James Clavell was a successful producer, director, screenwriter, and novelist who contributed greatly to the increase in understanding between the West and the East.

His work included novels like Shogun: A Novel of Japan, which enabled the West to gain an understanding and respect for Japan at a time when Japan was emerging as an economic world power.

Although not considered great literature by most critics, Shogun: A Novel of Japan made Clavell one of the most widely read twentieth-century novelists. The novel contains war, trade disputes, cultural clashes, passion, death, and descriptions of beauty that absorb the reader. Clavell's own survival of a Japanese death camp gave him unique insight into human behavior and cultural differences, enabling him to produce a truly gripping story. In addition to penning a good book to curl up with, Clavell built a bridge of understanding from West to East...