Boyé Lafayette De Mente (November 12, 1928 – May 12, 2017) was an American author, journalist, and adventurer who wrote more than 100 books mainly related to the culture of Japan and the Japanese language. He also wrote widely of East Asia as well as Mexico.[1]
From 1946 to 1948, he served in the U.S. Navy as a cryptographer based in Washington, D.C. After that, he joined the U.S. Army Security Agency (1948–1952) and was sent to Tokyo to work as a decoding technician. During his tenure with the agency, he founded and edited The ASA Star, an agency newspaper.[2]
During the 1950s, De Mente served in a variety of editorial positions with publications based in Tokyo, including Preview Magazine,Far East Traveler, and The Japan Times.[2][3] In 1987, he became Associate Publisher of the Tokyo Journal, Japan's oldest English magazine sold globally. Together with Editor Glenn Davis, they made Tokyo Journal the first publication in Japan to produce a magazine on a computer from scratch using Apple Macintosh computers. He later returned as a regular contributor to the Tokyo Journal, which continues to print articles he left to the magazine in tribute to him.[4] He also acted as an extra in a number of Japanese films in the early 1950s.[5] In 1957, he accompanied the Australian adventurer Ben Carlin on the Tokyo–Anchorage leg of his circumnavigation of the world, together with Carlin becoming the first to cross the Pacific Ocean via an amphibious vehicle.[6][7] De Mente subsequently graduated from Jochi University in Tokyo, and The American Institute for Foreign Trade (now Thunderbird School of Global Management) in Glendale, Arizona.[2]
WHICH SIDE OF YOUR BRAIN AM I TALKING TO? – The Advantages of Using Both Sides of Your Brain, Phoenix Books, 2009, ISBN0-914778-95-1
WHY THE JAPANESE ARE A SUPERIOR PEOPLE! Phoenix Books, 2009, ISBN0-914778-55-2
Mistress-Keeping in Japan!: The Pitfalls & the Pleasures (Phoenix, Arizona: Phoenix Books/Publishers, 2009) ISBN0-914778-72-2
Samurai Principles & Practices That Will Help Preteens & Teens in School, Sports, Social Activities & Choosing Careers, Phoenix Books, 2009, ISBN0-914778-99-4
AMAZING JAPAN! – Why Japan is One of the World's Most Intriguing Countries! (Phoenix, Arizona: Phoenix Books, 2009) ISBN0-914778-29-3
^DeMente, Boye Lafayette (2012), The Incredible Power of Serendipity! Highlights of an Uncommon Life! Paradise Valley, CA: Createspace Independent
^Mente, Boye Lafayette De (1997). The Japanese have a word for it : the complete guide to Japanese thought and culture. Lincolnwood, Ill.: Passport Books. p. 344. ISBN0844283169.