Kanji no Satori: A comprehensive guide to unlocking the secrets of the Chinese writing characters, as used in the Japanese language

but actually this is by far the most comprehensive book I have found _about_ kanji (and I have a lot of the standard dictionaries & learning-kanji-books).It is so good to read confirmation of all the weird exceptions where kanji are not used or where their readings are entirely ad-hoc.

This book doesn’t set out to teach you the kanji. Rather it teaches you about the kanji. (To some extent that is bound to help you learn.) After reading it, I felt that I understood the kanji much better and, as I become more proficient in Japanese, I keep consulting it.I think that anyone with a serious interest in the kanji should get this book. It’s fascinating.

This is an excellent introduction for beginners who want to learn Japanese kanji thoroughly, Clearly written and carefully researched, even advanced students of Japanese could learn a lot from it. I know of no other book on Japanese kanji which is as useful.

It's a good reference book for someone starting out and has a few gems for the more advanced learner of Kanji too.