Ian Buruma Books

Combining history and biography, this book examines the theme of Englishness, looking at European Anglophiles and Anglophobes, from Voltaire to Isaiah Berlin.

Did Friedrich Weinreb help his fellow Jews to escape occupied Holland, or did he defraud them of their money before betraying them to the Nazis? The historian Ian Buruma investigates the disputed legacy of this plausible chancer, along with that of Himmlerâ€s Finnish masseur Felix Kersten, and cross-dressing Kawashima Yoshiko, who spied for the Japanese in China and, less fortunate than the others, was executed after the war.

Travel, politics and society all meet in this account of Chinese rebels, written by a leading authority on Asia.

Original research and new translations highlight a crucial era in the life and artistic journey of a renowned German Expressionist. The book features previously unpublished artworks that provide insight into the complexities and challenges faced by the artist during this significant period.

A brilliant and insightful history of the special relationship between the UK and the USA, which Ian Buruma argues is now under threat with the election of Donald Trump and Brexit.

The story of modern Japan, from first 'opening' to the West with Admiral Perry's Black Ships in 1853, through World War II, to Japan's emergence as a Western-style democracy and economic power at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

For centuries Westerners have projected fan-tasies of a decadent, voluptuous East in contrast to the puritanism of their own cultures. A Japanese theatrical troupe performing in his native Holland in 1971 exposed the young Ian Buruma to these temptations, and soon he was off to Tokyo, a would-be libertine. The essays collected in The Missionary and the Libertine chronicle Buruma's sobering discovery that Asians often have equally distorted visions of the West. In these humorous and enlightening essays, Buruma describes the last days of Hong Kong, the showbiz politics of the Philippines, the chauvinism of the Seoul Olympics, the sinister genius of Lee Kuan Yew, the intricacies of Japanese sexuality, and much more. His portraits of Benazir Bhutto, Imelda Marcos, Satyajit Ray, and Corazón Aquino are classics of the journalist's art. Buruma shows that the cultural gap between East and West is not as wide as either missionaries or libertines, in East or West, might think. At home in both worlds, he has provided a splendid counterblast to fashionable theories of clashing civilizations and uniquely Asian values. By stripping away our fantasies, Buruma reveals a world that is all too recognizably human.

Ian Buruma explores the life and death of Baruch Spinoza, the Enlightenment thinker whose belief in freedom of thought and speech resonates in our own time

The early masterpiece of V. S. Naipaul’s brilliant career, A House for Mr. Biswas is an unforgettable story inspired by Naipaul's father that has been hailed as one of the twentieth century's finest novels. In his forty-six short years, Mr. Mohun Biswas has been fighting against destiny to achieve some semblance of independence, only to face a lifetime of calamity. Shuttled from one residence to another after the drowning death of his father, for which he is inadvertently responsible, Mr. Biswas yearns for a place he can call home. But when he marries into the domineering Tulsi family on whom he indignantly becomes dependent, Mr. Biswas embarks on an arduous–and endless–struggle to weaken their hold over him and purchase a house of his own. A heartrending, dark comedy of manners, A House for Mr. Biswas masterfully evokes a man’s quest for autonomy against an emblematic post-colonial canvas.

The book is praised for its imaginative and original storytelling, showcasing a unique narrative style that engages readers with wit and creativity. Its clever writing and fresh perspective make it stand out, appealing to those who appreciate a blend of humor and originality in literature.