This overview of a large swatch of Japanese history was too much an outline without substance. The late Edo and early Taisho periods were written as a gloss of names and single facts without any real cohesion. The narrative was sprinkled with some interesting anecdotes, but overall, the book was unsatisfying. It felt that Baruma was looking down upon Japan and its cultural traditions in the way that many Westerners who think the world should reflect them.