The Great Wave - The Opening of Old Japan

Book #16 was The Great Wave: Gilded Age Misfits, Japanese Eccentrics, and the Opening of Old Japan by Christopher Benfey. To quote the back jacket

In the years after the Civil War, the United States, searching for its philosophical moorings, looked to "old Japan" for balance and perspective. Japan, meanwhile, trying to reinvent itself as a modern state, was open to foreign influence for the first time.

The Great Wave is, at its core, about the two sets of people (one set from the East, the other from the West) and their interactions with each other. The stories interweave beautifully, and the author does a nice job of keeping reminding you of the characters you've met along the way as he flushes them out more completely. It's really interesting to see how luminaries that you might know from other spheres (Herman Melville, Isabella Stewart Gardner) interacted with, knew of, and were inspired by each other.

(side note - the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum is a beautiful museum, if you've never been - a real gem in museum history and theory. Isabella stipulated in her will and estate that the museum couldn't change a thing. Not the layout, not the art, not the displays - nothing. Therefore, it is a perfectly intact capsule from the 19th century - embodying all of the lofty goals of enlightenment through art and the time's penchant for crowded displays. It's worth going just because it's so rare to see a 19th century style museum kept so perfectly intact)

The book is really interesting, and there are some great reviews posted by the New York Times and an interview/review from Mount Holyoke (which features prominently in some of the character's tales).

The book is a bit dense, so be warned. It's not the easiest read and it's not really a page-turner, but it's pretty interesting to see a cross section of famous people looked at from a completely different angle. Plus, this book enters the pantheon of "Books with fantastic cover art."