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OUP Japan’s 10 Bestsellers of 2019 finds our hugely popular trade titles occupying the top two spots. This year’s highest seller, The Oxford Book of Japanese Short Storiescomprises thirty-five bite-sized short stories spanning the Japan’s modern era from 1862 to 1964. Chronologically arranged by the birthdate of each author, the expansive collection begins with an illuminating introduction by Theodore W. Goossen. The anthology includes work by some of Japan’s finest literary talent such as Tanizaki, Kawabata, Mishima, and Murakami; and makes a perfect gift for anyone seeking to expand their reading list.

At #2 is The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins. A classic exposition of evolutionary thought, it is widely hailed for its stylistic brilliance and deep scientific insights. A landmark work, the relevance of the book remains undiminished over 40 years since it was first published.

Ranked #3 is a unique entry in the top 10: The Wise Company: How Companies Create Continuous Innovation by Ikujiro Nonaka (Hitotsubashi University) and Hirotaka Takeuchi (Harvard Business School). The book, which presents a new model of knowledge-creation and practice for the twenty-first century, is an evolutionary sequel toThe Knowledge-Creating Company: How Japanese Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation (winner of Best Book of the Year in Business and Management by the Association of American Publishers in 1996). Launched at the tail end of 2019, this eagerly awaited new release by the two global experts skyrocketed into the top three.

Numbers 4 to 10 consist of our most popular textbook titles. At #4 is our bestselling introduction to international relations, The Globalization of World Politics by John Baylis et al. Published in December, the newly revised 8th edition engages with contemporary global challenges head-on. Featuring a brand new chapter ‘Refugees and Forced Migration’ and updated coverage of decolonization, the book continues to cover those topics that will define the key issues in IR well into the future. Aside from our internationally acclaimed chemistry textbooks are Making Sense: A Student’s Guide to Writing and Research, 8th edition and A Modern History of Japan: From Tokugawa Times to the Present, 3rd international edition by Andrew Gordon. Making Sense is a readable guide to research and writing for undergraduate students in any discipline by a writer with over twenty-five years of proven success in Canada. Its clear and concise approach has a wide appeal to the Japanese audience and it’s been in use at some secondary school and undergraduate courses. The latest 9th edition recently became available. Meanwhile, a new 4th international edition of A Modern History of Japan is expected for release in 2020 and includes an overall assessment of the three decades of the Heisei era (1989-2019).

* This ranking is based on 2019 OUP Japan sales figures.

Overall Ranking

Bestsellers by category

Humanities

1. The Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories
2. A Modern History of Japan, International Edition: From Tokugawa Times to the Present (3rd edition)
3. The Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories
4. The Problems of Philosophy (2nd edition)
5. What Does It All Mean?: A Very Short Introduction to Philosophy (New edition)
6. The Oxford Book of Essays
7. A New History of the Humanities: The Search for Principles and Patterns from Antiquity to the Present
8. The Oxford Handbook of English Grammar
9. Political Thought
10. Strategy: A History (2nd edition)

Social Sciences

1. The Wise Company: How Companies Create Continuous Innovation
2. The Globalization of World Politics: An Introduction to International Relations (7th edition)
3. Introduction to Politics (3rd edition)
4. Anthropology: What Does It Mean to Be Human? (4th edition)
5. The Future of the Professions: How Technology Will Transform the Work of Human Experts
6. Comparative Politics (4th edition)
7. Introduction to International Development: Approaches, Actors, Issues, and Practice (3rd edition)
8. Global Political Economy (5th edition)
9. International Relations and the European Union (3rd edition)
10. The Long Defeat: Cultural Trauma, Memory, and Identity in Japan

Natural Sciences

1. The Selfish Gene: 40th Anniversary edition (4th edition)
2. Organic Chemistry (2nd edition)
3. Organic Chemistry: A mechanistic approach
4. Atkins' Physical Chemistry (11th edition)
5. Inorganic Chemistry (7th edition)
6. Principles of Development (6th edition)
7. Solutions Manual to accompany Organic Chemistry (2nd edition)
8. An Introduction to Medicinal Chemistry (6th edition)
9. Nutrition for Developing Countries (3rd edition)
10. Solutions Manual for Microeconomic Theory

Law

1. Japanese Law (3rd edition)
2. First Steps in the Law (7th edition)
3. Textbook on International Law (7th edition)
4. Comparative Company Law
5. The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Law (2nd edition)
6. Ashworth's Principles of Criminal Law (9th edition)
7. The Oxford Handbook of United Nations Treaties
8. Reasons to Doubt: Wrongful Convictions and the Criminal Cases Review Commission
9. Bellamy & Child: European Union Law of Competition (8th edition)
10. The Oxford Handbook of Fiduciary Law

Oxford World's Classics

1. Dracula
2. The Complete Short Stories
3. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass
4. The Flowers of Evil
5. Gulliver's Travels
6. The Pilgrim's Progress
7. Pride and Prejudice
8. Jacob's Room
9. To the Lighthouse
10. The Souls of Black Folk

Very Short Introductions

1. Globalization: A Very Short Introduction (4th edition)
2. Global Economic History: A Very Short Introduction
3. Modern Japan: A Very Short Introduction
4. Newton: A Very Short Introduction
5. Nutrition: A Very Short Introduction
6. The English Language: A Very Short Introduction
7. Psychology: A Very Short Introduction (2nd edition)
8. Climate Change: A Very Short Introduction (3rd edition)
9. International Migration: A Very Short Introduction (2nd edition)
10. English Literature: A Very Short Introduction

What Everyone Needs to Know®

1. Authoritarianism: What Everyone Needs to Know®
2. Food and Nutrition: What Everyone Needs to Know®
3. Polarization: What Everyone Needs to Know®
4. China's Economy: What Everyone Needs to Know®
5. North Korea: What Everyone Needs to Know®
6. Libertarianism: What Everyone Needs to Know®
7. India in the 21st Century: What Everyone Needs to Know®
8. The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: What Everyone Needs to Know®
9. The Philippines: What Everyone Needs to Know®
10. Terrorism: What Everyone Needs to Know®

Dictionary and Reference

1. Paperback Oxford English Dictionary (7th edition)
2. Oxford English Mini Dictionary (8th edition)
3. Oxford Japanese Mini Dictionary (2nd edition)
4. Making Sense: A Student's Guide to Research and Writing (8th edition)
5. Pocket Oxford English Dictionary (11th edition)
6. Oxford Paperback Thesaurus (4th edition)
7. Oxford Mini Dictionary and Thesaurus (2nd edition)
8. Oxford Beginner's Japanese Dictionary
9. Oxford Essential French Dictionary
10. Oxford Dictionary of English (3rd edition)

* This ranking is based on 2019 OUP Japan sales figures.