Keys to the Kingdom, The [Hardcover]

Jeff Shear (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1994

Recounting how greed for profitable export income has caused the United States to sell some of its most sensitive and state-of-the-art technology, a study on the FS-X deal questions the judgment and process behind such decisions. 25,000 first printing. $25,000 ad/promo. Tour.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The already rancorous U.S.-Japan trade relationship was exacerbated in the late '70s, when research entrepreneur Ryozo Tsutsui launched a campaign to revive his country's once-great aircraft industry through an experimental fighter called the FS-X. Shear's well-researched study reports on the advocacies of and oppositions to codevelopment of the plane both in Tokyo and Washington, punctuated by Tsutsui's blunt declaration that Japan could build a better fighter faster and more cheaply alone. American officials began to understand that the Japanese were threatening to surpass the U.S. in aircraft manufacture, one of the last areas of American high-tech dominance. Yet the U.S. handed over to Japan massive amounts of sophisticated aircraft technology. Freelance journalist Shear recounts in detail the complex, appalling story of why and how this was allowed to happen.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Shear, the author of articles on many of the thematic components of this book-technology, aerospace, and international affairs-relates the story of how Japan got hold of the biggest secrets of the U.S. aerospace industry, the only industry in which they have not yet beaten us soundly in world markets. Regardless of the risk to the U.S. economy, the Japanese were given the technology that would make their FS-X (Fighter Support Experimental) plane a reality. The book opens with a description of Hirohito's funeral, at which then-President Bush was in attendance. This period of transition, Shear asserts, heralded the end of an era of Japanese traditionalism, with a young "salaryman emperor" taking over. What ensues is a story about deals made in hot tubs, Japanese playboys, incredibly stupid politicians, and good old American greed. It makes for entertaining reading for those interested in scandal on the global scale. Recommended for business collections.
Lisa K. Miller, Paradise Valley Community Coll. Lib., Phoenix
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 318 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; 1st edition (August 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385473532
• ISBN-13: 978-0385473538
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,636,206 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jeff Shear is the author of the book, The Keys to the Kingdom, which was an investigation into a weapons deal between the US and Japan (the FSX), published by Doubleday in 1994. He has been a Fellow at The Center for Public Integrity, in Washington, DC where he was one of several contributors to the book The Buying of the Congress, published by Avon in 1998. Before that he served as staff correspondent for National Journal, with regular venues at the White House, Congress and Treasury. He has written TV scripts for the National Geographic Channel, Discovery, and The History Channel. He is currently working on a digital biography about an American woman who spied for the British during World War II, which is serialized on the History News Network, a project of the Center for History and the New Media at George Mason University: http://hnn.us/blogs/74.html

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Heightened danger or just hype?, July 30, 2000

By 

"mullet02" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Keys to the Kingdom, The (Hardcover)

The book covers the intense competition between McDonnell Douglas and General Dynamics to be the prime support company to Japan for their FSX program.

The book is easy to read. It presents an interesting overview of many of the issues impacting releasability of high technology and American competiveness, and the U.S. Government's participation in sensitive areas of international business. For someone with zero exposure to this arena, the book is a good place to start. Keep in mind that the book is written with an agenda in mind and has a very pessimistic view of this process. If you are pro-American/anti-hi tech export, you will love the book. Otherwise, keep a bag of salt near by during your read.

Of course, the so far unwritten sequal is how miserably the FSX program has performed. Did Japan pick the wrong supplier? Were the 'keys' unable to unlock the box? Or was the box Pandora's?