Promotions - Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles 2015 - Social & Behavioral Sciences — Education — Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Studies

Walkers new history of Japan reflects a deep appreciation of the issues of concern to today's readers.  This is a history of Japan unlike anything published so far in the attention given to the impact of disease, famine, deforestation, climate change, environmental pollution, and natural disasters on the story of the Japanese and their relationship with their country.  In a clear, readable style, the author (Montana State Univ. Bozeman) expertly narrates the course of Japanese history, reflecting the most recent scholarship available.  Along the way, he discusses topics not included in previous histories of Japan, such as the introduction and impact of both disease and medical knowledge in the premodern era, the rise of the Japanese fishing "pelagic empire" in the 20th century, and the global impact of Japan's "soft culture" in recent decades.  Walker places Japan's experience in global perspective.  For example, Japan's early exposure to smallpox enabled the population to develop an immunity that helped them avoid the fate of the New World when confronted by European expansion in the 16th century.Summing Up: Essential. All levels/libraries.

This is a scholarly, judicious, fluent, helpful translation of the overview that introduces the four-volume Rise of Modern Chinese Thought (2004), by Wang Hui (Tsinghua Univ. Beijing), a prominent, highly productive public intellectual with an international reputation, reflected in the translators footnote steering readers to rather extensive English-language reviews of the full four volumes.  (For reviews of Wangs previous books, seeThe Politics of Imagining Asia(CH, Dec'11, 49-2236) andThe End of the Revolution (CH, Jan'11, 48-2855).  The present book is an erudite, stimulating, thought provoking, nuanced, but highly condensed overture to Wangs ambitious macro history of the formation of Chinese intellectual modernity.  Sensitive to both continuities and disruptions, Wang engages traditional thought as well as Western and Japanese scholarly discourse.  As intended, this volume leaves readers wanting more, hoping for a translation of the full work.  In the meantime, it illuminates 21st-century Chinese discourse and provides ample food for thought for scholars grappling with interpreting modern and premodern Chinese intellectual history.  It is not for beginners but will greatly reward as well as challenge advanced students of Chinese intellectual history and of modernization.Summing Up: Essential. Upper-division undergraduates and above.

How did chopsticks become an essential component in the dining cultures of contemporary China, Vietnam, Japan, Korea, and Mongolia, constituting a distinct chopsticks cultural sphere?  Gracefully commanding rich literary and archaeological evidence, historian Wang (Rowan Univ.) provides a nuanced account of the evolution of the utensil from its origins in ancient China millennia ago and incorporation into the daily lives of Chinas neighboring regions since the fifth century, to chopsticks encounter with an even-wider world in recent centuries.  Instead of attributing the appeal of this time-honored utensil to some timeless cultural traits, Wang presents chopsticks path to success as a long and contingent historical process, conditioned by and influencing developments of agriculture, culinary preferences, dining etiquette, and lifestyles in East Asian societies over time.  Therefore, this book goes beyond a biography of chopsticks, providing a thought-provoking and saliva-stimulating panorama of material culture and everyday life in the East Asian past and present.  Well written, with a personal touch that makes for interesting reading, the book will entertain both popular readers and experts, and will enrich collections on premodern China, East Asian history and civilization, and food culture and food technology.Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries.

Dhulipala (Univ. of North Carolina, Wilmington) offers the most detailed exposition available of the Pakistan movement in the United Provinces in the decade before independence.  Scholars have long wished for a follow-up to Francis Robinsons Separatism among Indian Muslims: The Politics of the United Provinces Muslims, 1860-1923 (CH, Oct'75), and a number of works have appeared on the subject, but none with the depth of research and the detail of this volume.  (The best is Peter Reevess Landlords and Governments in Uttar Pradesh: A Study of their Relations until Zamindari Abolition, CH, Oct'92, 30-1087, very surprisingly not listed in Dhulipalas bibliography, and seemingly not consulted.)  The New Medina of the title refers to the religious impulse animating the struggle for [Pakistans] creation.  The author offers the usual subjects, such as the Muslim mass contact movement, the role of the ulema, and the reaction to the Pakistan Resolution of March 23, 1940, but he also discusses the role of the public sphere in the Pakistan movement.  Dhulipalas contribution is his use of hard-to-reach materials, especially those in Urdu, as well as newspapers.  An invaluable contribution.Summing Up: Essential. Most levels/libraries.

