Volume 86 – No. 1

March 2013

Perspectives


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Review Essays


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Book Reviews


Asia General

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HISTORY TEXTBOOKS AND THE WARS IN ASIA: Divided Memories | Edited by Gi-Wook Shin and Daniel C. SneiderHISTORY TEXTBOOKS AND THE WARS IN ASIA: Divided Memories | Edited by Gi-Wook Shin and Daniel C. Sneider
Ivo Plsek

NARRATING RACE: Asia, (Trans)Nationalism, Social Change | Edited by Robbie B.H. GohNARRATING RACE: Asia, (Trans)Nationalism, Social Change | Edited by Robbie B.H. Goh
Christopher Lee

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CROSS-BORDER GOVERNANCE IN ASIA: Regional Issues and Mechanisms. Edited by G. Shabbir Cheema, Christopher A. McNally and Vesselin Popovski. Tokyo; New York: United Nations University Press, 2011. xvii, 322 pp. (Tables, figures.) US$35.00, paper. ISBN 978-92-808-1193-3. Reviewed by Richard Kyle Paisley.

ASIAN MARITIME POWER IN THE 21ST CENTURY: Strategic Transactions: China, India and Southeast Asia. By Vijay Sakhuja. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2011. xv, 363 pp. US$39.90, paper. ISBN 978-981-4311-09-0. Reviewed by James R. Holmes.

BETTING ON BIOTECH: Innovation and the Limits of Asia’s Developmental State. By Joseph Wong. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 2011. xiii, 200 pp. (Tables.) US$29.95, cloth. ISBN 978-0-8014-5032-7. Reviewed by Robert L. Curry, Jr.

BUDDHIST MONASTICISM IN EAST ASIA: Places of Practice. Edited by James A. Benn, Lori Meeks, and James Robson. London and New York: Routledge, 2011. x, 232 pp. US$42.95, paper. ISBN 978-0-415-50144-6. Reviewed by Dewei Zhang

China & Inner Asia

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CHINA’S EMERGING MIDDLE CLASS: Beyond Economic Transformation | Edited by Cheng LiCHINA’S EMERGING MIDDLE CLASS: Beyond Economic Transformation | Edited by Cheng Li
Sophia Woodman

WALMART IN CHINA | Edited by Anita ChanWALMART IN CHINA | Edited by Anita Chan
John A. Donaldson

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NEW FRONTIERS IN CHINA’S FOREIGN RELATIONS = ZHONGGUO WAIJIAO DE XIN BIANJIANG. Edited by Allen Carlson and Ren Xiao. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2011. xiv, 216 pp. (Tables.) US$65.00, cloth. ISBN 978-0-7391-5025-2. Reviewed by Eric Hyer

LOCATING NEOLIBERALISM IN EAST ASIA: Neoliberalizing Spaces in Developmental States. Studies in Urban and Social Change. Edited by Bae-Gyoon Park, Richard Child Hill, and Asato Saito. Chichester: Wiley- Blackwell, 2012. ix, 321 pp. (Illus., maps.) US$39.95, paper. ISBN 978-1- 4051-9279-8. Reviewed by David W. Edgington

LOOKING NORTH, LOOKING SOUTH: China, Taiwan, and the South Pacific. Series on Contemporary China, v. 26. Editor, Anne-Marie Brady. Singapore; Hackensack, NJ: World Scientific, 2010. xvi, 298 pp. (Tables, figures, maps.) US$94.00, cloth. ISBN 978-981-4304-38-2. Reviewed by Yuan-chao Tung

THE DRAGON’S GIFT: The Real Story of China in Africa. By Deborah Brautigam. Oxford (UK); New York: Oxford University Press, 2011. xv, 397 pp. (Figures, maps.) US$29.95, paper. ISBN 978-0-19-960629-0. Reviewed by Li Anshan

AFTER LEANING TO ONE SIDE: China and Its Allies in the Cold War. Cold War International History Project Series. By Zhihua Shen and Danhui Li. Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson Center Press; Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2011. xix, 352 pp. (Tables.) US$60.00, cloth. ISBN 978-0-8047-7087-3. Reviewed by Sergey Radchenko

IN THE EYE OF THE CHINA STORM: A Life Between East and West. Footprints Series, 14. By Paul T.K. Lin with Eileen Chen Lin. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2011. xvi, 311 pp. (Illus., B&W photos.) C$39.95, cloth. ISBN 978-0-7735-3857-3. Reviewed by Michelle Tisseyre

