Designed for the East Asian history course, this text features the latest scholarship on the region's cultural, political, economic, and intellectual history. Coverage is balanced among East Asian countries, with approximately 20 percent of the text focused on Korea, an area that has become increasingly important in world politics. Special attention is devoted to gender and material culture, themes are reinforced through the text's pedagogical features. Full color inserts on topics such as food, clothing, and art objects illustrate the rich artistic heritage of East Asia and bolster the coverage of material culture. Features include a range of primary source documents on topics such as women's independence and students-turned-soldiers, and biographical sketches throughout the text highlight the lives of popular figures and ordinary people. "Connections" features provide an international context for the history of East Asia, including topics such the origin and spread of Buddhism and a global perspective of World War II.