Asia Society presents; 34

The Asian Society president. This is a series of interviews with experts on Asian affairs designed to strengthen our understanding of Asian people and ideas. Your most on this transcribed series is the noted author on the ward winning broadcaster league Graham. Here now is Mrs. Graham an important characteristic of people in countries where they are emerging and joining the midst of the mainstream. Sometimes we don't know whether they're better off if they do or don't join it but anyway they seem to want to join it. And one of their characteristics is that they like to read. They are thirsty for books they are thirsty for knowledge. Very sensitive to the role of education. And it's surprising that more American book publishers have not thought of taking advantage of this opportunity. You know the poets that willed especially the Far East. But one such company is McGraw-Hill Book Company and recently they opened a publishing house in Singapore. They have all the plans for opening all the publishing houses in that part of the

world. But how they do it is unique how they bring the people of Asia into the venture is something that I know you enjoy hearing about and a credit I think to the American system. The chairman and chief executive of the McGraw-Hill Book Company is our guest on this edition of the Asia Society present and his name is Edward L. Bowen. Mr. Blair has done so much in the world of books and things which only relate to books. He has traveled far and wide taken advantage of every opportunity given him in this world. And I'm delighted that we can have his views in this debate. How did you come to the idea of establishing a book company in his remote a place in Singapore. Well that's a long story Mrs. Graham but I suppose I should answer that by first saying how did we come to the idea of Assad wishing any country any company outside the United States.

Let me talk to that for just a moment. You yourself said in the introduction that people throughout the world are hungry for books they're hungry for knowledge and this is the really the overriding motivation the overriding principle that I think has moved my company McGraw-Hill to think of publishing opportunities outside the United States and new countries in all countries that are Tarn with the religious strife with economic strife with political strife you find without exception that people unite when it comes to education and learning and taking that as a cue. We felt that if we could take what we know about making books if we could take what we know about how people learn. If we could take our resources. And marry those with the culture and the people of

other non-English speaking places than we would be making some contribution to the forwarding of learning and education in the world. We would be engaging in a good enterprise for ourselves and generally speaking be pushing back the front tears of ignorance and I hope in many cases economic poverty and squalor because books are great tools economic tools tools which can be used to advance man's cultural life on economic as well as other fronts. So. What's wrong with Singapore nothing. Now how we really came to Singapore is another story. I was in Singapore about two and a half years ago doing a

job not for McGraw-Hill but for a small foundation in America known as Franklin book program's foundation dedicated to helping new countries start indigenous publishing programs. I was at that moment chairman of Franklin and while I was in Singapore someone said to me that I should become acquainted with a very engaging enterprising aggressive young Chinese publisher named Cho. Mr. Cho Jochem well before I could get in touch with Cho he got in touch with me. We saw each other and I became entranced by this man perfectly marvelous young person who starting from nothing had already developed a small publishing house. He was interested in enlarging his enterprise and asked if I thought that we might be interested in becoming his partner. This led from one thing to another and now during this past year we have become as partners we are

equal partners in an exciting new enterprise in in Singapore and in Kuala Lumpur where there is a branch of the US. I suppose that the point that I think is so important to me not only others but as people from other countries but many Americans themselves feel that we have a tendency to enter a country dominated industrially and economically take out a lot leave very little and insult the people who live there. I see examples again and again proving this is not true and I think it's especially true in this publishing venture. How exactly did you become an equal partner with Mr. HILL. What does he supply and what do you supply. How does that work. Well we supply. Shall we say equal amounts of capital I suppose and actually from the standpoint of cash something that we good old hard money we probably have supplied more from this side than he has supplied. He

in turn now has. Brought together in Singapore a staff of engaging young people I think out of a staff of 500 people and his company in our company. I can't remember seeing anyone as old as 40 is our bright young people. Artists writers typesetters pressman. And that was Joe's job he organized these people. He brought them together he gave them the inspiration to become our first class publishing house. Secondly Cho brought and with these people brought what I can't emphasize too much he brought the culture of Southeast Asia with this. We may know a lot about publishing and I think we do have but we can't publish books for Asian because we're not Asian. We can print books. We can even illustrate books but we can't be

all into books. I think whatever the culture of the country we're publishing in and is a must of course we're publishing books for Americans. So he's applied that and he's the person that has made far eastern publishers what it is. Now I hope though we're taking him something besides just money. I think we can help him too in opening up a reservoir of resources one kind or another which we have in our great company here in the States. We know quite a lot in United States about the way people learn. We know a lot about learning theory a lot about the field of cognitive studies and as a publishers and particularly as educational publishers during the past decade I think we have advanced quite far in

