Any Japanophile will have at least one of the 30 or so books authored by Boye Lafayette De Mente during his long and prolific writing career in Japan.
His works are read by travelers, businesspeople and scholars alike, with offerings ranging from "The Pocket Tokyo Subway Guide" to the "Tuttle Japanese Business Dictionary," and my personal favorite, "Kata: The Key to Understanding and Dealing with the Japanese." Several of his books have become classics.
Boye first came to Japan in 1949 during the U.S. Occupation as part of the Army Security Agency's code-breaking unit. At that time, the ASA was located in the Sanshin Building in downtown Tokyo, about 100 yards from Gen. Douglas MacArthur's headquarters. While there, he wrote, printed and distributed a 12-page newspaper called the ASA Star. He went on to publish the Bender Bulletin, and edit the Importer magazine, the Amazing Japan newsletter, the Japan Information Network (JIN) and the Today's Japan magazine, in addition to working a stint as a headline writer for The Japan Times.