I was 16 years old when the 1964 Summer Olympics opened in Tokyo. Back then, I loved sports--especially Track & Field--but, except for instant memories of names of certain American athletes, Bob Hayes, Mel Pender, Gerry Lindgren, Billy Mills, Wyomia Tyus, Ralph Boston and Donna de Verona, my memories of the 1964 Games are to this day vague at best. So, what a personal treat for me to have read Roy Tomizawa's excellent book, 1964: The Greatest Year In The History of Japan, on the eve of the upcoming 2020 Summer Olympics, when Tokyo, Japan will, once again, show the world its organizational skills, courtesy, kindness, humility and friendship to today's world athletes and Olympics visitors. Tomizawa's timing on the release of his book is perfect for those who, like me, have just a racing memory of the 1964 world's greatest sporting event; persons who were not yet born and want an in-depth insight of these Games; and the great athletes who participated in 1964, are still alive and now have the opportunity to reminisce perhaps the most thrilling two weeks of their lives.Reading this book is like having a living room conversation with Roy--one on one, just him and me, each with a glass of fine rosé in hand, as he tells me story after story of what these Games meant to so many of the historical international athletes who realized their athletic dreams, and oftentimes discovered other things about themselves that were even more important than winning a medal.The personal stories of the athletes that Mr. Tomizawa interviewed for this book are very special, especially the chapters on Mills, Fraser (Dawn) & Roth (Dick) and on Japan's long-distance runner, Kokichi Tsuburaya.Because of Tomizawa's sensitivity and insight, and perhaps his Japanese heritage, he is able to bring out the pride of the Japanese, their complex culture and their insatiable common commitment to be the best you can be.For me, this is more than just a book about an athletic event; it's a book on Japan, the Japanese people and how, collectively, they were able to win and use a world athletic event to not only help them emerge from the ashes of a devastating world war but to convince the rest of the world that through friendship and trust, Japan was ready to stand side-by-side with the other great countries of the world, using peace and comaraderie as their offering.The 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics may exceed the earlier 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics, but Tomizawa convinces me that it will never exceed in importance. Thank you, Roy, for this contribution to the literary world.