learning how to present material in fashions and styles that help people learn better. Now we hope to take some of those techniques to Cho to Singapore. And if he can marry those things with the culture which he does through his own people through these artists and writers that are part of it. Far Eastern publishers that I think we will have made far eastern publishers are make McGraw-Hill far eastern publishers a better and stronger firm than it was when it was just far eastern publisher on what kinds of books will his house publish have any come out as yet. Oh yes they have. You know what kind of book he has. He publishes he Mr. Joe McGraw Hill far eastern publishers publishes textbooks at the elementary school level and at the secondary school level. They publish books for children kind of books we have here in this country we call Junior books.

He publishes reference books dictionaries and children's encyclopedias. And. He's beginning now to move into other fields books that the tertiary or higher education level. He's doing some atlases. He simply has to grow step by step. But he got to start really in publishing textbooks and he publishes these for the people of Singapore which is them for the Malay and for the Philippines for Hong Kong for Indonesia. And he publishes them in the languages of those people. Yes that's what I wanted to not just publish in Chinese but on a number of other Asian language right in in Indonesia in Malay and not in China about that he gets translated for the material. Oh yes and you have to remember Singapore is a very cosmopolitan place and it's a great mixture of ethnic group would be too hard to find a good at Indonesian to

translate and indeed not his own staff is made up of Chinese Malay and the chief editor John Isaac is an Indian. Yeah. So it's a marvelous. The only the only people who aren't in that company are. Westerners Yes they're not Americans they're not British ears. But how about the technical logical advice that you might want to give his company which I'm sure he'd be glad to have you know the proper use of machinery and paper and printing. Yes but when they have a western an American advisor in that capacity. Yes and they're quick. There can be although isn't there. There is some areas added Mr. Cho for example has come to America several times sees himself is as I've said many times that uprising fellow. An intelligent man. Not only that but I remember so well telling me that his printing engineer he sent to England

for two years to study the latest methods in western printing technology. Now I think that's myself very intelligent that's more intelligent than most of us are. We don't do that kind of thing when he has a very bright young editor that he wants to expose to the rest of the world he sends him off for six months or a year. What sort of material. Well I think I understand what sort of material is published but where do they get the material it's all written for them. And original baseball Indeed indeed it is. Most of this is indigenous it comes from a larger school books come from teachers. People who are connected with education and these things come again from Malaysia. They come from Singapore themselves. We are doing some things that are coming from the Philippines and often of course our one book can be adapted translated and adapted from one South East Asia country to another much more easily than you can take an American book and

translated from any part of their activities they'll be devoted to the translation of American books written in English adapted to their language. Yes translation is perhaps not the right word adapted. Translation isn't enough word for word translation just doesn't come off again because a word for word results in a book that has our culture in it and not there. Now if they can take the framework of a book and the substance the subject whatever it is and adapt that. To their own environmental conditions their own social conditions then this makes sense and this is done. I ask that because of the personal experience I had some time ago I wrote a book which was published by crows a book about women and full women and the a company in Japan bought the rights to the book as I understand the Japanese by many bites due to American and English books. It was translated I have been home I enjoy looking at it nationally I'm not sure exactly what it says in Japanese and

so I wondered what they did. Probably not translated it literally but did translate it but then adapt to it and I'm sure I made some adaptations. It almost inevitably there's no that's necessary. Yes so therefore many English books can be used but I actually adjusted to the rewrite and obviously it's easier to translate word for word a book in mathematics or in chemistry than it is a book by a woman about women or for women. Ya know we like to think that sex is the same in many ways. While Garrett was sure it is Mr poor in other countries in the Far East I'm sure there are plenty of opportunities still left on tap. What are some of the other places you are thinking of going. Well we hope to start up this January in India. Our company there will be another joint venture with an Indian partner a partner whose name is Tata. Tata

being large and extremely well established and well thought of Indian industrial organization and they came to us again. We had been thinking about it and they came to us and have joined. Weve now joined hands in this kind of a venture and presumably this week our application to start a company will be approved by the Ministry of industrial development. India and will be off and running in January. Here we will be doing somewhat the same thing that we're doing in Singapore although this time we have to go did an oval. There's no company on either side there. We have no presses we have no staff except a very small hard core staff that has been in India for some years selling books for us. But we already have a list of books that we want to reprint first in English at a very low cost so they can be used by university

