I have had an interest in Japanese culture for sometime, so this was a 'want to read!' book for me. I did get through this entire book in a few days time, its not very thick or large in size. But it was packed with information on the history, culture, manners and the like. It's a short intro but a good one to Japan and this was published in the last 5 years. If you want more serious information look somewhere else, this is a fun little book thats just an intro to some people or a good basic review book for others.