The Sushi Economy: Globalization and the Making of a Modern Delicacy by Sasha Issenbergrating: 4 of 5 stars
Tuna went from cat-food to the most popular topping of sushi and this book describes the word-wide hunt for the expensive and increasingly rare fish. All aspects of the tuna story are covered, from the first tuna caught in the '70s on the east coast of the U.S. and flown back by JAL cargo planes (which anyway returned empty to Japan) to attempts to cultivate the huge fishes as well as the fight of "tuna crime," fishers and countries trying to sabotage the quota system.
Mirei Shigemori - Rebel in the Garden: Modern Japanese Landscape Architecture by Christian Tschumirating: 5 of 5 stars
Mirei Shigemori is one of Japan's foremost 20th century garden designers and the most consciously contemporary, as he added concrete and colored sand to his inventory. His most famous garden is the Abbot's Quarters Garden at Tofukuji In Kyoto, with a pattern of square tiles set in lush moss. For a more detailed review, see here on Japan Navigator.
Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind by Geert Hofstederating: 5 of 5 stars
The masterwork for the general public by Prof. Geert Hofstede, who with his four dimensions of culture singlehandedly laid the basis for the academic study of intercultural differences, which in its turn became the inspiration for the flourishing consultancy world of today. Everybody in this field stands on the shoulders of Hofstede. The book is a pleasure to read and highly recommended.
Culture's Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions and Organizations Across Nations by Geert Hofstederating: 4 of 5 stars
The vast academic study that lies at the basis of Hofstede's more popular "Cultures and Organizations." I recommend the last one and suggest you only read this one if you have an academic purpose yourself. But it is a very interesting book for those who want to delve deeper in Hofstede's cultural dimensions.
Shinjuku Shark by Arimasa Osawarating: 3 of 5 stars
Not many Japanese crime novels make it to English translations. This one, a hunt for a master gun maker responsible for police killings, is decent but not earth-shattering. The most interesting aspect is the relation between maverick detective Samejima, the "lonely shark," and his colleagues from the police department, who in conformist group society Japan (at least 17 years ago when the book was written) employ ostracism and even open hostility to get rid of the "nail that sticks out." See my review of publisher Vertical here.
