Ruth Benedict, “The Chrysanthemum and the Sword: Patterns of Japanese Culture”, 1946 was a nonfiction book on Japan. The Japanese holiday celebration of “Foundation Day” is for the year 660 BC. This alone makes Ruth Benedict’s book focused on chrysanthemum (symbol for the emperor). The sword is an ancient weapon of the old culture. Margaret Mead was a colleague of Ruth Benedict in anthropology. Lois W. Banner, Intertwined Lines: Margaret Mead, Ruth Benedict, and Their Circle”, 2003 was a nonfiction book that is an exposition of the relationship between the two anthropologists. Like the Japanese isles of Ruth Benedict; Margaret Mead’s, “Coming of Age in Samoa”, 1928 was a Pacific Ocean travelogue that was her claim to fame.
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