Mark Ravina: 3 books
The Last Samurai
The Life and Battles of Saigo Takamori
Language: English
Release Date: March 29, 2011
The dramatic arc of Saigo Takamori's life, from his humble origins as a lowly samurai, to national leadership, to his death as a rebel leader, has captivated generations of Japanese readers and now Americans as well - his life is the inspiration for a major Hollywood film, The Last Samurai, starring...
To Stand with the Nations of the World
Japan's Meiji Restoration in World History
Language: English
Release Date: September 15, 2017
The samurai radicals who overthrew the last shogun in 1868 promised to restore ancient and pure Japanese ways. Foreign observers were terrified that Japan would lapse into violent xenophobia. But the new Meiji government took an opposite course. It copied best practices from around the world, building...
Sea Rovers, Silver, and Samurai
Maritime East Asia in Global History, 1550–1700
Language: English
Release Date: March 31, 2016
Sea Rovers, Silver, and Samurai traces the roots of modern global East Asia by focusing on the fascinating history of its seaways. The East Asian maritime realm, from the Straits of Malacca to the Sea of Japan, has been a core region of international trade for millennia, but during the long seventeenth...