Book Reviews : Peter Duus, ed., The Cambridge History of Japan. Volume 6: The Twentieth Century (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988) 866 pp. Hardcover $ 89.50
Abstract
Book ReviewsPeter Duus, ed., The Cambridge History of Japan. Volume 6: The Twentieth Century (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988) 866 pp. Hardcover $ 89.50 SAGE Publications, Inc.1990DOI: 10.1177/002190969002500314 John Christian Laursen Union College Schenectady, N.Y., U.S.A. The twentieth century has been an exciting one for Japan, and this volume is designed to survey the state of the art in professional historical understanding of it. In the Introduction, the editor sounds the themes that the story of Japan and the outside world has been from autonomy to dependence; domestic economic change has gone from success to success; and domestic politics has evolved from instability to stability. This is the first volume to be published in The Cambridge Hislory of Japan, and it maintains the high standards expected of the Cambridge histories. Its fourteen chapters are divided into four parts: domestic politics, external relations, economic development and social and intellectual change. Reflecting conventions in professional history, space was not made available for studies of the history of women, burakumin, and Koreans in Japan; education, entertainment, and popular culture; science and technology; law; or local history. A partial listing of chapter authors includes Gordon Berger, Alvin Coox, Sydney Crawcour, Haruhiro