Banno (emer., Tokyo Univ.) adds to the published histories of modern Japan a unique perspective on the course of Japan's progress from 1857 to 1937.  Writing originally in Japanese for a Japanese audience, Banno judiciously and with great insight tells the story of early attempts at reform, the dynamics of revolution, nation building, consolidation, reconstruction, and crisis leading to war.  This survey of modern Japan is unlike most produced by Western scholars in that the author quotes liberally from contemporary archival sourcesletters, diaries, writings, etc.that illuminate personalities and events.  The book contains some original parts, such as those concerning the role of Saig Takamori in the Meiji Restoration, government policy on taxation and its impact on society and economy, the mentality and motivations of the young radical military officers in the 1930s, and the rise of the political left later in the 1930s.  Very popular in Japan, the book is now available to a wider Western audience thanks to the smooth, expert translation by Stockwin.  A great addition to any collection on modern Japanese history.Summing Up: Highly recommended. For all readers interested in the story of Japan.

Exhibition catalogues do not always make productive additions to undergraduate libraries, but this truly extraordinary volume serves as the exception.  Designed as a visual guide to Japans period of "Great Peace" (the Tokugawa Shogunate era, from approx. 16001868), the book draws on the many artifacts held in the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural Historycolor photographs of armor, swords, painting, clothing, and lacquer utensils pack virtually every page.  This is no mere coffee table book, however.  Written in an accessible, witty style, it is appropriate for general readers but maintains a scholarly tone throughout.  Readers new to the Tokugawa period will gain an in-depth understanding of the major historical issues, and those with some degree of expertise will find fresh perspectives in new areas of scholarship.  In sum, this book is a delight and richly deserves a spot in every college or university library, from community colleges to research institutions.  It ranks among the very best introductions to this era of Japanese history, regardless of format or audience, that this reviewer has ever had the pleasure to read.Summing Up: Essential. All levels/libraries.

Schwieger's groundbreaking treatment of Tibetan political and religious history offers a new approach to understanding the development of the trülku (reincarnate lama) tradition.  Drawing on legal and diplomatic texts rather than on more frequently consulted religious writings, Schwieger (Tibetology, Univ. of Bonn, Germany) shows how the Qing emperors sought between the 17th and 19th centuries to control the recognition and social standing of these important lamas.  Indeed, in noting that in these official documents, "any problems, conflicts or implications resulting from a trülku's involvement in political affairs are more directly addressed," he reveals why this new approach is so important for the ongoing scholarly engagement with Tibet.  Given Tibet's position within the wider Asian polity of the time, the authors broad but highly detailed treatment offers new and arresting insights into the political relationships among Tibet, China, and Mongolia.  This well-written, thought-provoking book contains appendixes of important trülku lineages and the Qing emperors and Qoshot kings of Tibet as well as an extensive bibliography and valuable annotations.  Indispensable reading for some upper-level undergraduates and for graduate students and faculty interested in Tibetan religious and political history.Summing Up: Essential. Upper-division undergraduates and above.

Other than the occasional travelogue and a handful of scholarly works on Bhutanese language, art, and politics, there are few histories of this small, isolated Himalayan country.  Phuntshos book fills that void.  The author begins with a review of the geography and the languages spoken.  Subsequent chapters follow a chronological pattern with the early diffusion of Buddhism and its consolidation, cover the era of unification during the medieval period under the early monk rulers, and recount the subsequent rise of the lay rulers.  Phuntsho (Cambridge) then covers the relations with the British in India, the civil wars, and the rise of Ugyen Wangchuk.  The book ends with the modern period, the consolidation of the monarchy under Jigme Wangchuk, and the ongoing process of decentralization and democracy.  The book is based on secondary and published primary sources; there are no archival sources.  A main strength of the manuscript is its extensive use of Bhutanese language sources.  The book stands out as a unique and comprehensive survey of Bhutanese history and as such is a must-have for any researcher of the country.Summing Up: Essential. All levels/libraries.

This volume is a thorough, very comprehensive analysis of the role of the British colonial powers in the creation and reinforcement of Indias pariah populations.  Until now, much of the understanding of the lowest outcaste (Dalit) members of Indian society was strongly linked to Hindu sacred scriptures.  Viswanath (Univ. of Göttingen, Germany) offers a brilliant set of insights into the colonial rule of India and the influence of Christian missionaries who were complicit, along with the government, in maintaining the subordination of the lowest levels of Indian social organization.  The author is to be commended for this tour de force.  Rarely has there been such a comprehensive, well researched, powerfully written volume on this topic.  It is a history of the subordination of the Dalits (untouchables) in order to keep them yoked to a system of unfree labor.  The plight of untouchables has long concerned scholars on the Indian subcontinent.  Viswanath peels back the layers of cultural history that shaped the present state of the Dalits.  The volume is meticulous in its scholarship and written with great care and precision.  A must read for South Asian specialists and general educated readers.Summing Up: Essential. All levels/libraries.