13 replies to this topic

[caocao74]

[WangEnlai]

saw Nihonji at the bookstore, any good?

[caocao74]

Nihongi... well it's hard book to describe as good or bad, it does need to be read with a large chunk of salt, but necessary to study early Japan and where subsequent reasonong came from.

[WangEnlai]

Would the problem be inaccuracies, dry read (which most history books are), or something else?

Thanks

[caocao74]

[Liang Jieming]

nice! Ok, gotta get mine updated.

[Centaur]

Interesting list Does 'A History of Japan' by Totman gives details of the Tokugawa shogunate?

[caocao74]

It does, but for a better (IMO) description of the Tokugawa Bakufu I'd read Jansen's The Making of Modern Japan.

[Centaur]

It does, but for a better (IMO) description of the Tokugawa Bakufu I'd read Jansen's The Making of Modern Japan.

Thanks will keep a look out for it.

[DannyJo]

Ambassador,

Don't suppose you could add to this your favourite rated libraries and bookshops in London could you? Otherwise I'm afraid everyone will be in the Ealing Oxfam and I'll never find any gems again.

[caocao74]

Ambassador,
Don't suppose you could add to this your favourite rated libraries and bookshops in London could you? Otherwise I'm afraid everyone will be in the Ealing Oxfam and I'll never find any gems again.

Most of my books were brought hauled back from Japan (which meant leaving suits and shoes there ).

Waterstones in Piccadilly isn't bad and surprisingly often not too busy (in my experience) so the staff have a little more time to help if you want to order something. Next to it is the Japan Centre, reasonable selection of Japanese history books. Then you've got to mention Blackwells in Charing Cross.

[caocao74]

Found by chance a good Asian bookstore at 38 Museum Street, just across from the entrance to the British Museum. It's called Fine Books Oriental, all 2nd hands on the whole continent from the Middle East to Japan.

[Lu Su]

Very cool!

You have the same ROTK release that I do, as well as Shinsengumi and Samurai books.

How is 'Peasant Uprisings in Japan' and 'Japanese Foreign Policy at the Crossroads" ? I haven't seen those before.

[ghostexorcist]

I like your collection. I've got some of your books and I plan on getting others. I have three large book shelves (roughly 6' x 2.5') full of books. I'm afraid that I will have to buy another shelf soon because my books have begun to spill out into piles on the floor. Some people are addicted to porn or drugs, I'm addicted to knowledge. A lot of my books cost me a pretty penny as they are rare scholarly books. My most expensive individual book sells for over $400, but I managed to find a copy for a little over $200. My most expensive set is worth $500-600, but I got the entire thing for $160. It sure does pay to shop around! Most of my books fall under history, religion, or mythology, but I do have some fiction and biographies mixed in there. Although I have quite a few books on western history, my main realm of interest is that of Asia (including the Middle East). My favorite thing to read about is when western and eastern cultures collide to form a unique synthesis, hence my interest in the Jews of China.

When I get older (and hopefully richer ), I would love to have a library in my house like the old mansions did. You know the kind that either requires you to climb a ladder or a staircase--adjoining a cat walk--to get to a book. Of course, while we are speculating on what the future holds, I might as well have the obligatory hidden passage behind one of the shelves that can be activated by yanking on a book!