For many young readers, the fanfare greeting the publication of The Amber Spyglass in October rivaled that for Harry Potter IV. Publishers delayed this concluding volume in the fantasy trilogy known as His Dark Materials (Knopf) for 16 months, leading at least one desperate fan to send author Philip Pullman a photograph of a furry squirrel, with ultimatum attached: "Finish your book or the squirrel dies."

"They do a lot of things better than we do." My 21-year-old son made this statement with confidence, having lived in Japan for nine months. After only a few days into my visit with him I could agree: Among the many things the Japanese do better are public transportation, space management, and product packaging. And they are much better than the United States at managing their society.

The crime rate is among the lowest in the world; my daughter and I were assured that we could go anywhere in Tokyo, at night, with no fear of harm.

Last month, my mother and a friend attended a play performed by a local theater group. They expected an enjoyable evening, but shortly after the performance began, both were tempted to walk out. A sense of courtesy, perhaps misplaced, kept them in their seats-the audience was sparse and they didn't want to call attention to themselves. So they sat and endured, not so much what was done on stage as what was said. The language was so foul it amounted to assault with a verbal weapon.