibly impressed by anyone who gets this far into a Japanese company doing an identical job to the Japanese staff (rather than being the resident translator)...though whether you'd really want to is another question altogether, especially after reading this :)
Very interesting book about working life in one of Japan's biggest companies. I guess working culture has changed a bit since. I would have loved a bit more information about his private life, but that was not the focus of the book.
This is an interesting read and peak into corporate Japan - in one of the biggest conglomerates in the nation to be more specific.
Its a good read and really strikes home if you have ever spent significant amounts of time in Japan.
Its a good read and really strikes home if you have ever spent significant amounts of time in Japan.
I colleague from work recommended me this book, as I was fascinated with Japan's culture by that time. I got shocked, sourprised and eager to check it by myself once I finished it
A good read: enjoyed that combination of travel/lifestyle + career-path +life in a big company.
Fascinating look at a westerner working at a Japanese company
I loved it. It was well written (unfortunately I only snagged the German version) and lots of fun. I bought it for the cultural aspects mostly and it didn't disappoint. It is a clear-eyed look at another culture. Murtagh is very honest and open in documenting his reactions and his way of living in Japan - this makes the book so engrossing and charming.
The real life of a foreigner in Japan with joys and sorrows... And with prediction of Nokia company future :o) :o) :o)
Awesome book! Must-read for everyone who worked at a jap.corporation or would like to work for one.
Read this in German (original is in English). Boring although parts of it are amusing.
Apr 22, 2013
Paolo
marked it as to-read
Feb 27, 2013
Michael
marked it as to-read
Feb 12, 2013
Kevin
added it
Feb 01, 2013
Veronika
marked it as to-read
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