Sources of East Asian Tradition, Vol. 1: Premodern Asia (Introduction to Asian Civilizations)

Though intimidating in size, this text has great introductions and then well selected excerpts from primary texts. I would say that the reading level of this book is quite high and that ESL learners may struggle with it. I read this text with an interest in Confucianism and Buddhism, and the text does a good job of filling in many gaps for the novice. It also does a good job covering the political history of Korea, China and Japan. In short, this text really is quite comprehensive. Probably best read by those with little to an intermediate level background knowledge in all of this stuff. An expert may find this somewhat banal.

The book came in great, it looked brand new and unused. But I’ve noticed the binding broke in the middle of the book and thought nothing of it, until a couple weeks in and the pages start falling out. I thought maybe to tape or glue it back together but it was a total disaster. Pages are crinkled and more and more are falling out.

good

Used for a class on Eastern Religions. The book is a bit presumptuous. I had a hard time picking out the audience for whom it was written. The portion given to explain the writings often seemed to be disjointed from the actual writing later included. I do not think it is a good selection for an overview class. I think the goal of the book is to provide the reader a sample of many of the writings. Do not buy if you want explanations or thoughts laid out for you. I was disappointed.

A well-written, easy to read and comprehensive guide to East Asian history/civilizations. A must read for prospective Asian Studies students or just anyone interested in learning about a fascinating and dynamic area of the world.

It is exactly what I expected. It's very interesting and well made. I am satisfied with it. I recommend it.

Poor condition. Not as described. The cover was really filthy, I had to clean it quite a few times.

Great.