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Prime Obsession

Bernhard Riemann & the Greatest Unsolved Problem

author : John Derbyshire

Fermar’s Last Theorem was solved in 1994, and the Riemann Hypothesis was thought as the most interesting problem of mathematics after that. However, it was also solved in June this year. This book was written in 2002, so the Riemann Hypothesis had not been solved yet in it. Honestly, I had never heard this problem ‘All non-trivial zeros of the zeta function have real part one-half’. But this book showed it to me with the history of mathematics. I know David who introduces himself as a mathematician, so I know that mathematicians are intelligent wondering strangers. You can know how interesting people mathematicians are in this book. I hope that the other unsolved problems would be solved in the future by the great mathematicians. It might be you. (2004,11,24)

Da Vinci Code

author : Dan Brown

It was introduced with various newspaper magazines, but I intended to read later. However, my friend recommended it to read it right away, and lent it to me. It was interesting, I needed one night only to finish it. It was too easy. Because Christianity, the background of a tale was complicated, I wanted the more complicated deployment. If you felt somewhat unsatisfactory, I would like you to read "John Lempriere’s Dictionary" of Lawrence Norfolk or "Foucault's pendulum" of the Umberto Eco. The word "secret organization" always makes me excite and enjoy.  (2004, 10, 24)

The Land of Laughs

author : Jonathan Carroll

It is not a detective story but is not necessarily horror but is a kind of love stories. However, I think that fantasy horror is the most suitable word to it. I liked just its title first, nevertheless it was interesting very much. Its leading character’s description and thought against various objects is great. I often laughed while I read it. Its leading character is writing a biography of a novelist, and many mysterious incidents happened one after another to him. The novelist was created by its author, so I was disappointed because there is no works by him in the world. The work of Stanislaw Lem which created the book review about a fictitious book and the preface is remembered. I would like the person who read this book and thought that it was interesting to read "A Perfect Vacuum" that was written by Lem. (2004,10,23)

The Joy Luck Club

author : Amy Tan

My friend Robert recommended it to me, and it was interesting. It was made into a movie, I want to see it very much. It is the tale of the women who lived with the Chinese 4000 years’ history, crossed the Pacific Ocean, and immigrated into the United States. There is the technique that two or more characters describe about their common experiences individually, and it is very interesting. Although its title was "The Joy Luck Club", the contents were "The Joy Lack Club." That is, it is called the club where people charged with such severe life that it is frightful participate and where pleasure was missing. Although it is the fan of "三国志", I hardly know the history of China. The history of China colored pathos is told in this book. After I finished it, I felt that the depth of meditation changes. Robert's recommendation is always interesting, so  I also would like to recommend it to you. (2004,10,21)

In the Face of Death

author : Peter Noll

Its author was a terminal cancer patient who refused the operation, and he was the jurist. He decided to spend the time until death with completion of work, and a friend and a family. This book was written in diary form, and he criticized many things and matters calmly, occasionally emotionally, and sometimes I laughed his strange interesting idea. He had deep knowledge to art, and very high education and culture. And it taught one of the life styles to a patient who has an intractable illness. It was very sorry that he died already, because I wanted him to criticize about recent serious world situation. I think that it is loss of Japanese society that such an interesting book hasn’t been translated in Japanese yet Its original was written in German, so I read its English translation. If the editor of a publishing company is reading this, I want him to think its translation publication in Japanese. I worked very busily recently, and I needed four months until I finished it. It might have been an unreasonable request to read it in English for me, but I was good from the bottom of my heart. I will keep this book in my bookshelf forever. It is great. (2004.10.8)

Sanity, Madness and the Family

author : R. D. Laing & A. Esterson

This is a nonfiction report that has the interviews of the schizophrenia patients and their family. This showed some influences that were given to the schizophrenia patients by their family environment. It was very impulsive and terrible to think that it was a nonfiction. It was a serious fact. I wonder if the family could be guilty as a charge of inflicting bodily injury. It was very interesting, however I felt that it was a horrible work to bring up children. I can't . . . (2004,622)

