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[Bernhard Karlgren] published by The Commercial Press. This book was written in 1946. The original English title is “The Chinese Language: An Essay on Its Nature and History.” This book is a masterpiece. For a foreigner to write such a book a hundred years ago, Karlgren was truly a once-in-a-generation linguistic genius. Why should we read a book about Chinese written by a foreigner? The author has a passage in the book that I think can serve as the reason: ...

“How to Read a Book” first appeared in 1940; a heavily revised edition followed in 1972. My verdict: a masterpiece. Like the translator, I felt: “Had I met this earlier, my life would be different.” (The only other book that gave me that jolt was George Gamow’s “One, Two, Three… Infinity.”) On Douban the reviews are mixed. If you think the book long-winded, just read Chapter 1—that’s the distilled essence. Its core message? How to learn. ...