In 1972, Cup Noodles earned their fame during a live television broadcast of a siege in Nagano Prefecture — the Asama-Sanso incident — when the hostage-takers were shown slurping the hot noodles up.

The Ramen Book, by Hayato Ishiyama
112 pages.
Jitsugyo no Nihon sha, Nonfiction.

"The Ramen Book" looks at the relatively short history of ramen through anecdotes such as this, and shows how the dish varies across the country: from Sapporo's thick miso ramen, to Tokyo's salty soy-sauce broth.

The book profiles each specific type, and lists places across Tokyo where you can try the variations.

While it contains no recipes, home cooks could pick up a bit here. What's strange is a rather condescending section at the end about the "correct" way to use chopsticks.