Ateisten och den heliga staden

author : Georg Klein

This author was a doctor,  a scientist, and a philosopher. I read his another essay 'Pieta' that was written about death last year, and that was very interesting. This book is the former one of 'Pieta', and this moved me the same as it. I really respect him. He wrote about gene, cancer, virus, Jerusalem, and death in 1987. If he had known  about the recent situation in Jerusalem, how he could have thought about it. I agree with him that there is no God. This book would be kept forever on my bookshelf. (2004,6,6)

A Father's Story

author : Lionel Dahmer

Jeffrey Dahmer is a serial killer who was arrested in 1991, and he was killed in a prison in 1994. His victims were homosexuals or racial minorities. This book was written by Jeffrey Dahmer's father as a repentance. The author analyzed himself to make his son's crime clear. Jeffrey Dahmer was a really abnormal person, but it wasn't the most impressive thing in this book. It was impulsive that people who had no relationship with Dahmer family threw eggs to Jaffrey's grandmother's house. Most abnormal persons recognize their abnormal elements, but common people never recognize their abnormal elements, I think.  Sometimes people's unpleasant actions make me feel nauseated. I wish that victims, Jeffrey Dahmer, and their family could sleep well. (2004,5,26)

Buried Alive, an crazy man's note

author : Sadegh Hedayat

Its author was born at Iran in 1903, and committed suicide at Paris in 1951. This book is a collection of short stories with an ironic sense. The author wrote them to readers who were educated in Europe, or who lived with European style, so that it was easy to understand for the universal readers. I expected that it must have an Islam atmosphere, but I found that an ironic sense was same anywhere. However, I would like to know Islam society more, and understand Islam people's thought. Thus I was disappointed a little, though they all were interesting very much. And it was very sorry that the author died already. (2004,5,25)

The Cider House Rules

author : John Irving

My friend recommended its movie, so that I thought that I would like to read its novel before I watch the movie. I thought that I could have read it before, because I liked John Irving's works very much. Although I didn't remember its title, I found that I had read it before at the first page of it already. However, I read all of it again, because it was very interesting, as you know. I think that my understanding about this novel might have been superficial before, but now I know that it is very hard that fact or real mind keep secret. It is always with pain. And I felt that I needed to make my own rules again. If you felt to lose your way, I would recommend this novel to read. I will watch its movie as as soon as possible, and I thank for my dear friend. (2004,5,23)

Girl in Hyacinth Blue

author : Susan Vreeland

I watched 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' last month, and I wrote about it. Then my friend who lives in Belgium sent to me some post cards of Johannes Vermeer's paintings that she bought at the museum in the Netherlands. And the other friend who lives in Tokyo recommended this book to read. It has eight stories about a work that was painted by Vermeer. Each story has its owner, and they have an interesting episode, but I think that its composition is interesting especially. The stories traced time back until Vermeer painted it. And it shows the dark side of European history. If you were interested in history, I think that you should read it as soon as possible. (2004,5,13)

Zen in the art of Archery

author : Eugen Herrigel

Eugen Herrigel, a German philosopher, wrote this book. He had stayed for 6 years in Japan to teach at university, and learned Japanese archery at the time. He explained about Zen which he had known by training Japanese archery, and that was the same to explain about the soul of Japan. I introduced before 'BUSHID; The soul of Japan' that was written in English by Nitobe Inazo, and my e-mail friend who was from the Netherlands wrote me that it was very difficult. It was true. Herrigel's writing is very easy for foreigners to understand what Zen is. He showed what Zen was, and it was looking like flowchart. If you would like to know Zen or 'nothingness', I would recommend you to read it. My friend who trains the martial arts of Japan recommended me to read it. And I was taught about Zen from a German philosopher. It was amazing really. (2004,3,11)

Sometimes I read essays of philosophers, when I found free time. This New Year holidays, I read Sartre's one 'Being and Nothingness'. I feel that sometimes existentialism is very realistic and vulgar. Especially, Sartre's essay has humidity. It makes me be interested very much. In the western, nothingness has a meaning that is different from the eastern. The difference seems to have historical background. Nothingness is nothing in the eastern, but nothingness is being itself nominally in the western. It's very interesting, isn't it? Philosophers think about everything with their own way, and sometimes it is funny. (2004,1,5)