I had to read this book for a college course, and I'm very glad that I did. Coming from a background in U.S. history, this book helped explain a lot about why the small island nation of Japan became more powerful than its giant neighbor in China, how quickly the nation industrialized, why Pearl Harbor was attacked, what Japan's goals were in World War 2, and how Japan continued its rapid economic growth and modernization after World War 2 to become one of the greatest nations in modern history.