I have had this book as long as I can remember and possibly bought second hand in dusty second hand bookshop in Jinbōchō as my copy looks like it is a first edition paperback from 1986. I’m pretty sure that I didn’t buy it then. Maybe it had been hanging about on the shelves of a Tokyo bookstore for several years before I came past.

I think other reviews cover the difference between it and GEB well. All I can say is that I remember enjoying it immensely at the time and flicking through now many of the topics are those that I still talk about. I wouldn’t be surprised if half of my “original” ideas had their roots in the discussions in this book.

Today it certainly would be considered a book of a different age as it is pre-internet and is an eclectic collection of essays on many topics that were state of the art at the time. For example an 1982 discussion of avoiding sexist language while writing seems very forward looking but dated all at the same time, a time capsule of a simpler time.

All in all, if you like Douglas R. Hofstadter you’ll definitely enjoy this one.