William Gerald Beasley was Emeritus Professor of the History of the Far East at the School of Oriental and African Studies of London University. His scholarly work focused on understanding the intricate historical and cultural dynamics of Asia. He brought a rigorous academic approach to exploring the complexities of the region's past.
This is a concise history - social, political and cultural - of Japan, one of the new nations never conquered (until the 20th century) by a foreign power and the home of the longest-reigning imperial dynasty, regarded as a major power in the 20th century.