Corea: The Hermit Nation by Wm. Elliot Griffis

Originally published in 1882 (my copy, fifth printing, 1907), this early history of Korea in English by Japanese historian William Elliot Griffis became the dominant text on Korea during a critical period of history when Western interests began to converge on the peninsula. While Griffis has a distinctively pro-Japan pont of view, and much of his research is based on Japanese texts, his