/I>The Great Powers of East Asia: 1953-1960 are written by some of the world's leading scholars. They contain new information, fresh insights, and useful analyses. The first series of essays focuses on the evolution of American policy. American historians examine the workings of the the Department of State and the Pentagon, and an American and a Chinese analyze the foreign economic policy of the Eisenhower administration in East Asia. The second series of essays is Japan-centered. Together these essays constitute an important contribution to the writing of international history. The contributors reveal the levels of understanding the major powers has of each other and of the smaller nations of the region, informed by different national experiences. The threads they weave together create a far richer tapestry than a national or binational approach could ever produce.