Customer Reviews

A Short History of Asia, Second Edition

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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For anyone looking to get more than just a glance at some gorgeous history, this is a great starting point. Although the book claims to be a short history, one should already have a decent understanding of at least one of the countries in which to weave this intricate web of history around. In my case, my focus is Korea.

Allow this book to be the launching point in which to study a specific region or country. It lays the groundwork for future study by being brief yet detailed. The author holds your attention just long enough to paint a beautiful portrait.

Speaking of the author, if anyone should be qualified to write this book, it's Colin Mason. His journalistic approach to writing is elegant, thoughtful and diplomatic. Not to mention his personal stories that accompany some of the most interesting moments in modern Asian history. He keeps his opinions fairly grounded and objectively presents a striking history.

The book's faults include a horribly messy map, a small handful of unrelated photos and an occasional reference of huge importance that gets only two sentences. Otherwise, this chronological look at Asia is well worth your time. If you find the book boring, perhaps you are interesting in the wrong field.

I was assigned the second edition of this as a textbook long ago when I was in high school (back in the days when men were men and wild stallions still ran free).
It was perhaps the only high school textbook I had that I later went back and actually bought later. I read the whole thing, entranced by every page. Each chapter is short and only about a few pages, yet there is always a fairly logical and original explanation of the major historical phenomena discussed. Colin Mason knows his material by heart, and is excellent at explaining it. It is clear in the chapters on South Asian history in the 20th century that he is drawing from experience, and the personal narratives he injects into the work are suspenseful and exciting.
If there were to be any book I would recommend to someone whose travels or career bring them to an east Asian country, it would be this one. If there were to be any book I would recommend to someone looking for quick, accessible, informative nonfiction, it would also quite definitely be this one.

I am a teacher and currently use this book in my Topics in Asian History class. I find this book to be an excellent source of information that we augment with student discussion and research. Short concise explanations are given for many areas and in-depth analysis for more complicated topics are also addressed. I am very pleased with this text.

I bought this book for an Asian history class. I didn't use it a whole lot, mainly because it was a boring book, but it does have good information. I would not recommend it for the beginner in Asian studies. It's more of an advanced book.