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About the author:

Milton W. Meyer, university lecturer emeritus of history at California State University at Los Angeles (19591994), is the author of much books relating to Asia, including Asia: a Concise History, China: a Concise History, and South Asia: a Short History of the Subcontinent. Additionally he has privately written some two dozen works relating to his living and epoch. Over the decades, he has been in Iloilo City, Philippines, the Meyer Asian Collection located in the library of the Central Philippine University, which in 2000 granted him an honorary Doctor of Literature degree (D. Lit.).

Summary:
The book summarization is as follow: The emergence of Japan as a political and economic global power has been one of the most remarkable success stories of modern history. It is small in geographic area; the archipelago is the tenth most populous country, with 128 million inhabitants crowded into an area the size of Montana. Its natural resources are almost nonexistent, yet today it ranks only second after the much larger United States as the most affluent and economically productive nation in the world. Its rich cultural heritage and high-tech society are equally vibrant. For all readers wanting to better understand this dynamic country, this popular and accessible introduction offers an authoritative yet concise overview of two thousand years of Japanese history. Now fully updated to the present, this edition also includes an array of photographs and illustrations. The first half of the book explores the pre-Meiji era up to 1868. The second half traces domestic changes and relevant foreign issues in the modernizing era launched by the Meiji Restoration. Highlighting key historical events, Milton W. Meyer also includes cultural, artistic, and religious milestones. Summaries and datelines at the end of each chapter, as well as a glossary, offer additional essential reference points. With its clear explanations of Japanese traditions, religion, history, economics, politics, and relations with the West, this book provides an invaluable guide for understanding contemporary Japan.

Praise for previous editions:

Meyer succeeds in compacting a truly impressive mass of information. The format he uses features brevity, but never paucity of data. He manages to incorporate useful Japanese phrases for specialists without wasting the general reader's time with detailed explanations. His chapter on contemporary politics shows all his strengths. (George M. Wilson). As far as my study is concern on this book I was assigned to study about the developments in Japan in post Meiji restoration era. The era of (1868-1945) was the era of modern Japan and is discussed in the part three of the book. Meiji Japan had great influence in (1868-1912) in politics. This was the time when Japan was changing its fate and coming out from the darkness through a revolutionary process. Meiji Japan not only dealt with the new leadership reforms but also with economics and society. After 1912 there was a new phase in rise of Japan and that phase was of imperialism. Japan tries successfully to dominate the world through imperialism. When one gets empowered one has to face the conflicts. Same was the case with Japan. In this regard the writer discussed foreign policies, domestic developments and Japan invasion on Manchuria. Discussing the world war 2 phase Japan joined axis powers the main reason behind this was that allied powers did not fulfill their promises after world war one. Nuclear attack, on Japan from USA, was much highlighted story of the World War 2. The political system after World War 2 comprises of The Right and The left and somehow both played vital role in the restoration. The writer also discussed current foreign affairs of Japan in contemporary terms. Its relations with the different nations and states of the world for example with United states, Russia, all Asian countries and the rest of the world. The writer also listed the names of prime ministers of Japan.

Conclusion:
Concluding about the book, I would like to mention here that this book provides thorough study about Japan. The writer gave complete history through pictorial explanation which makes it easy to understand and memorable. The only drawback in this book is that is about history and it discuss the things that are already been discussed by many writers in different ways. No new issues have been discussed so far and no future perspective has been explained in the book. Overall it is a good and informative book and was very helpful in improving my knowledge about the history of japan. It is a cost worthy book.