THE MARSHALL MISSION TO CHINA, 1945-1947: The Letters and Diary of Colonel John Hart Caughey. Edited by Roger B. Jeans. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2011. xxiii, 289 pp. (Maps, B&W photos.) US$79.00, cloth. ISBN 978-1-4422-1294-7. Reviewed by Jingbin Wang

A SPRINGBOARD TO VICTORY: Shandong Province and Chinese Communist Military and Financial Strength, 1937-1945. China Studies (Leiden, Netherlands), v. 19. By Sherman Xiaogang Lai. Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2011. xxxiii, 341 pp. (Tables, figures, maps.) US$179.00, cloth. ISBN 978-90-04-19800-5. Reviewed by Diana Lary

UNEVEN MODERNITY: Literature, Film, and Intellectual Discourse in Postsocialist China. Critical Interventions. By Haomin Gong. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2012. viii, 192 pp. (Illus.) US$47.00, cloth. ISBN 978-0-8248-3531-6. Reviewed by Shuyu Kong

REMOTE HOMELAND, RECOVERED BORDERLAND: Manchus, Manchoukuo, and Manchuria, 1907-1985. The World of East Asia. By Shao Dan. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2011. xxi, 413 pp. (Tables, figures, maps, B&W photos.) US$55.00, cloth. ISBN 978-0-8248-3445-6. Reviewed by Thomas David DuBois

Northeast Asia

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JAPAN AS A ‘NORMAL COUNTRY’?: A Nation in Search of Its Place in the World. Japan and Global Society | Edited by Yoshihide Soeya, Masayuki Tadokoro, and David A. WelchJAPAN AS A ‘NORMAL COUNTRY’?: A Nation in Search of Its Place in the World. Japan and Global Society | Edited by Yoshihide Soeya, Masayuki Tadokoro, and David A. Welch
Paul Midford

THE EVOLUTION OF JAPAN’S PARTY SYSTEM: Politics and Policy in an Era of Institutional Change. Japan and Global Society | Edited by Leonard J. SchoppaTHE EVOLUTION OF JAPAN’S PARTY SYSTEM: Politics and Policy in an Era of Institutional Change. Japan and Global Society | Edited by Leonard J. Schoppa
Kuniaki Nemoto

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SOLDIER OF GOD: MacArthur’s Attempt to Christianize Japan. By Ray A. Moore. Portland, ME: Merwin Asia, 2011. ix, 167 pp. US$35.00, paper. ISBN 978-0-9836599-4-5. Reviewed by Arnel E. Joven

EMBODYING DIFFERENCE: The Making of Burakumin in Modern Japan. By Timothy D. Amos. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2011. xii, 302 pp. (Graphs, maps.) US$33.00, paper. ISBN 978-0-8248-35798. Reviewed by Christopher Bondy

South Asia & the Himalayas

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UNDERSTANDING INDIA’S NEW POLITICAL ECONOMY: A Great Transformation? | Edited by Sanjay Ruparelia, Sanjay Reddy, John Harriss, and Stuart CorbridgeUNDERSTANDING INDIA’S NEW POLITICAL ECONOMY: A Great Transformation? | Edited by Sanjay Ruparelia, Sanjay Reddy, John Harriss, and Stuart Corbridge
Jeffrey Witsoe

ROUTLEDGE HANDBOOK OF SOUTH ASIAN POLITICS: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal | Edited by Paul R. BrassROUTLEDGE HANDBOOK OF SOUTH ASIAN POLITICS: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal | Edited by Paul R. Brass
Robin Jeffrey

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DECENTRALIZATION, LOCAL GOVERNANCE, AND SOCIAL WELLBEING IN INDIA: Do Local Governments Matter? Routledge Advances in South Asian Studies, 23. By Rani D. Mullen. London and New York: Routledge, 2012. xvi, 235 pp. (Tables, figures.) US$140.00, cloth. ISBN 978-0-415-67065-4. Reviewed by S.S. Meenakshisundaram

VARIETIES OF ACTIVIST EXPERIENCE: Civil Society in South Asia. Governance Conflict and Civic Action Series, V. 3. Edited by David N. Gellner. New Delhi, India; Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2010. vii, 291 pp. (Tables, B&W photos.) US$39.95, cloth. ISBN: 978-81-321-0450-6. Reviewed by Douglas A. Olthof

DEBT AND DEATH IN RURAL INDIA: The Punjab Story. By Aman Sidhu with Inderjit Singh Jaijee. New Delhi; London: Sage, 2011. xx, 335 pp. (Tables, figures, maps.) US$39.95, cloth. ISBN 978-81-321-0653-1. Reviewed by Nilotpal Kumar

