十九世紀法國的殖民主張──近代中法關係研究之一

Edwin 0. Reischauer, Harvard Professor of History and United States Ambassador to Japan 1961—66, has been rightfully accorded recognition as one of America’s foremost scholars in the field of Japanese studies. His most recent major work, The Japanese, merits careful consideration as a highly ambitious, sweeping study of one of the world’s most complex and fascinating cultures. It should be noted at the outset that The Japanese cannot be characterized narrowly as being strictly historical, sociological, economic or political in focus, for it is all of these things. Professor Reischauer employs a broad, multi-faceted approach to examine the people and the nation of Japan, from varying standpoints, from pre-history to the present day, with the greatest emphasis on the contemporary. It is, in fact, in its extremely broad focus that this work’s strengths, which are numerous, and its weaknesses, which are sometimes perplexing, are most clearly exhibited.