Responsibility and Commitment Book

Generally I struggle with non-fiction, but this collection of excerpts from Japanese diaries is an excellent primer on Japanese history spanning from 1860-1920. Chapters are divided by diarist background (early missions to foreign countries, travelers in Asia, writers abroad, diaries by politicians and women, and finally the early 20th century).

Donald Keene does an outstanding job editing and presenting interesting works, but I would have appreciated being told a few times less that many chroniclers asked that their diaries be burned (he must have mentioned it at least six times).