Nathan, a professor of Japanese cultural studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara and an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, received open access from the Sony Corporation for this history. He traces the company from its beginnings at the end of World War II to the present, providing an intimate, meticulously detailed account of how upper management made its decisions. Profiles of major players like founders Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka, members of the inner circle such as Mickey Schulof and Harvey Schein, and present chairman Norio Ohga and president Nobuyuki Idei give the reader an understanding of the motivations behind Sony Corporation's successful innovations, like the Walkman and compact-disc technology, and failures, like the Betamax and the purchase of Columbia Pictures. Nathan also provides ample insight into how the Japanese do business. A good choice for large public and academic libraries. Steven J. Mayover, Free Lib. of Philadelphia Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.