Sura-Sura : Yale University Press : 9780887101861 : 0887101860 : 11 Jan 2005 : This intermediate level text presents short stories and essays in modern Japanese, alongside exercises and other helpful aids. Sura-Sura is written with the two-fold purpose of increasing proficiency in the language and affording an opportunity to gain insights into modern Japanese culture. Lesson topics range from economics and history to politics, but even include two well-known Japanese fairy tales. All the lessons build on a base of high frequency vocabulary but also contain the ingredients for spirited classroom discussion, so important at the intermediate level of language learning. A website developed by the authors accompanies the book.