Japan: A Concise History

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book, Couldn't Have Been Better!
Review: All right, after France and England, I wanted to turn away from European history for a while, and go on to Asia. This continent was isolated for so many years, but now, it's the most technoligical country in the world, especially Japan. So, anticipating a trip to Japan, I got this book.

Good - The book is excellent! It covers Prehistory, to the emperor's reigns, to the many different shogunates such as the Tokugawa, Japan becomes isolated to get away from the Portugese and Dutch colonists, Japan is opened in 1854 and the Emperor restored to power, and finally the colonial era, and a brutal occupation by America after Japan was crushed at the end of World War II, and finally, to Japan's current standing as a world power.

Bad - The book has no pictures. There's just one picture of a map of East Asia, and that's all. Also, the book doesn't really go deep into how the Japanese cooled resistance in their conquered lands, but that's about it.

Anyone who is new to Japan will love this book, I did!

Rating:
Summary: Too dry for my taste
Review: As a casual history reader, I found this book way too dry. Although it delivers on its premise, namely sketching out a history of Japan, it was a relief to finally put the book down after having read it.

This book I bought for the dual purpose of being entertained and learn something in the process, but it could only fulfill the latter requirement. It may be unfair to ask of a book to be engaging and still tell a whole country's history in under 300 pages, so I'm probably unfair - the book just reads too much like a textbook, and that wasn't really what I had hoped for.

Not knowing too much about Japanese history from other sources, I can't comment on the accuracy of the text, but there's an annoyingly high frequency of simple spelling errors, etc.

Lastly, there's only one map of Japan in the Southeast Asian setting, and it's buried deep inside of the book. I really missed a map of Japan in the book!

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't Have Been Better!
Review: Besides the rather blatant reviews, I for one really liked the concise history that Mr Meyer has written. In my opinion, this book really is great; it gives a rather detailed explanation of Japan from its prehistory, to the Mongol invasions, to the Tokugawa isolation, to the Meiji era, to the American invasion of Japan in 1945, and to its current military and economic world power position today. The book could have had some more illustratons, except for a map of Japan, but then again, it's all right. I suggest that beginners in Japanese history start with something a bit more generalized, but it's a great book. In my opinion, every history buff should own this book.

Rating:
Summary: Good intro for newcomers but why no maps ?
Review: To condense over 2000 years of Japanese history into 300 pages is no easy feat. So Meyer's "Japan : A Concise History" is an excellent introduction to the topic for any newcomer or reader interested in a quick overview of the essential elements of the subject. I found the chronological segmentation of the different phases of Japanese history especially useful. Serious students of Japanese history may justifiably prefer a topic by topic approach but for first timers, chronology is a relief and an ideal prism through which to peer into the past.

Format aside, the writing is a little dry, which makes the book less than an absorbing read. The absence of any maps, pictures and graphical representation is unforgiveable - a thoughtless omission on the part of the author and the publishers. We know how the use of maps and pictures can make all the difference. They enliven and add immeasurably to the enjoyment of the reading.

A good book which could easily have been better.