The Japanese: A History in Twenty Lives

bought as a gift so can't comment

This is an excellent book: very well researched, very well written. The device of using 20 mini-biographies to tell the story of Japan works frankly better than I thought it would, in Harding’s expert hands anyway. The approach gives the story a freshness even for those familiar with it, as it allows cultural and social history to be mixed with the more conventional political, while giving women a bigger role than a more orthodox history might. And the hardback is a beautiful thing indeed. Recommended!