Over 500,000 Copies Sold in the U.S., The Definitive Guide to Interpersonal Skills, 'How to Know a Person,' Released June 29! A Business Book Featured in Bill Gates' 'Summer's 5 Books' and Noted by The New York Times and Other Media. Published in 25 Countries Worldwide.

Kawade Shobo Shinsha Co., Ltd. (Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo / Representative Director: Yu Onodera) will release 'How to Know a Person: The One Thing Necessary to Foster True Trust' (List Price: ¥2,420 including tax) by David Brooks, translated by Shuntaro Yoshida, on June 29, 2026.

You don't have to be knowledgeable, you don't have to say witty things.

You just have to ask 'good questions.'

Despite the abundance of communication tools, many people today experience stress in their communication.

'How to Know a Person' (original English title: 'How to Know a Person'), which has sold over 500,000 copies in the U.S. and was praised by Bill Gates as 'not just a book on conversation techniques, but a blueprint for living a more human life,' is now available in a long-awaited Japanese translation.

The author is David Brooks, a former renowned columnist for The New York Times.

This book does not teach you how to be a good talker. It teaches skills for fostering true trust, making the other person feel 'seen' and 'understood.'

How to ask good questions, techniques for deep listening, how to cultivate empathy, how to approach difficult conversations—

It introduces practical methods and knowledge useful in all situations, such as family, workplace, and friendships, with abundant anecdotes.

Selected as one of Amazon's Best Books of the Year 2023, a bestseller in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, and published in 25 countries worldwide, this is a globally discussed work. Please pay attention to the release of 'How to Know a Person: The One Thing Necessary to Foster True Trust.'

How to state an opposing opinion without damaging relationships, how to reveal your vulnerabilities with appropriate frequency, how to be a good listener, how to end a conversation naturally, how to know how to be forgiven and how to forgive, how to convey inability to meet someone's hopes without hurting them, how to know how to comfort someone who is suffering, how to host a gathering where everyone feels accepted, how to see things from another person's perspective, and so on.

(...)

These are all very important skills that people should possess, yet for some reason, they are not taught in school.

(From Chapter 1: 'The Power of Looking')

Praised by Celebrities and Media

Selected for Bill Gates' 'Summer's 5 Books 2024'!

This book is not merely a guide to conversation techniques. It is a blueprint for connecting more deeply with others and living a more human life. It is a must-read for anyone who wishes to enrich their relationships and broaden their understanding of others.

— Bill Gates

Selected for Amazon Best Books of the Year 2023 [Business and Leadership]!

This book gives you the courage to open up to others and truly understand each other. It warmly depicts the deep joy that human connection brings and the importance of trying to understand one another. It is a book filled with powerful and hopeful messages that will serve as an opportunity to re-examine not only relationships with family, friends, and partners, but all human relationships. — From an Amazon Review

★ Also selected as a New York Times bestseller and Wall Street Journal bestseller!

Table of Contents for 'How to Know a Person: The One Thing Necessary to Foster True Trust'

Part 1: I Look at You

Chapter 1: The Power of Looking

Chapter 2: Reasons for Not Looking

Chapter 3: Illumination

Chapter 4: The Importance of Empathy

Chapter 5: What It Means to Be Human

Chapter 6: The Good Talker

Chapter 7: The Right Questions

Part 2: I Look at You in Your Suffering

Chapter 8: An Era Lacking Compassion

Chapter 9: Hard Conversations

Chapter 10: How to Support a Friend in Despair

Chapter 11: The Skill of Empathy

Chapter 12: Suffering as a Catalyst for Growth

Part 3: I Look at Your Strengths

Chapter 13: Knowing the Other Person's Personality

Chapter 14: Knowing Life's Challenges

Chapter 15: Listening to Life's Story

Chapter 16: Knowing Cultural Backgrounds

Chapter 17: What is Wisdom?

Acknowledgments

Translator's Afterword

Endnotes

Author

David Brooks

A renowned journalist who has long written a signed opinion column for The New York Times. A graduate of the University of Chicago. After working as a reporter and editor for The Wall Street Journal and Newsweek, he also taught at Yale University.

Translator: Shuntaro Yoshida

Translator. His translated works include 'Passion for Mastery' and 'Film is Also Editing' (Misuzu Shobo), 'Quentin Tarantino' and 'How to Construct a Story Using Storyboards' (Film Art), and 'The Death Workers' (Hakuysha).

New Release Information

Title: How to Know a Person: The One Thing Necessary to Foster True Trust

Author: David Brooks / Translated by Shuntaro Yoshida

Specifications: 46 format / Perfect bound / 342 pages

Release Date: June 29, 2026

List Price: ¥2,420 (¥2,200 before tax)

ISBN: 978-4-309-23196-9

URL: https://www.kawade.co.jp/np/isbn/9784309231969/

*E-books will be released from July onwards. Please check individual e-book stores for details.