31 Months in Japan

The Building of a Theme Park

Non-Fiction - Cultural
234 Pages
Reviewed on 11/17/2009
Buy on Amazon

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Author Biography

Larry K & Lorna Collins

Larry and Lorna Collins were raised in Alhambra, California where they attended grammar school and high school together. Larry went to California Polytechnic College in Pomona, and Lorna attended California State College at Los Angeles. They have been married for forty-five years and have one daughter, Kimberly.
Larry is an engineer and spent many years working on various projects throughout the United States and around the world. Lorna worked in Document, Data, and Change Management, as well as Technical Writing.
From 1998 to 2001, they lived in Osaka, Japan to work on the Universal Studios Japan theme park. Larry was a Project Engineer, responsible for the Jurassic Park, JAWS and WaterWorld attractions. Lorna worked in the Osaka field office in Document Control.
Their memoir of that experience, 31 Months in Japan: The Building of a Theme Park was a 2006 EPPIE finalist and named as one of Rebeccas Reads Best nonfiction books of 2005. It is five-star rated on Amazon and is available in e-book, paperback and hardbound formats.
They write mysteries together, and Lorna writes romance anthologies with friends Christie Shary, Luanna Rugh, Sherry Derr-Wille and Cheryl Gardarian, four of which have been published by Whiskey Creek Press.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Anne Boling for Readers' Favorite

Larry and Lorna Collins were offer the opportunity to participate in building Universal Studios Theme Park in Japan. It was a once in a life time opportunity. This is their story of coping with the vastly different culture and learning to adjust.

The share many experiences that the reader may never have considered: such as learning to eat with chop sticks, attempting to prepare a traditional Thanksgiving meal, buying a car, and driving in Japan. They continue by sharing fashion, home furnishings, festivals, holidays, weather, maps, parking, communal bathing, golf, work ethic, and appropriate social behavior.

I have a friend that spends much of the year working in Japan. I shared this book with him and watched as he shook his head yes to many of the events described in this book. He assures me the authors have accurately illustrated the experience of living and working in Japan. The attitude and personalities of the authors is what made their trip and this book a success.

Few of us are offered the opportunity to work abroad. I may never travel to Japan but through the Collins I have enjoyed the experience. Their book reads much like a journal. 31 Months in Japan is well written and extremely interesting.

Christie Shary, Author

I also enjoyed this book very much, especially since I've been to Japan. What they say is true. I found the cultural parts extremely interesting, as I love to learn about other cultures and write about them.

Chris Coppola

I aggree completely with the previous reviewere!! I couldn't believe how well this book brought the characters to life. By the end of the book, I felt like I knew them! One thing that also shines through is how much the authors made a connection to the people around them, and they have also made that connection with the reader. I highly recommend this book, even though I've never been to Japan!