'In clear and vibrant prose, Paine leads the reader through a tumultuous century and a half of Japanese history, focusing on the way Japan's leaders positioned their country in the world, from the Meiji period, through the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and into the period of stunning growth after WWII. A vital contribution not just to the history of Japan, but to the study of global geopolitics and grand strategy.' Tonio Andrade, Emory University, Atlanta

'Professor Paine has produced a comprehensive, very readable book that examines Japan's precipitous decline into a century of militarism from the 1860s to 1945. Her sophisticated and nuanced scholarship would serve as an excellent companion to a standard historical textbook. Students would profit from reading assignments in Paine's book that correspond to historical periods. Paine's excellent summaries of Japanese sources are clear, concise, and eminently understandable. Her arguments are carefully reasoned and abundantly annotated. In short, Paine's slim book should be required reading for any scholar of modern Japanese history.' Louis G. Perez, Illinois State University

'After a series of wars drawing upon a maritime strategy of limited intervention in regional affairs, the Japanese shift towards a strategy of unrestrained continental expansion across the confines of East Asia led the country to international political isolation, military overextension, and Imperial implosion. This book will offer an ideal introduction to the strategic challenges and military history of one of East Asia's most crucial actors to students of East Asian security, strategy, and international history alike.' Alessio Patalano, King's College London