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Bestsellers of 2020

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on our lives and the world, and 2020 was an unprecedented year in many ways. Its impact on education has been dynamic and fluid, but the basic trends in our annual bestsellers remained the same. The titles ranked from numbers 1 to 8 stay on the list from the previous year, with 6 books appearing regularly in the top 10 for the past 5 years.

The Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories, a collection of thirty-five short stories spanning Japan’s modern era from 1862 to 1964 stayed at the top spot for a second consecutive year. This inexpensive sampler of modern Japanese fiction has been a hit on the bookshelves since its first publication over 20 years ago. The only other trade paperback on the list is The Selfish Gene at number 6: Richard Dawkins’s multi-million copy international bestseller and, according to a Royal Society poll, the most inspiring science book of all time.

The Wise Company: How Companies Create Continuous Innovation by Nonaka and Takeuchi at number 5 is the only academic monograph in this year’s top 10. An evolutionary sequel to their management must-read from 25 years ago, it was translated into Japanese and published by Toyo Keizai Inc. in the summer of 2020. The thought-provoking advice for today’s young business leaders is now available to enjoy in two languages.

Ranked numbers 2 to 4 and 6 to 10 are our globally established Higher Education titles. As with many other fields, English is the bridge language in the world of academia and researchers from different linguistic backgrounds must spend extra time and energy writing up their papers in a language that isn’t their native one. Many of our chemistry textbooks listed here have been translated into Japanese by local publishers, and the practice of reading two versions of the same book in English and Japanese allows students to quickly accumulate vocabulary and become familiar with the linguistic expressions in the chosen field. This could be one reason for their long-standing popularity. The Globalization of World Politics: An Introduction to International Relations at number 4 is our flagship textbook in International Relations. It not only offers the most comprehensive coverage for introductory courses, but also serves as a valuable reference for those working toward an IR degree. The fully updated 8th edition includes new chapters on subjects such as "Refugees and Forced Migration" and "Human Rights" ensuring that the book continues to cover the key debates happening in world politics today. It has been a great success since its release toward the end of 2019.

* This ranking is based on 2020 OUP Japan sales figures.

