Reviews for Nation States As Schizophrenics

The average rating for Nation States As Schizophrenics based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2011-06-05 00:00:00 Bjorn Berke "The History of Japan" is aimed at students and the general public interested in a concise history of Japan. The beginning of the book discusses the geography of the island nation which has to import over 85% of its total energy from abroad, as well as large quantities of iron ore, many minerals, and many agricultural goods. (In modern times, Japan has become known for exporting its excellent industrial and technical products, and automobiles.) The land is beautiful--but mountainous, volcanic, and unstable with frequent earthquakes. Much of it is too steep for farming or housing so Japan has a very high density population on its usable land. Its treacherous oceans kept the Japanese isolated from other Asians for much of its history. It was a great way to start the book since there were multiple times that Japan's geography had a large impact on its history. The book covers Japanese history from prehistoric times up until 1997 with more detail in the Meiji Era and later. There is also a newer edition available, but I was reading a library book. The book includes a timeline of historical events and an excellent glossary of Japanese terms that I used frequently. The only illustrations were three maps. I especially appreciated that the author included quite a bit of information about women's issues, religion, and culture in addition to politics and trade. It's an interesting basic book for the general reader. There are plenty of longer books available if someone wants to do more in-depth reading about Japan. 3.5 stars.

Review # 2 was written on 2015-05-28 00:00:00 Juerg Ingold While written in a (mostly) compelling style, this book is a waste of time. At times biased, and at times including, if not incorrect facts, then at least misinformation, the author does not capture a full representation of Japan or its history.