Quoting from a reader's report "this is an original and compelling synthesis of the environmental history of Korea and Japan." Taking the history of Japan and Korea and their environmental interactions from late Pleistocene down to about 1870 AD, the author makes a convincing case for viewing the two countries together, as a history, particularly when looking at their pre-industrial experiences.

Drawing from a rare combination of knowledge of both countries, Conrad Totman reveals the extent of shared timing, substance, and dynamics in the political, social, and economic development of the two countries, and in their relationship to the ecosystem.

With extensive bibliography, chronology, glossary, maps and graphs.A real must.