Japan

Here is an ideal one-volume introduction to the history and culture of Japan, stretching from its earliest known civilization (about 3000 B.C.) to the present. Delightfully written in a continuous narrative form, it traces the many aspects of Japanese art, religion, the imperial court, militarism, race, geography, and agriculture, and carefully analyzes the rich social, political, and economic life of Asia's wealthiest nation. Dr. Morton gives equal treatment to all periods, since each has its importance in the evolving history of the Japanese experience. Most valuable of all, he illuminates the essential, underlying mental set of the people and the society which has propelled the Japanese through their history into the forefront of the twentieth century . More than a chronicle of names and dates, this book casts fascinating sidelights on significant personalities, works of literature, and historic events. A brief chronology offers a quick and easy means of reference. Richly anecdotal and vividly illustrated with a map and thirty-seven photographs, this book presents a panoramic view of Japan, old and new.

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Nonfiction, Fiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.