{"product_id":"american-maverick-in-japan-the-rick-roa-story-9780595763634","title":"American Maverick in Japan: The Rick Roa Story","description":"I first met Richard Roa in the fall of 1989. I was in the middle of researching \u003ci\u003eTokyo Underworld\u003c\/i\u003e and someone had suggested I interview him because he knew the main character of the book, Nick Zapetti, and also because he worked for a time as a consultant to the \u003ci\u003eToa-Sogo Kigyo\u003c\/i\u003e, a real-estate\/leisure outfit based in Roppongi, which was, in fact, a transmogrification of the infamous Tokyo gang, the \u003ci\u003eTosei-kai\u003c\/i\u003e, a yakuza organization which occupied another major part of the book.\u003cp\u003e My scheduled two-hour interview with Rick Roa metastasized into several lengthy Q\u0026amp;A session because the stories this man had to tell were so damned interesting, starting with the chilling tale he told of being caught in a Tokyo mob run clip joint and what he had to do to get his money back.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e There was more--his hilarious tale of the American Train venture, his experiences as a bartender in the Ginza's most exclusive (and expensive) hostess club, his adventures with Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston in Japan. But, unfortunately, I could not use much of the material because it did not impact directly on the central thesis of Underworld, which dealt with the corrupt side of the U.S.-Japan relationship. But I always thought that it would make a good book one day, and lo and behold, here it is.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e I'm sure readers will enjoy this book as much as I did.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Robert Whiting, \u003cbr\u003e Kamakura, 2004 \u003cbr\u003e Author of \u003ci\u003eThe Tokyo Underworld\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e iUniverse\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/18\/2004\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780595763634\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 172\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.90lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.56d\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Tony Teora","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52085488320693,"sku":"9780595763634","price":22.06,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_bd464109-b000-423e-b117-c23ca3288705.jpg?v=1765294312","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/american-maverick-in-japan-the-rick-roa-story-9780595763634","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}