The 47 Ronin by A.B. Mitford This is an abridged and dolled-up reprint of A.B. Mitford’s Tales of Old Japan with lots of color illustrations. Tales was originally published in 1871, as Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford, a member of the British legation in Tokyo, witnessed the rapid modernization of Japan. He decided to set down some traditional stories… Continue reading Book Review: The 47 Ronin
Tag: history
Book Review: The Boy Knight
Book Review: The Boy Knight by G. A. Henty G.A. Henty (1852-1902) was a writer of children’s historical fiction, who began his career as an author after a friend heard him telling bedtime stories to his kids. Like many Victorian authors, he’s out of favor these days, but my parents found this book at an… Continue reading Book Review: The Boy Knight
Manga Review: Ayako
Manga Review: Ayako by Osamu Tezuka Osamu Tezuka is best known in the United States for his early children’s manga and their subsequent animated adaptations like “Astro Boy” and “Kimba the White Lion.” But later in his prolific career, he also produced quite a few works for more mature readers, such as “MW” and “Ode… Continue reading Manga Review: Ayako
Book Review: America In So Many Words
Book Review: America In So Many Words by Allen Metcalf & David K. Barnhart American English is its own animal, with a vocabulary that marks it out from British English. This volume traces American history through the words that have been important to or invented by Americans. It’s set in roughly chronological order, from “canoe”… Continue reading Book Review: America In So Many Words
Book Review: Shanghai 1937
Book Review: Shanghai 1937 by Peter Harmsen Disclaimer: I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it. This is my 25th win! This is the first English-language book specifically about the battle for Shanghai in 1937, which is considered by some to be the start of the Asian… Continue reading Book Review: Shanghai 1937
Manga Review: Vagabond Volume 1
Manga Review: Vagabond Volume 1 by Takehiko Inoue Miyamoto Musashi, author of A Book of Five Rings, was one of the greatest swordsmen of his time (the 1600s) and something of a warrior-philosopher. He’s become a legendary figure, and there have been many fictional accounts of his life in Japanese media. The most influential of these… Continue reading Manga Review: Vagabond Volume 1
Book Review: Every Hill and Mountain
Book Review: Every Hill and Mountain by Deborah Heal Disclaimer: I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway in the expectation that I would review it. This review will contain heavy spoilers. This is the third in a trilogy about Abby Thomas, a denominational college student on a summer service project to be a tutor to… Continue reading Book Review: Every Hill and Mountain
Book Review: City of Nets
Book Review: City of Nets: A Portrait of Hollywood in the 1940s by Otto Friedrich The book’s title comes from a Bertolt Brecht opera, “The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny.” Brecht had not yet come to Hollywood at the time, but “like a net set for edible birds” is a plausible description of… Continue reading Book Review: City of Nets
Comic Book Review: Son of Samson #1 & 2
Comic Book Review: Son of Samson #1 & 2 by Gary Martin & Sergio Cariello. Christian kids, just like every other kid, want to read the kind of books that appeal to them. And for a while, manga volumes became huge in the bookstores. So there was an obvious market for something that physically resembles… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Son of Samson #1 & 2
Book Review: Where the Cherry Tree Grew
Book Review: Where the Cherry Tree Grew by Phillip Levy Full Disclosure: I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway, on the premise that I would review it. This is something a little different for me, a geographical “biography” that traces the history of a particular place. In this case, the piece of land that… Continue reading Book Review: Where the Cherry Tree Grew