Re: books on Japan

Marc Adler wrote:
A relative who is going to be traveling around Japan for a couple of
weeks (mainly Kyoto and environs) in September has asked me to
recommend two books on the country as background reading.

Ten years ago I would have recommended Edwin Reischauer's book for a
modern overview and the concise Samson for history, but I doubt either
are very up-to-date (well, of course the Samson isn't but it was a
good read back then).

I'm considering The Enigma of Japanese Power as a third book, and
Yakuza as a fourth, because he reads a lot, and imagine he might want
more suggestions, but haven't read anything general or historical
recently, and would appreciate any ideas.

I'll second Van Wolferen's book, and toss in this link for free:

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/rss/fl20070506x1.html

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