Recently Mentioned Books

5. Classical guitarist : Kazuhito Yamashita . His transcriptions are mind-blowing, most of all the Stravinsky .  The fascination of the Japanese with transcriptions could command an entire book.

2. Conductor : Seiji Ozawa has remarkable talent and he can conduct almost anything without a score (not easy).  Still, he never really developed his own sound and he has to count as a missed opportunity.  First prize goes to Maasaki Suzuki , who has recorded a remarkable all-Japanese St. Matthew’s Passion and is doing a cycle of the Bach cantatas.

1. Piano : Mitsuko Uchida is a clear first choice. Her box of the Mozart sonatas remains the best.  Oddly I don’t like her much in the rest of the classical repertoire, though her Debussy and Webern and Schoenberg are interesting (though not my preferred versions for the latter two, which are the steelier Pollini and Gould).  I also like Aki Takahashi , most of all for Cage and Feldman.

It’s now out in stores or buy it here on Amazon for $10.20 .  If you order the paperback (or the Kindle edition!) within the next week, just drop me an email and I’ll send you the site address of my secret blog .  It has over fifty posts.  We work on the honor system, so if you told me you have bought the book I will believe you.

The subtitle of this excellent book is Whale Music in a Sea of Sound and it is by David Rothenberg.  Here is David’s previous excellent book, Why Birds Sing .

The subtitle of this excellent book is Whale Music in a Sea of Sound and it is by David Rothenberg.  Here is David’s previous excellent book, Why Birds Sing .

7. Kenzaburo Oe: I like Teach us to Outgrow Our Madness .

6. Shusaku Endo, Silence .  Very powerful and I remain fascinated by Japan’s so-called "Christian century."

5. Haruki Murakami.  My favorite is Hard-Boiled Wonderland (one of my favorite books period) and then Underground , a modern classic of social science (really).  I like most of them but I feel he is repeating himself as of late.

4. Mishima, Spring Snow , others.

2. Kobo Abe, The Woman in the Dunes .  He has been called the Japanese Stanislaw Lem.  Why do I never hear about this book?  The movie by the same name is good too.

1. Out: A Novel , by Natsuo Kirino.  Vicious fun.  Dark, violent, etc.

That is from Modern Japanese Cuisine: Food, Power and National Identity , by Katazyna J. Cwiertka.  One thing I learned from this book was how much Japanese wartime experience created the notion of a national cuisine in Japan.  Before the war, for instance, soy sauce and rice were not common foods in many parts of rural Japan.

That is in a good book called Tokyo: City and Architecture .  I am struck by how much the Tokyo Metro and underground corridors are in fact the defining parts of the city and the most memorable destinations.

That’s the title of the new microeconomics book by Richard McKenzie .  Here is a book trailer on YouTube .  The subtitle is: "And Other Pricing Puzzles."

The subtitle of this excellent book , by Daniel Koretz, is What Educational Testing Really Tells Us .  Here is one excerpt:

9. Mizoguchi movie : First prize goes to the stunning Ugetsu .

8. Anime : Grave of the Fireflies is a knockout, an anime movie for people who hate anime (and war).  Make sure you use the subtitles, not the dub.  I love all Miyazaki, maybe my favorite is Princess Mononoke , just don’t expect a coherent Pigouvian vision from it.  Other times I think Totoro is his supreme masterpiece. Pom Poko , from Studio Ghibli, is essential viewing as well.

8. Anime : Grave of the Fireflies is a knockout, an anime movie for people who hate anime (and war).  Make sure you use the subtitles, not the dub.  I love all Miyazaki, maybe my favorite is Princess Mononoke , just don’t expect a coherent Pigouvian vision from it.  Other times I think Totoro is his supreme masterpiece. Pom Poko , from Studio Ghibli, is essential viewing as well.

8. Anime : Grave of the Fireflies is a knockout, an anime movie for people who hate anime (and war).  Make sure you use the subtitles, not the dub.  I love all Miyazaki, maybe my favorite is Princess Mononoke , just don’t expect a coherent Pigouvian vision from it.  Other times I think Totoro is his supreme masterpiece. Pom Poko , from Studio Ghibli, is essential viewing as well.

8. Anime : Grave of the Fireflies is a knockout, an anime movie for people who hate anime (and war).  Make sure you use the subtitles, not the dub.  I love all Miyazaki, maybe my favorite is Princess Mononoke , just don’t expect a coherent Pigouvian vision from it.  Other times I think Totoro is his supreme masterpiece. Pom Poko , from Studio Ghibli, is essential viewing as well.

7. Dance movie : Shall We Dance? remains a gem.

6. Ozu movie : Tokyo Story is the one that sticks with me.

5. Hobbesian movie : It’s Battle Royale , hands down, and yes I taught the film this year in Law and Literature.  One of the students was shocked we would cover something of this nature.

4. Sexual perversion movie : Audition has an incredible piano wire scene.