Post by ajk on Apr 16, 2007 13:27:03 GMT -5
I've been meaning to post something here for quite a while about a recently published book that I read and enjoyed thoroughly. It's a 2005 book called The Imjin War, by Samuel Hawley. This is the most substantial English-language book ever written on the Imjin War (more than 500 pages). I'm not an Asian history expert so I can't give an expert review of it, but after watching IYSS, reading the book taught me a heck of a lot about the larger story of the war beyond what the series was able to cover.
The other English-language history of the war that's been mentioned here in the forum is Stephen Turnbull's Samurai Invasion. There was some criticism of that book for being too much from the Japanese perspective; I read it and while it was a very good book, I found the criticism to be valid. Hawley's book is much more well-rounded. There are great introductory chapters about each of the three nations that explain the circumstances that led to the war, and a concluding chapter that talks about the war's impact right up to the present day. It also has some very interesting side stories that I hadn't read before, for instance about the effort to hide and save Chosun historical records and about some of the citizens and monks who emerged to lead civilian armies.
The writing style is straightforward; some people might find it a little dry here and there, but the story is so interesting that it's not a problem. And the book is extensively researched, with a great bibliography. The only disappointing thing about it is that it only has a few sketchy b&w maps. It needed more maps, with more detail. (The Turnbull book has a whole bunch of good maps, in color.)
The book's cover price is $45, which is a little pricey. But maybe people can talk their local libraries into purchasing it if they don't want to fork out that much. It’s such an important historical subject that libraries should have it covered in their collections.
Has anyone else read the book? Some of the Asian history experts who visit here might have some criticisms of the book that I don't know enough to spot. I’d be interested to hear what others think. But I was impressed by the amount of research that obviously went into writing it, and I think that everyone who enjoyed the series would enjoy the book too.
The other English-language history of the war that's been mentioned here in the forum is Stephen Turnbull's Samurai Invasion. There was some criticism of that book for being too much from the Japanese perspective; I read it and while it was a very good book, I found the criticism to be valid. Hawley's book is much more well-rounded. There are great introductory chapters about each of the three nations that explain the circumstances that led to the war, and a concluding chapter that talks about the war's impact right up to the present day. It also has some very interesting side stories that I hadn't read before, for instance about the effort to hide and save Chosun historical records and about some of the citizens and monks who emerged to lead civilian armies.
The writing style is straightforward; some people might find it a little dry here and there, but the story is so interesting that it's not a problem. And the book is extensively researched, with a great bibliography. The only disappointing thing about it is that it only has a few sketchy b&w maps. It needed more maps, with more detail. (The Turnbull book has a whole bunch of good maps, in color.)
The book's cover price is $45, which is a little pricey. But maybe people can talk their local libraries into purchasing it if they don't want to fork out that much. It’s such an important historical subject that libraries should have it covered in their collections.
Has anyone else read the book? Some of the Asian history experts who visit here might have some criticisms of the book that I don't know enough to spot. I’d be interested to hear what others think. But I was impressed by the amount of research that obviously went into writing it, and I think that everyone who enjoyed the series would enjoy the book too.
