(book review)
Published by Bunshun Shinsho: Bungeishunju, October 2009
Authors:
Takashi Tachibana: Critic, a giant who explores the world in all directions, from politics to society and science.
Masaru Sato: Formerly with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a leading scholar of the Soviet Union, and now a writer. Proud of his reading volume.
(Contents and composition)
In the form of a dialogue, the two men, one a “giant of knowledge” and the other a “monster of knowledge,” introduce and explain a total of 400 books recommended by each of them. The first 200 books are those on their shelves, and the next 200 are paperbacks and new books. Their discussions will cover a wide range of topics, from natural science and mathematics to philosophy, prewar history, and contemporary themes. They also range from Marx to contemporary dietman Ichiro Ozawa, scholar Makoto Yuasa, and critic Kazuyo Katsuma.
(Book Review)
This is another book that belongs to the field of “reading books”. In other words, it is a recommendation on what kind of books to read. As I always think, when I read such books, I realize how many other reading giants are reading books in different fields from mine. It also gives me a sense of surprise that there is such a world out there. This book, in the form of a dialogue between Tachibana and Sato, two reading giants in their 60s and 40s, is another such stimulating book.
What makes this book special is that they have read many books on the real world of politics and government in Japan. In addition, they also recommend books that will develop the basic skills to read and understand such realities. In other words, they recommend books for education. If I were younger, I would have read a series of such books.
One thing they have in common is the importance of culture. In other words, it is important to think from the viewpoint of how to grasp the whole picture of the world in front of the inventory of the intellectual heritage of mankind.
I hope that you will keep this book at your side and make a long-term effort to obtain a complete picture of the world.
(Memorable points)
-The Japanese language is a complex language with hiragana, katakana, and kanji, and the brain develops at a high level in response to this. That is why the Japanese brain has become a very good brain.
-Intellectual training through reading is necessary even today to avoid being deceived by the world of sound and voice.
-I would like you readers to know what kind of thought dominated Japan during the World War II.
-80% of the books I had read before entering a publishing company were novels, but my boss told me to buy books other than novels and I started reading them. I realized how little I knew about things in thw world.
-I feel that people who are trying to learn, whether through reading or the Internet, are becoming more and more motivated to learn. I would like to say, “Japanese people, let’s read a lot of books because of the global recession”.
-I think America is one of the most important items of modern culture.
-The power of pseudo-experience through reading is extremely strong.
-It is the reading class that needs to be revived.
-I think that the biggest educational item that the Japanese lack is geopolitics.
-In international diplomatic battles, Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs keeps losing.
-In fact, the bureaucracy has been running the country all along in Japan.
-The biggest problem with the bureaucracy today is the problem of its diminished capacity.
-Information about the dark side of humanity is critically lacking in modern liberal arts education in Japan.
-The fact that the only matter we have ever known through observation was only 4% of the entire universe.
-The genome of each person is 99.9% the same, but there are slight differences. These differences become the differences of each person’s individuality (184).
-I believe that only when there is a balance between the imaginary and the real can comprehensive knowledge be created.
-Buy books without sparing any money, seek out several similar books, learn to read quickly, and think about the basis of information.
