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| Author: Lisa Katayama
Creator: Joel Holland
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $8.68
You Save: $6.27 (42%)
New (33) Used (7) from $8.68
Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 1200
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 144
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 6.9 x 4.5 x 0.6
ISBN: 0811862151
Dewey Decimal Number: 640.410952
EAN: 9780811862158
ASIN: 0811862151
Publication Date: April 2, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: ** INTERNATIONL SHIPPING!!! SHIPS from 5 locations based on your Zip Code and availability! (PA TN IN OR SC) *-* Gift Quality *-* Orders Processed Immediately! - We get your book to you Very Quickly!
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 6-9 of 9 | | « PREV | | |
 An excellent introduction to Japanese cleverness May 20, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
"Urawaza" is a word with a long history in Japan. In martial arts, it means "from the back", an unexpected or tricky move that only experts might know. In the computer gaming world it means programmers' back-doors that let players gain points, levels and advantage by doing something unexpected.
In society in general it represents frugal and clever household techniques. There's been a show on Japanese television for nine years where ordinary people share their tricks with other people. UTube is a great source of videos often taken from this show. The sound is often in Japanese, but the tricks work without sound. I've learned to perfectly fold a tee shirt in a few seconds, for example. An even more amazing video shows how to make babies stop crying by breathing on them after drinking a bit of red or white wine.
This book is an excellent introduction to the genre. The ideas work -- I tried the shallot trick for a stuffy nose and I was cleared up in a few seconds -- and the illustrations are excellent and amusing. Each of these Urawazas comes with a technical explanation of why they may work. The philosophical approach is a commentary on the loss of ingenuity in an era of specialized products, many of which don't work very well.
If you enjoy reading the cooking shortcuts in cooking magazines or the shop hints in "Popular Mechanics", you'll find this a real adventure in human ingenuity.
Robert C. Ross 2008
 Entertaining and totally useful! May 14, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Love learning the super creative ways to be more efficient in every day living. I think this would also would make a cool & unique gift too.
This book changed my life April 22, 2008
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
These tips allowed me to carry heavier things, improve my karaoke skills, eliminate excess beer foam, overclock my car battery and cure my hiccups. The tips and the instructions on how they work are so fascinating that they lodge in the mind easily--I may not need to know how to remove gum from someone's hair for five or ten years...but if I ever need to do it, I'll remember the Urawaza method.
Clever, useful and fun tricks April 1, 2008
13 out of 13 found this review helpful
Urawaza contains dozens of cool tricks, everyday inspirations and ways to impress your friends and family by cleverly doing things better.
I have tried several of the tips. My faves are using a piece of bread to pick up glass (pg. 70)--works like a charm! This weekend I made potato salad and used the super-cool egg-peeling technique (p. 96) and impressed my BBQ guests!
Urawaza is a fun guide that appeals to that part within us all that likes to simultaneously be clever & practical. The book also couples simple scientific explanations that help us understand more about our environment through. It will be a hit with Japanese culture fans, DIY enthusiasts, those who appreciate Everyman wisdom and especially young folks who enjoy exploring our world in new ways.
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