Japan as No. 1: The 21st-century version

Forty years ago, in 1979, two events occurred that would forever change the global perception of Japan: Sony launched the Walkman portable audio player and Harvard professor Ezra Vogel published "Japan As Number One — Lessons for America." The rest, as they say, is history.

The rise of "small and resource-poor Japan" to seemingly unstoppable economic dominance throughout the 1980s unfolded just as prophesied by Vogel, with the Walkman becoming the most obvious symbol that, yes, Japan was No. 1.

In 1989, just 10 years after the book's publication and the Walkman's debut, Japanese technology giants and car manufacturers not only dominated American and global markets but captured the imagination and aspirations of global consumers.