The Shortest History of Japan by Lesley Downer

You can't expect much from a book which has shortest in the title but this does cover a lot of things about Japan from the history to contemporary topics.

The books like this work like a primer where you don't invest much time but still get a lot of relevant information which can potentially help a reader decide whether to pursue the subject further.

Japan is one of the oldest culture, and even if one is not interested in knowing everything about it, this books gives the basic building blocks on which you can always add but beware of making any opinion too soon.

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