Arts, Literature & Culture

In August 1968, naturalist-explorer Peter Matthiessen returned from Africa to his home in Sagaponack, Long Island, to find three Zen masters in his driveway—guests of his wife, a new student of Zen. Thirteen years later, Matthiessen was ordained a Buddhist…  Read More

This book (previously published as I Am Wind, You Are Fire ) celebrates the extraordinary career of Persia's great mystical poet, Rumi (1207–1273), through the story of his life, along with an enlightening examination of his ecstatic verse. Rumi…  Read More

Following up on Clueless in Tokyo, this colorful sequel continues the author's adventures in the seemingly strange and wonderful culture of Japan. Amusing cartoons and succinct descriptions clarify and explain even the most bizarre of cultural oddities. From…  Read More

In July 1845, Henry David Thoreau built a small cottage in the woods near Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. During the two years and two months he spent there, he began to write Walden, his most important work, a…  Read More

Kodokan judo, one of the most well-known martial arts in the world today, was originated by Jigoro Kano (1860–1938), a martial artist and career educator who developed the art after studying several types of jujutsu, sumo, and Western wrestling. Openness…  Read More