New books on culture and learning for Sept. 4

A new book introduces 40 major Buddhist paintings from the Korean Peninsula, including works produced from the Goryeo to the Joseon period. These paintings carried religious teachings, but also recorded the hopes of the people who commissioned them, such as prayers for the withdrawal of Mongol forces or for a deceased relative’s rebirth in paradise.

“Birds and Travel” follows Lee Byung-woo’s path from environmental volunteer to professional birdwatcher. He now spends more than 150 days a year birding. Alongside the history and etiquette of birdwatching, the book considers the relationship between birds, humans, and nature.

Miguel Delaney’s “Sportswashing: The Capital and States That Swallowed Football” asks how football moved from being a sport associated with workers, ordinary people, fans, and local communities to becoming a playground for major capital. The book examines the sport’s decline amid capitalism and struggles for power.

Actor Kim Shin-rok’s “Limping in Search of Moments of Purification” gathers essays and reviews of performances and exhibitions. Her writing reflects on art and on the pressure to pursue success in a capitalist society, presenting her inner life and ambitions as both an artist and a critic.

“Hermann Hesse’s Gift of Dreams” collects the German writer’s works and diaries on dreams. Based on the first 1996 edition published by Suhrkamp, it includes 15 photographs, including Hesse’s contract for the publication of “Demian” and images of handwritten manuscripts. Hesse wrote that dreams taught him how to examine the unconscious and desire.