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Non-Fiction Books in Order
Below you'll find the complete list of Non-Fiction books in publication order. This is generally the recommended reading order for the series.
Reading order verified: April 2026
Quick Answer
What order should I read the Non-Fiction series? Start with "Japanese Tattoo (With: Donald Richie)" (1980) and follow publication order through all 20 books.
The complete Non-Fiction reading order is listed below in publication sequence.
Publication Order

Japanese Tattoo (With: Donald Richie)
1980

Behind the Mask / A Japanese Mirror
1984

God's Dust
1989

The Wages of Guilt
1994

The Missionary And The Libertine
1996

Inventing Japan
1999

Voltaire's Coconuts / Anglomania In Europe
1999

Bad Elements
2001

Inventing Japan, 1853-1964
2003

Occidentalism
2004

Conversations with John Schlesinger
2006

Murder in Amsterdam
2006

Taming the Gods
2010

Year Zero
2013

Theater of Cruelty
2014

Their Promised Land
2016

A Tokyo Romance
2018

The Churchill Complex
2020

The Collaborators
2023

Spinoza: Freedom's Messiah
2024
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