The theme of this work is books as art: books and scrolls of old Japan, printed and painted and calligraphic, from the eighth century to the twentieth. Illustrated with almost one hundred examples in colour, it was handsomely produced in a limited edition for the Book Club of California and is now made available, complete but in slightly smaller format, by Oak Knoll and the British Library for general distribution to a wider public. In a happily readable text the author shares his enjoyment of a large subject which western collectors with few exceptions have absurdly neglected. No divide in history or habit separates us from the beauty of Japanese books, to which this present work provides a delightful introductory visit.