Bestsellers by category

Humanities
  • 1. The Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories (Goosen)
  • 2. A Modern History of Japan, International 4th edition (Gordon)
  • 3. Songs of Innocence and of Experience (Blake)
  • 4. The Oxford Handbook of English Grammar (Aarts)
  • 5. The Devil in Disguise: Deception, Delusion, and Fanaticism in the Early English Enlightenment (Knights)
  • 6. A History of US: Liberty for All?: A History of US Book Five, 3rd edition (Hakim)
  • 7. Caxton's Golden Legend (Taguchi)
  • 8. The Oxford Handbook of Japanese Philosophy (Davis)
  • 9. The Problems of Philosophy, 2nd edition (Russell)
  • 10. Locality and Logophoricity: A Theory of Exempt Anaphora (Charnavel)
Social Sciences
  • 1. The Globalization of World Politics: An Introduction to International Relations, 8th edition (Baylis)
  • 2. The Wise Company: How Companies Create Continuous Innovation (Nonaka)
  • 3. The Future of the Professions: How Technology Will Transform the Work of Human Experts (Susskind)
  • 4. Global Political Economy, 5th edition (Ravenhill)
  • 5. Introduction to International Development: Approaches, Actors, Issues, and Practice, 3rd edition (Haslam)
  • 6. Political Thought (Rosen)
  • 7. Solutions Manual for Microeconomic Theory (Hara)
  • 8. Social Research Methods, 5th edition (Bryman)
  • 9. The Japanese Economy, 3rd edition (Flath)
  • 10. Introduction to International Relations: Theories and Approaches, 7th edition (Jackson)
Natural Sciences
  • 1. Atkins' Physical Chemistry, 11th edition (Atkins)
  • 2. Inorganic Chemistry, 7th edition (Weller)
  • 3. The Selfish Gene: 40th Anniversary edition (Dawkins)
  • 4. Organic Chemistry: A mechanistic approach (Okuyama)
  • 5. Solutions Manual to accompany Organic Chemistry, 2nd edition (Clayden)
  • 6. An Introduction to Medicinal Chemistry, 6th edition (Patrick)
  • 7. Investigating Psychology: Key concepts, key studies, key approaches (Brace)
  • 8. Organic Chemistry, 2nd edition (Clayden)
  • 9. Principles of Development, 6th edition (Wolpert)
  • 10. Evolution, International 4th edition (Futuyma)
Law
  • 1. Textbook on International Law, 7th edition (Dixon)
  • 2. Law 101: Everything You Need to Know About American Law, 5th Edition (Feinman)
  • 3. Cassese's International Law, 3rd edition (Gaeta)
  • 4. The Oxford Handbook of Ethics of AI (Dubber)
  • 5. The Sources of International Law, 2nd edition (Thirlway)
  • 6. Blackstone's International Law Documents, 14th edition (Evans)
  • 7. Principles, Procedure, and Justice: Essays in honour of Adrian Zuckerman (Assy)
  • 8. The Foundations and Future of Public Law: Essays in Honour of Paul Craig (Fisher)
  • 9. The Oxford Guide to International Humanitarian Law (Saul)
  • 10. The Oxford Handbook of United Nations Treaties (Chesterman)
Oxford World's Classics
  • 1. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass (Carroll)
  • 2. Gulliver's Travels (Swift)
  • 3. Pride and Prejudice, 3rd edition (Austen)
  • 4. Frankenstein: or `The Modern Prometheus': The 1818 Text, 3rd edition (Shelley)
  • 5. Dubliners (Joyce)
  • 6. The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays (Wilde)
  • 7. Twelfth Night, or What You Will (The Oxford Shakespeare)
  • 8. Selected Stories (Mansfield)
  • 9. The Scarlet Letter (Hawthorne)
  • 10. The Pilgrim's Progress (Bunyan)
Very Short Introductions
  • 1. Globalization, 5th edition, #86 (Steger)
  • 2. The English Language, #551 (Horobin)
  • 3. Nutrition, #391 (Bender)
  • 4. Modern Japan, #202 (Goto-Jones)
  • 5. The History of Chemistry, #456 (Brock)
  • 6. Climate Change, 3rd edition, #118 (Maslin)
  • 7. American Immigration, #274 (Gerber)
  • 8. The Old Testament, #181 (Coogan)
  • 9. Human Rights, 2nd edition, #163 (Clapham)
  • 10. International Law, #449 (Lowe)
What Everyone Needs to Know®
  • 1. Cybersecurity and Cyberwar (Singer)
  • 2. Climate Change, 2nd edition (Romm)
  • 3. Taxes in America, 2nd edition (Burman)
  • 4. Colombia (Mahoney)
  • 5. Authoritarianism (Frantz)
  • 6. Buddhism (Wright)
  • 7. Food and Nutrition (Newby)
  • 8. The Gun Debate (Cook)
  • 9. The Qur'an (McAuliffe)
  • 10. Gender (Erickson-Schroth)
Dictionary and Reference
  • 1. Paperback Oxford English Dictionary (7th edition)
  • 2. Oxford Paperback Thesaurus (4th edition)
  • 3. Oxford English Mini Dictionary (8th edition)
  • 4. Oxford Mini Dictionary and Thesaurus (2nd edition)
  • 5. Pocket Oxford English Dictionary (11th edition)
  • 6. Concise Oxford English Dictionary: Main edition (12th edition)
  • 7. Oxford Essential German Dictionary
  • 8. Oxford Dictionary of English (3rd edition)
  • 9. Oxford Beginner's Japanese Dictionary
  • 10. Oxford Essential Spanish Dictionary

* This ranking is based on 2020 OUP Japan sales figures.