Why read A Beginner's Guide to Japan?

Book cover of A Beginner's Guide to Japan

Book description

“Arguably the greatest living travel writer” (Outside magazine), Pico Iyer has called Japan home for more than three decades. But, as he is the first to admit, the country remains an enigma even to its long-term residents. In A Beginner’s Guide to Japan, Iyer draws on his years of experience—his…

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Why read it?

1 author picked A Beginner's Guide to Japan as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Gadi Sznajder

Author

This is not a business book, and that is exactly why it belongs on this list.

Iyer has lived in Japan for decades, yet he maintains the observant eye of an outsider. His reflections on silence, stillness, and the unspoken rules that govern Japanese society taught me more about nemawashi (the informal consensus-building process) and the importance of what is left unsaid than any corporate seminar I have attended.

I recommend it because to succeed in Japan, you must first learn to sit comfortably inside its contradictions.

From Gadi's list on Gadi Sznajder's favorite books for Western business people trying to understand Asia beyond the contract.