White House Profile: A Social History Of The White House, Its Occupants And Its Festivities Book

The best book ever written about Japan. Wise, down-to-earth, human. Wide-ranging—Maraini was a true renaissance man: scholar, writer, mountaineer, photographer, husband and father. The language (translated from the Italian) is wonderful. The chapter "Red Skies Over Nagoya" will make your hair stand on end. Written in the 1950s, Meeting With Japan stands the test of time, and rings true today; even though much of the Japan he shows us has disappeared, the essence of this country and its people, which he portrays so well, remains very much intact, if sometimes hidden beneath the surface. I've read this book 3 or 4 times and will read it again, savoring each page.