Gai-Jin.

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What Hacker News says

• akavel · Dec 28, 2019 · Recommends

  Not sure if decade, as I don't have good memory for such stuff (sorry!), but certainly at least for last year, the following book that had a really huge impact on me: Gai-Jin by James Clavell It showed me how different cultures can have very different "codes", how they can see others as "barbarians" purely based on that; more specifically, helped me look more critically on…

  on “Ask HN: Best books you read in the past decade?” ↗
• relic17 · Dec 6, 2010 · Recommends

  Clavell's whole Asian Saga (Shogun, Tai-Pan, Gai-Jin, King Rat, Noble House, and Whirlwind) is amazing. My favorite is Tai-Pan - the book had a tremendous impact on me, and I'd imagine it would appeal to every real entrepreneur. The underlying themes are…

  on “Ask HN: Best book you read in 2010 and briefly why” ↗
• theballwatcher · Dec 26, 2012 · Critical

  Shogun is a great read. It got me started on the whole historical fiction genre. The rest of the books in Clavell's Asian Saga are pretty good too except for maybe Gai-jin. I also enjoyed reading Gore Vidal's Lincoln and Burr from his Narratives of the Empire series - very entertaining and definitely not run-of-the-mill biographic portrayals.

  on “Ask HN: Best books you read in 2012” ↗
• satvikpendem · Nov 28, 2024 · Critical

  Shogun, after having watched the show. I also read the other books in Clavell's series, I thought Tai Pan and Gai Jin were interesting but not as much as Shogun. Gai Jin in particular felt like it had lots of filler.

  on “Ask HN: What were the best books you read this year?” ↗
• delichon · Feb 9, 2026 · Mentions

  Put not your trust in bloody princes, they can plead expedience. -- James Clavell, Gai-Jin If I had an internal report on my network's vulnerabilities a senator would be one of the last people I'd voluntarily share it with.

  on “AT&T, Verizon blocking release of Salt Typhoon security assessment reports” ↗