Asia-Pacific: A History of Empire and Conflict - Tapa dura

Title mention in IIAS Newsletter, 2007 "The time frame and geographic scope of Crump's work are wide-ranging...the book is a welcome addition to existing literature." Reviewed by Frans Paul van der Putten in IIAS Newsletter, 2008 "WWII GREAT POWERS America, Japan and China; Cold War chess game pawns Korea and Vietnam; and emerging post-colonial states such as Taiwan, the Philippines and Indonesia these are the countries that float upon or whose shorelines outline and define the world's biggest ocean, the Pacific. And they are the subject of scholar and author Thomas Crump's ASIA-PACIFIC: A History of Empire and Conflict (978-1-85285-518-5), a July 2007 Hambledon Continuum $34.95 hardcover, illustrated with black and white maps. Crump previously wrote the Oxford University Press title, The Death of an Emperor: Japan at the Crossroads, among many titles in history, science, medicine. Volcanic in geography and geo-politics, the Ring of Fire is treated here to what Continuum says is "the first authoritative history of a region rich in history." -Today's Books 'This excellent introduction to the modern political history of the region tells us much about how they got here from there.' 'I wish it had been on sale when I was dispatched in 1985 to Singapore as South East Asia correspondent of The Times... it would have saved a lot of mugging up from out-of-date books.' - Paul Routledge, The Tribune--Sanford Lakoff

"Asia-Pacific" is the first authoritative history of a region rich in history, riven with conflict and central to our world today. The political backdrop was informed by China, from the fall of its Empire at the beginning of the 20th century through to Mao Zedong's revolution. The aftermath of World War II saw a radical transformation in what is often known as The Ring of Fire. Japan, defeated, lost its Empire and armed forces. The war between North and South Korea added a crucial twist, with world-wide repercussions still being felt a half century later. Long-standing European colonial Empires, British, Dutch and French crumbled in South East Asia, as new nations demanded independence, with varying degrees of conflict and violence - culminating in the long Vietnam War.The year 1975 was a watershed. Mao Zedong and Ho Chi Minh had died, leaving the way open to dialogue and rapprochement between the East and West. The strained relations between China, and the Soviet Union - part of Mao's legacy - together with the eventual Soviet collapse left the US as the major beneficiary. But most importantly, the major countries of the region have been largely at peace for over 30 years and are enjoying the fruits of this peace - unprecedented levels of commerce and foreign investment has made the region the driving force in the world economy and increasingly central to the politics of globalization. Yet this peace is tentative, with the rumblings of discontent always audible. Thomas Crump has written a fascinating modern history which will further our understanding of a region that has shaped our past and will continue to shape our future.