students in India. And then we'll move from that to translations and adaptations and finally into indigenous publishing. And we will probably in India in the beginning specialize at the tertiary the higher education level. That's where the greatest need is and then move from there probably into secondary school books of a vocational nature because they are just very very badly needed in India. India is trying to emerge. I understand you were also thinking of establishing a company in Japan. Now would that be necessary since the Japanese publish many books apparently of a number of publishing houses and is so advanced technologically. This is would they want the kind of service you provide. Well I think there's room for us again with the Japanese partner. I under no circumstances would I consider it wise for

us or any American publisher to go into a place such as India or Japan or Malaysia or any place else in that part of the world without a partner. But I think we do have something to offer. The Japanese particularly at the higher education level. As I said earlier I think we've learned in America how to make really first class textbooks I call them learning instruments. They're books from which that students can learn by themselves almost. And the Japanese have not done this. I mean in part because the Japanese educational system is if I may say so still adequate it. This is one of the reasons why the Japanese are in the midst of these enormous student riots. The great Japanese universities simply can't accommodate the demand on the part of young Japanese for higher education.

It's done at a very elite based on elite bases the professor comes in and lectures and leaves. He is the kind of thing that we know of here in this country where the relationship between student teachers a close and warm. And the concept that anyone who is capable of learning and is motivated to learn has an opportunity to learn. This just hasn't been how any other Japanese think it's that it's coming and up and I don't imagine saying Can one really prove though that this is DM is inferior to some other things. The Japanese are such progressive people their educational system can't have been too bad can it. I guess not I you know I can't really comment on that. And I don't think we're going to know the answer to that.

It's a very very touching. They're merging now. We must realize that the Japanese as a while as a very modern country modern and its political set up on it and its economic setup is is almost post World War Two. And I don't think we know yet whether the old imperial university system. Which. And certainly with a system that made no accommodation for women at all. Whether that's adequate to see it through the decades ahead. But the fact remains of the young people aren't going to accept that. That's a very practical matter. It was is a superior system and not taught and are not and they are really not going to accept that I think their demanding changes are both male and female which I think is wonderful where no women admitted to Japanese you know I don't

think any women were admitted to Japanese and now that I've heard that I'm on the side of the rebellious students and I think they should go right ahead. But seriously I hope that the goodwill that was in there on the system. Some of it at least is retained. Oh yeah yeah if you really don't you think you have to judge the educational system of a country by the kind of citizens now are not and they are there so many first rate people are saying yes there are. Since you've traveled a great deal Mr Blue over the will I suppose equally with the Far East Still since we want to talk more about Asia on this program what have you observed about the kinds of books people enjoy reading. Would you draw any comparisons between what people there like to read as what we like to read here. Otay size opposed are universal although in India I suppose you would find the average book

reader less interested in fiction than we are interested here. More interested in philosophical books in nonfiction books of substance and one kind of another but not. That's not to say though that they're not interested at all in fiction because there are some very good Indian novelists. The same is true in Japan where only recently a Japanese was made a Nobel Prize winner. So I'm I'm not sure I can comment very intelligently on this except to say that I think we read more fiction in this country we read more fiction in Great Britain and I think is read in the. Far East a final question if you'd answered briefly Mr. Bush what

American authors appear to be popular in the Far East. Steinberg. Oh yes all of the classic goal of what I call the classical American authors and whether you want to talk about Mark Twain or the contemporary more contemporary writers of Steinbeck's and Hemingway's very definitely are a certain number of them popular and Oh indeed indeed are translated and read and this is one of the always the amazing things do go into another kind and find all of our really good writers are quite universal. Well that again is another link being forwards between east and west and that is the purpose of this program. And because of what you and your company are doing you've been a most welcome guest. I would like to say that a good book who has been our guest on this program is chairman and chief executive officer of the McGraw-Hill Book Company which recently established a book publishing company in copartnership

in Singapore is thinking of going into other Asian countries and thereby bringing that east and west closer together. Thank you very much and goodbye. Thank you. That concludes tonight's edition of the Asia Society presents with Lee Graham. This series comes to you through the cooperation of the Asia Society. If you would like to comment on tonight's program or would like further information about the society and how you can participate in its many interesting activities please write to Mrs. Graham at WNYC New York City 100 0 7. I make a note to join us again next week at this time for another edition of the Asia Society presents. This is the national educational radio network.