Rating: 
Summary: A "must-read" for potential JETs.
Review: This book is a great overview of Japan's JET program. While most of the research was done on the early years of the program, the author has kept in touch over the years and includes a chapter on JET in the 2000's. The main players are introduced, and the functions of CLAIR, AJET, JETAA and the various ministries are outlined. I found the information on how JETs are placed to be very insightful. Also, some fairly common cultural misunderstandings are focused on. Perhaps JETs who read this book will not make the same mistakes as their predecessors.The author does a nice job of presenting both sides of the JET program. The opinions of the Japanese teachers and administrators is counter balanced with the opinions of the JETs themselves. As expected, the viewpoints rarely match. There is a great section on a JET who felt that she had had a great experience, and that everyone was happy with her performance. The Japanese host institution was glad when she finally left. The book does tend to emphasize the bad experiences over the good. Statistics show that JETs who break contract are fairly rare, yet they make up the majority of the interviewees. The author does not imply that this is the majority experience, just that they make for more interesting reading.
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