BANGLADESH: Politics, Economy and Civil Society. By David Lewis. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2011. xiii, 233 pp. (Map.) US$96.95, cloth. ISBN 978-0-521-88612-3. Reviewed by John Richards

EDUCATION IN BANGLADESH: Overcoming Hurdles to Equity with Quality. Manzoor Ahmed, editor; contributors, Fazle Hasan et al. Dhaka: Published on behalf of Institute of Educational Development, BRAC University by BRAC University Press; exclusive distribution by University Press, 2011. xxxii, 352 pp. (illus.) US$40.00, cloth. ISBN 978-984-33-3277-6. Reviewed by John Richards

Southeast Asia

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ACEH: History, Politics and Culture | Edited by Arndt Graf, Susanne Schröter and Edwin WieringaACEH: History, Politics and Culture | Edited by Arndt Graf, Susanne Schröter and Edwin Wieringa
David Kloos

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MANAGING ECONOMIC CRISIS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA. Edited by Saw Swee-Hock. Singapore: Saw Centre for Quantitative Finance; Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2011. xx, 340 pp. (Tables, figures.) US$32.90, paper. ISBN 978-981-4311-23-6. Reviewed by Ross H. McLeod

POVERTY AND GLOBAL RECESSION IN SOUTHEAST ASIA. Edited by Aris Ananta and Richard Barichello. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2012. xxviii, 432 pp. (Tables, figures.) US$45.90, paper. ISBN 978-981-4311-19-9. Reviewed by Amrita Daniere

DECENTRING & DIVERSIFYING SOUTHEAST ASIAN STUDIES: Perspectives from the Region. Edited by Goh Beng-Lan. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2011. xiii, 304 pp. US$34.90, paper. ISBN 978- 981-4311-56-4. Reviewed by Doreen Lee

TRAVELING NATION-MAKERS: Transnational Flows and Movements in the Making of Modern Southeast Asia. Kyoto CSEAS Series on Asia Studies, 3. Edited by Caroline S. Hau and Kasian Tejapira. Singapore: NUS Press; Kyoto: Kyoto University Press, 2011. vii, 310 pp. (Tables, figures, B&W photos, illus.) US$32.00, paper. ISBN 978-9971-69-547-7. Reviewed by Tim Bunnell

BLACK OPS, VIETNAM: The Operational History of MACVSOG. By Robert M. Gillespie. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2011. ix, 304 pp. (Figures, maps.) US$41.95, cloth. ISBN 978-1-59114-321-5. Reviewed by Priscilla Roberts

EDUCATION IN VIETNAM. Edited by Jonathan D. London. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2011. xii, 341 pp. (Tables, figures.) US$39.90, paper. ISBN 978-981-4279-05-5. Reviewed by Anne Raffin

CONTESTED WATERSCAPES IN THE MEKONG REGION: Hydropower, Livelihoods and Governance. Edited by François Molle, Tira Foran and Mira Käkönen. London; Sterling, VA: Earthscan, 2009. xxii, 426 pp. (Tables, figures.) US$146.00, cloth. ISBN 978-1-88407-707-6. Reviewed by Ian G. Baird

SINGAPORE IN GLOBAL HISTORY. ICAS Publication Series Edited Volumes, 14. Edited by Derek Heng and Syed Muhd Khairudin Aljunied. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2011. 317 pp. (Tables, figures.) US$55.00, paper. ISBN 978-90-8964-324-7. Reviewed by Albert Lau

STUDENT ACTIVISM IN MALAYSIA: Crucible, Mirror, Sideshow. Studies on Southeast Asia, no. 54. By Meredith L. Weiss. Ithaca, NY: Southeast Asia Program Publications, Southeast Asia Program, Cornell University; Singapore: NUS Press, 2011. vi, 302 pp. (Illus.) US$23.95, paper. ISBN 978- 0-877-27754-5. Reviewed by Maznah Mohamad

POLITICAL AUTHORITY AND PROVINCIAL IDENTITY IN THAILAND: The Making of Banharn-buri. Studies on Southeast Asia, no. 53. By Yoshinori Nishizaki. Ithaca, NY: Southeast Asia Program Publications, Southeast Asia Program, Cornell University, 2011. xviii, 254 pp. (Tables, maps, figures.) US$46.95, cloth. ISBN 978-087727-783-5. Reviewed by Nicholas Farrelly