East Asia: tradition and transformation

by Edwin O. Reischauer

The history of Asian civilization, its societies and cultures and their transformations from ancient times through the 20th century.

Genres: History, China, Asia, Japan, Nonfiction

969 pages, Hardcover

First published December 31, 1973

About the author

Edwin Oldfather Reischauer was an American diplomat, educator, and professor at Harvard University. Born in Tokyo to American educational missionaries, he became a leading scholar of the history and culture of Japan and East Asia. Together with George M. McCune, a scholar of Korea, in 1939 he developed the McCune–Reischauer romanization of the Korean language.

Reischauer became involved in helping create US policy toward East Asia during and after World War II. President John F. Kennedy appointed Reischauer as the United States Ambassador to Japan, where he served from 1961 to 1966. Reischauer founded the Japan Institute at Harvard University in 1973 and was its founding director. It was later named in honor of him.

Reviews

[Anh Nguyen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great, but skim on the East Asia. Should have called it China + others.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent survey of East Asian civilization, including Vietnam, China, Korea, and Japan. My college textbook (1978 "New Impression"edition). Great book to "get your feet wet" about this amazing and complex civilization!

[Amber Berry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a textbook. I love it because I love Fairbank. Yes, it does focus mostly on the Middle Kingdom.

[Eduardo Siebra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would have been much more enjoyable if it used pinyin system, or at least indicated the corresponding characters.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this. I had it first as a textbook, then read it cover to cover several years later. Sadly, I cannot find my copy at the moment.

[Tori]

East Asia: Tradition and Transformation by John King Fairbank (1989)