France

The Truth About CoffeeBuddhism in Sri Lanka, Nepal and Southeast Asia

Antony Wilde, "The Truth About Coffee" - A book that sounds the alarm about the history of coffee and the unequal trade system that continues today!

What an ease it is to innocently drink deliciously without knowing anything about it.

It is clearly less psychologically burdensome that way.

But what would happen if all people became like that? No, what has happened to the world today with neoliberalism?

It may be harsh, but I think this book is one that you should have the courage to read because you are a coffee lover.
coffee goes around, world history goes aroundBuddhism in Sri Lanka, Nepal and Southeast Asia

Ryuichiro Usui, "Coffee Turns and World History Turns" - Western modern society changed by coffee! A recommended book to learn about world history from the perspective of coffee!

本書『コーヒーが廻り世界史が廻る』は副題に「近代市民社会の黒い血液」とありますように、コーヒーが近代社会にいかに影響を与えたのかということを見ていける作品です。

そしてイギリスだけでなくフランスやドイツなどにおけるコーヒー事情も詳しく語られますのでとても刺激的です。フランス革命やナポレオンにもコーヒーは大きく絡んできます。

「コーヒーを通して見る世界史」と言うべき素晴らしい作品です。これは面白い！コーヒー好きの私にとって非常に刺激的な一冊でした。
A Global History of ChocolateBuddhism in Sri Lanka, Nepal and Southeast Asia

Naoko Takeda, "The World History of Chocolate" - Recommended commentary book to learn about the transition of chocolate from modern to contemporary times and surprising information about Kit Kat.

私達にも身近なチョコレートは近代化の産物です。特にイギリスの産業革命によってチョコレートはそれまでとは大きく違った意味を持ち始めます。その流れを知れる本書は非常に刺激的です。

また、本記事のタイトルにも書きましたが私達もよく知るキットカットの歴史もこの本では知ることができます。

本書を読めばこうしたチョコ菓子が人気になっていくのもまさに近代化の影響だったということがよくわかります。

私達の身近な生活にも直結するチョコレートの成り立ちを知るのにこの本はとてもおすすめです。前回紹介した『チョコレートの歴史』とセットで読めばさらに理解が深まること間違いなしです。
History of ChocolateBuddhism in Sri Lanka, Nepal and Southeast Asia

Kawade Bunko "History of Chocolate" - A recommended work to learn about the origins of chocolate and its history dating back to the Mayan civilization!

本書は私達にも身近なチョコレートの歴史をなんと、紀元前のマヤ文明にまで遡り見ていくという大スケールの作品となっています。

私が本書を手に取ったのはスリランカの歴史を学ぶ中で紅茶とコーヒーの西洋流通について調べていたのがきっかけでした。紅茶とコーヒーとチョコレートはほぼ同時期に西洋に入り、飲み物として親しまれていた。そしてこのプランテーションや貿易の展開はヨーロッパとアジアの思想を考える上でも非常に大きな意味があると考え私はチョコレートの歴史も学んでみたいと思ったのでした。

そんな時に出会ったのが本書『チョコレートの歴史』です。私はこの本に一目惚れでした。
甘さと権力Buddhism in Sri Lanka, Nepal and Southeast Asia

Sidney W. Mintz, "Sweetness and Power: The Modern History of Sugar's Story" - A classic book that asks how sugar changed the world!

砂糖もはじめから今のように人々の間で消費されていたわけではありません。

ヨーロッパで流通しはじめた頃には香料や薬として使用され、王族などの圧倒的な権力を持つ極一部の人しか所有することができませんでした。

私達の身近に当たり前のように存在している砂糖を通して世界の成り立ちを考える非常に刺激的な作品です。砂糖が当たり前の存在になるにはとてつもない変遷があったのでした。私達の当たり前を問う素晴らしい作品です。「モノを通して世界史を語る先駆けとなった世界的名著」と紹介されていたのも大いに納得です。

Why not pick one up?
Empire of PlunderIndian thought, culture and history

W. Dalrymple, "Empire of Plunder: The Rise and Fall of the East India Company" - A Warning for Our Times! Why did the great nation of India become a British colony?

This book is a work that takes a closer look at the process by which colossal India was ruled by the British East India Company.

This book is so shocking. I even felt fear when I read it. How did the Mughal Empire, which boasted of overwhelming prosperity, so easily succumb to the British trading company? What is discussed in this book is not completely irrelevant to those of us living in Japan today. This book is truly a warning to us modern people.
Reading this book, I am truly afraid of Japan today.
Rome and DostoevskyTravels in Rome" - Charms of the Theater City of Rome and Pilgrimage to Bernini

(42) What does Dostoevsky, who criticized Roman Catholicism, think of Rome, the temple of beauty and theater city?

We have updated our Rome travelogue 41 times so far.

As I reported in the introduction to this travelogue, I toured Rome with the question, "Although Dostoevsky hated Roman Catholicism, could he not be captivated by St. Peter's Basilica, its main temple, and Bernini's stage art in Rome?

For me, I did not forget Dostoevsky for a single moment during my stay in Rome. I was always with Dostoevsky during my stay in Europe.

So what did Dostoevsky actually think of Rome during his stay?

The truth is that we do not know as Dostoevsky left nothing behind. But even so, I have come to the conclusion that Dostoevsky would have liked but disliked Rome.
free fallMarx Engels Writings and Related Works

Stiglitz, "Free Fall" - Proposals by the Nobel economist who harshly criticized neoliberalism!

The author, Stiglitz, is a Nobel economist who criticized the American neoliberalism that caused the 2008 Lehman Shock.

I originally picked up this book because I studied Marx. Marx criticized capitalism. And even today, Marxists criticize capitalism, but Marxism is not the only critique of capitalism that has gone too far. Hirofumi Uno, the proud Japanese economist whom I introduced in my previous article, also sounded a strong warning against American-style capitalism.

What is more, the author of this work, Nobel economist Stiglitz, was mentored by Hirofumi Uzawa as a young man. This was a surprise to me as well.

So I picked up this book with the hope of reading a book by Stiglitz, who was trained by Hirofumi Uzawa.