Japan's Medieval Population: Famine, Fertility, and Warfare in a Transformative Age (Choice Outstanding Academic Books)
"A greatly welcomed 'must-read' for all of us.... Farris' bold and innovative approach has transformed historical records into provocative and stimulating ideas and challenged the field of premodern Japanese history." - Harvard Journal of Asian Studies "Farris is the author of at least two other major studies of medieval Japan, so it is no surprise to encounter here a magisterial work. In its historiography, it is sophisticated and completely bilingual, with especially impressive command over medieval Japanese manuscript texts. It is grounded in a vast search of the available data, well informed about parallel fields and studies, including Western demography, and it covers a very wide range of subjects.... But what makes this a fascinating book is the author's style. He writes in crystal-clear prose and lays out his logic in thorough detail so the reader can follow his argument through every step.... At first glance, the topic might seem obscure or arcane, but this appealing book is so inherently interesting as to draw in any sincere reader, who will enjoy and learn from a master detective as he pries important insights and patterns from the past.... Highly recommended." - Choice"