I do wish that Tomalin included a brief list of common German phases, as is present in the Japanese book, but otherwise, I think you’ll find Culture Smart: Germany a handy piece of literature with which to start your explorations.
The Cutting-Off Way Review
Rather than engaging in “Russeauistic retrospective utopianism," Lee presents a nuanced, complex portrait of indigenous warfare during, prior to, and just after the contact period, examining the question from the tactical, operational, and strategic levels of war.
Making It So Review
Making It So is well written and has a few, mildly interesting segments, but it overall doesn’t offer much that is unique or freshly insightful in any broader sense.
Shahnameh Review
The ”Persian Book of Kings” is sometimes described as the Persian Iliad which, after reading it, I think is a terrible description. Shahnameh is far less narrative, and it is as much a history book as it is an epic.
Culture Smart: Japan Review
I have few critiques that I can make, which probably speaks to the importance of managing expectations more than it does the book itself. With sections on history, language, customs, religion, geography, and good, it addresses all of the basics.
How to Behave Badly in Elizabethan England Review
Slice-of-life history books have a particular appeal, since they include the sorts of details that escape larger “history” texts, but that are exactly what can enrich a story and make its world immersive for the reader.
Nuts and Bolts Review
Simple machines offer a way of thinking about engineering at a more fundamental level, rather than a systems engineering approach, and Agrawal’s book is an insightful, modern iteration of that idea.
Organon Review
If there is one book that will help you on your critical thinking journey, it is Organon.
Longitude Review
It might be decent for what it is, and you will likely learn something if you haven’t done much reading on the longitude problem before, but after the research I did for my novel, this had little new to add.
Landscape and Memory Review
Art criticism is hardly my usual field of interest, but it was not art that Landscape and Memory prompted me to consider. Instead, it was nature itself.
IGC Publishing 