Overview

"Hiroaki ""Rocky"" Aoki was a man who succeeded in everything he pursued. From wrestling, ballooning, underwater exploration, and car and boat racing to founding Benihana, Rocky's passion for life infected all around him and accelerated the exchange of Japanese culture and cuisine with America. Rocky's rags to riches story, from dishwasher and busboy to owner of a multi-million-dollar restaurant empire, is an American dream realized unlike any other. Running and expanding the business would be all-consuming for most people, but Rocky would not be deterred. His determination for the business rivaled the drive he demonstrated in his other interests, some of which almost killed him. American Hiro by Jack McCallum, who had full access to Rocky Aoki and those in his enterprises, provides the only full inside account of one of the most famous symbols of cultural assimilation and capitalistic zeal in modern United States history--a champion in business, sports, and life. ""Traveling the world with my father, watching him interact with people, famous and ordinary, observing up close his balls-out sense of adventure, and having a larger-than-life personality to live up to had a profound effect on me and the formation of my character."" --Steve Aoki, Grammy-nominated producer and Billboard award-winning DJ, from the Foreword"

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9798874675554

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Reviews

"""David Lee Huynh's straightforward, accent-free narration [is] a perfect match for detailing Aoki's rise to fame and fortune as one of America's most successful entrepreneurs."" -- ""AudioFile"" ""Previously released in 1985 as Making It in America: The Life and Times of Rocky Aoki, Benihana's Pioneer, this update adds an additional chapter summarizing the last 23 years of Aoki's life...A fun, light, and entertaining read."" -- ""Library Journal"""

Author Information

Jack McCallum was a writer for Sports Illustrated for thirty years and is currently Special Contributor. He is the host of the breakout podcast the Dream Team Tapes, based on his New York Times bestselling book Dream Team, and is also the author of Seven Seconds or Less and many other titles. While concentrating mostly on basketball-in 2005 he won the Curt Gowdy Media Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame-he also edited the weekly Scorecard section of Sports Illustrated, covered five Olympic games, and has written about virtually every sport, including bowling, bicycle racing, squash, and wrestling. McCallum teaches journalism at Muhlenberg College and lives with his wife in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Steve Aoki is an American electro house musician, record producer, DJ, and music executive. He has collaborated with artists such as will.i.am, Afrojack, LMFAO, Linkin Park, Iggy Azalea, Lil Jon, Laidback Luke, BTS, Louis Tomlinson, Rise Against, Vini Vici, and Fall Out Boy, and is known for his remixes of artists such as Kid Cudi. Aoki has released several Billboard-charting studio albums as well, notably Wonderland, which was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronica Album in 2013. He was born in Miami, FL, and grew up in Newport Beach, CA, and is the founder of the Steve Aoki Charitable Fund, which raises money for global humanitarian relief organizations. Steve Aoki is an American electro house musician, record producer, DJ, and music executive. He has collaborated with artists such as will.i.am, Afrojack, LMFAO, Linkin Park, Iggy Azalea, Lil Jon, Laidback Luke, BTS, Louis Tomlinson, Rise Against, Vini Vici, and Fall Out Boy, and is known for his remixes of artists such as Kid Cudi. Aoki has released several Billboard-charting studio albums as well, notably Wonderland, which was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronica Album in 2013. He was born in Miami, FL, and grew up in Newport Beach, CA, and is the founder of the Steve Aoki Charitable Fund, which raises money for global humanitarian relief organizations. David Lee Huynh is an actor based in New York City. He has appeared onstage Off-Broadway and across the country as well as on film and television.

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