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Eve Kushner

Crazy for Kanji: A Student's Guide to the Wonderful World of Japanese Characters Paperback – Illustrated, July 1, 2007

by Eve Kushner (Author)

29 ratings

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Kanji (the most complicated Japanese script) may look daunting, but the characters are full of fun and life—if you know how to decode them. Crazy for Kanji provides a "map" to orient people by examining characters and compounds from every angle. Passionate and playful, the book is filled with enlightening discussions, fun facts, photos, exhibits, anecdotes, and games. It’s a reference source, workbook, and entertaining read all in one. Novices and kanji experts alike will find treasures in its pages.

Eve Kushner, based in Berkeley, California, is a student of Japanese and an incurable kanji-holic.

Print length

212 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Stone Bridge Press
Publication date

July 1, 2007
Dimensions

8.5 x 0.7 x 11 inches
ISBN-10

1933330201
ISBN-13

978-1933330204
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Drawing on her sharp intellect, sense of humor, and tireless ability to ask all the right questions, ... Kushner seduces us from Page 1. -- "Kanji Clinic" by Mary Sisk Noguchi, Japan Times columnist

Kushner ... presents excellent learning strategies.... Her enthusiasm ... is infectious.... Kushner doesn't shy away from complexities.... She tackles them head on. --Asian Review of Books, by Todd Shimoda

Funny as well as educational, offering hundreds of games, lessons, and believe-it-or-nots.... Brilliantly merges the contemporary ... with the antique. --East Bay Express, by Anneli Rufus

Fun and informative read for people who are interested in the origins of language or simply want ... ways to make kanji easier. -- Nichi Bei Times, by Sarah Yuen

How I wish I had had Eve Kushner's brilliant Crazy for Kanji to begin my journey. --Choate Rosemary Hall Bulletin, by Katharine Jewett, the head of the languages department

From the Back Cover

Memorizing kanji--Japanese written characters--and their thousands of shapes, sounds, and meanings might drive anyone crazy. And here's something crazier: a whole book about kanji--where they come from, why they look the way they do, what they say about Japan, and how to learn them faster. The perfect book for students and teachers, Crazy for Kanji is filled with facts, examples, cultural clues, charts, dozens of photographs of kanji in action, and games and puzzles to challenge and entertain.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Stone Bridge Press; Illustrated edition (July 1, 2007)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 212 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1933330201
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1933330204
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.34 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.5 x 0.7 x 11 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #933,545 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,607 in Japanese History (Books)
- #1,872 in Chinese History (Books)
- #2,173 in Foreign Language Instruction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
29 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		58%
4 star		9%
3 star		16%
2 star		9%
1 star		7%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Running Man

Love Kanji? Get this book, check out sister site too.

Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2015

Verified Purchase

The author, Eve, clearly loves Kanji. Strongly recommend her "joy 'o kanji" website both for its free and subscriber content.

Having had a few technical problems, was amazed how quickly and personally she addressed them. The character of anyone is better judged by how they react to problems than when things are going swimmingly well, and I have to say she is a star. Respect.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Vivian Krueger

Interesting yet useless.

Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2014

Verified Purchase

While this book is an interesting and engrossing read to which I devoted at least an hour a day until I finished it, it was not helpful. At all. It entertained me but it did not teach me anything of import when it came to mastering any Kanji. I thought it would be a refreshing change from most Kanji books which consist solely of a long list of Kanji, their various pronunciations, and how to write them. I was wrong. The much more boring reference books actually had a structure that allowed me to learn Kanji instead of just learning a bunch of "cool" yet useless facts about a random set of Kanji chosen by the author to present her points. I will continue on my search for a book that is both an interesting read and a valuable resource. If anyone has any recommendations I would love to hear them.

5 people found this helpful

Helpful

mauskandha

I love the author's excitement

Reviewed in the United States on February 29, 2016

Verified Purchase

I guess I wasn't ready for this, not at a level to make enough use of it, I still have it but gave up studying. It was pretty interesting as far as I could tell. I'll let you know if I ever get more use from it...

Helpful

Dale Messina

Not for begginers

Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2015

Verified Purchase

Unless you've taken college classes on japanese kanji, this book is very confusing to use. The authors kanji obsession is interesting to read about but after that I was totally lost when she just jumped ahead and assumed everybody knew how to read kanji.

Helpful

compilerman

Kanji Magic Carpet Ride!

Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2011

Verified Purchase

WOW, what an innovative and remarkable book about kanji! I have had the same experiences that Eve Kushner describes in her preface in my own efforts to learn kanji. While it is true that there is no "royal road" to learning kanji, her book provides inspiration for the journey. Her enthusiasm for the subject is catching(during a trip to Japan this year, I took over 100 photos of kanji.) This book is a kanji magic carpet ride where each of the articles in the preface, introduction and 7 chapters offers an opportunity to delve a bit more into this fascinating world. I have purchased two copies of Ms Kushner's book. I gave one to a Chinese friend who hated the way he was taught kanji as a child. He loved the book. I sincerely hope that there will be a volume 2 of Crazy for Kanji!
Houston, Texas

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

rgsf

Great for Kanji learners!

Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2010

Verified Purchase

I would highly recommend this book for anyone trying to learn kanji. Not as a study guide or a way to build vocabulary, but rather as a very detailed overview of the history, structure, and conventions of kanji usage. It's a great read for anyone who is "crazy" for kanji and I think could help those who are not so crazy about learning kanji to develop a new love and appreciation or at least make the process a little more enjoyable.

The book is laid out in chapters split into small "exhibits" that can be read on their own or as part of the chapter. Very readable entertaining and engaging with games, charts, and occasional cultural side notes which make this book something fun to just flip through but also possible to study from if your so inclined.

19 people found this helpful

Helpful

A. Golden

A great read for anyone learning Japanese or curious about it.

Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2010

Verified Purchase

This book really does a great job of addressing all audiences. It is a great read for people fluent in Japanese or Chinese, those learning the language, or those who have absolutely zero knowledge about it. It has helped me gain a tremendously better grasp on how Japanese orthography works. I recommend this especially to students taking Japanese - it opens up new perspectives not discussed by the average professor, and makes studying Kanji much less of a grind.

13 people found this helpful

Helpful

sbills

wonderful book!

Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2010

Verified Purchase

Interested in kanji? Not interested in Kanji but need to learn it for that upcoming test? Either way Ms. Kushner's "Crazy for Kanji" is the book for you. This is the book I've been searching for since I began studying Japanese a few years ago. "Crazy for Kanji" provides information that you didn't get in your language class. Subjects such as "Ateji" are explained fully and made sense of. Ms. Kushner's unique concept of "on-echo" will help you break down and master kanji with similar phonetic components as well. The book also provides plenty of games that you can use or adapt to meet your own study needs. Additionally, there's a really nice section called "Double Happiness" in which Ms. Kushner introduces and gives a crash course in Chinese Hanzi ( from which Kanji were adapted ). Information about the usage of these wonderful characters in Taiwan and Korea is also given. No matter what your level of expertise is, you no doubt will learn something new from this wonderful book.

12 people found this helpful

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