For those who want to know the history and Japanese culture this book provides an excellent overview; it is a seletion articles published in the journal History. the first part is devoted to civilization reliefs to agriculture and food. followed by the parties on the story and then the twentieth century. I loved ls article on Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima that present US and Japanese visions. Articles on Hiro Hito and suicide bombers are also interesting. There is even a chapter on children Mangas WWII. The end of the book is devoted to the economy; that is interesting, informative and exciting to read.