So very many teach introductions to East Asia under different disciplines, including the Humanities, Sociology, Economics, History, and Religious Studies, but what makes this work so promising is its transferability across these lines of demarcation for the student engaged in her first serious study of the region. Neuman’s fine overview addresses the recurring cultural tasks across East Asia from family, to school and work, and socio-economic stratifications. Neuman has written an ideal introductory text with a sociologist’s clarity, a humanist’s learning, a researcher’s sharp eye, and a teacher’s fine sense of proportion. This is the only intellectual guidebook you will need to take with you for your voyage to East Asia.

W. LAWRENCE NEUMAN is Professor of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater where he chairs the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice and is coordinator of the Japanese Studies and Asian Studies programs. He has a PhD from the University of Wisconsin. His teaching and research interests are in East Asia, especially issues of inequality, civil society, and identity in Japan. His writings on Asia have appeared in the Journal of Contemporary Asia, Social Science Japan, Critical Asian Studies, and Japan Studies Journal. His recent books include Basics of Social Research, 3rd ed.; Social Research Methods, 7th ed.; Understanding Research; and Power, State, and Society. His sociology research articles have appeared in Social Problems, Sociological Inquiry, Sociological Quarterly, Social Science Quarterly, Sociological Imagination, Law and Society Review, Teaching Sociology, and American Sociological Review.