A History of Japan: From Stone Age to Superpower
Henshall, a New Zealand professor of Japanese studies, has written a lively and literate introduction to the vast sweep of Japanese history, providing a well-balanced overview that is accessible to the novice without being at all dumbed down. Although his emphasis is on political history, he devotes enough attention to cultural, literary, religious, and economic developments to give the reader a good sense of these spheres as well. He even manages to flavor the text with excerpts from poetry and key historical documents. Roughly equal weight is given to pre-modern and modern Japan. Henshall focuses on key issues in each of his six chapters and provides very useful tables summarizing both historical chronology and the main values and practices that characterized each period. A paperback version of this book, if made available, would find its way into many university surveys of East Asian history.ASteven I. Levine, Univ. of Montana, MissoulaCopyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.