Born in 1919, W.G. Beasley was Professor of the History of the Far East at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, from 1954 to 1983. He is a member, and former vice-president, of the British Academy and a member of the Japanese Academy. He was given the CBE in 1980 and the Order of the Rising Sun in 1983.
Beasley, Emeritus Professor of the History of the Far East at the University of London, first published The Modern History of Japan in 1963. The book went through several revisions and has been considered a standard work on its subject. When the author undertook yet another revision of the book in 1987, he discovered that he had altered his original volume to the extent that the new work, reviewed here, deserved a new title. Like its predecessor, this is a survey of modern Japanese history from its origins in the Tokugawa period to the present, bringing the story up through the death of Hirohito and the Recruit-Cosmos scandal in Japanese politics in the early part of 1989. While there is nothing astoundingly new in interpretation here, the book utilizes the most recent scholarship in the field and is good, solid history. Highly recommended for readers looking for a concise, well-written history of modern Japan. --Scott Wright, Coll. of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minn.
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