mikerickson reviewed The Shortest History of Japan by Lesley Downer (Shortest Histories, #15)
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3 stars
It is exactly what it says on the cover: this is the shortest history of Japan. Which is not a criticism because that's what I was looking for and what I was expecting going into this.
I appreciated that a healthy amount of time was dedicated to Japan from prehistory up through the sixteenth century instead of just beginning at, "and then the Europeans showed up!" And special attention was paid to specific buildings/temples/castles that I hope to visit on my trip to Japan next year, so the additional context is already getting me more excited to go. WWII was glossed over concerningly fast even for a book of this tempo, but I liked that it went well past the Plaza Accords and Fukushima to discuss the 2021 Olympics and Shinzo Abe getting got with The Contraption™.
Worth picking up if you're like me and enjoy having a …
It is exactly what it says on the cover: this is the shortest history of Japan. Which is not a criticism because that's what I was looking for and what I was expecting going into this.
I appreciated that a healthy amount of time was dedicated to Japan from prehistory up through the sixteenth century instead of just beginning at, "and then the Europeans showed up!" And special attention was paid to specific buildings/temples/castles that I hope to visit on my trip to Japan next year, so the additional context is already getting me more excited to go. WWII was glossed over concerningly fast even for a book of this tempo, but I liked that it went well past the Plaza Accords and Fukushima to discuss the 2021 Olympics and Shinzo Abe getting got with The Contraption™.
Worth picking up if you're like me and enjoy having a cursory knowledge of many different things, but if you're looking for something with more meat on the bones, you're gonna be disappointed.
