Bayly, C. A. Indian Society and the Making of the British Empire. 1990. A synthesis of recent research that provides a complex portrait of the interaction of Indian society and British colonial administration.

Bose, Sugata, and Ayesha Jalal. Modern South Asia: History, Culture, Political Economy. 1998. Incorporates recent scholarship with postcolonial perspective in a wide-ranging study.

Duus, Peter. The Abacus and the Sword: The Japanese Penetration of Korea, 1895–1910. 1995. Analyzes the interplay of business interests (the abacus) and military interests (the sword) in Japan’s push for colonial possessions.

Fairbank, John King, and Merle Goldman. China: A New History, 2d ed. 2006. A treatment of China’s experiences in the nineteenth century that is rich in interesting detail.

Hane, Mikiso. Peasants, Rebels, Women, and Outcastes: The Underside of Modern Japan, 2d ed. 2003. Draws on wide-ranging sources to provide a fuller picture of Japanese history.

Hopper, Helen. Fukuzawa Yukichi: From Samurai to Capitalist. 2005. A brief account of the life of a key westernizing intellectual.

Irokawa, Daikichi. The Culture of the Meiji Period. 1988. Makes excellent use of letters, diaries, and songs to probe changes in the ways ordinary people thought during a crucial period of political change.

Kuhn, Philip A. Chinese Among Others: Emigration in Modern Times. 2008. A history of Chinese emigration that is global in scope and vividly written.

Metcalf, Barbara D., and Thomas Metcalf. A Concise History of Modern India. 2012. A well-crafted overview.

Pruitt, Ida. A Daughter of Han: The Autobiography of a Chinese Working Woman. 1967. A highly revealing glimpse of Chinese society fashioned by journalist Ida Pruitt in the 1930s based on what a Chinese woman born in 1867 told Pruitt of her life.

Rowe, William T. China’s Last Empire: The Great Qing. 2009. An overview of the Qing Empire by a major historian.

Spence, Jonathan. God’s Chinese Son. 1997. Tells the story of the Taipings as much as possible from their own perspective.

Steinberg, David Joel, ed. In Search of Southeast Asia: A Modern History, rev. ed. 1987. An impressive work on Southeast Asia by seven specialists.

Walthall, Anne. Japan: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. 2006. A concise overview with good coverage of local society and popular culture.

Yeh, Catherine. Shanghai Love: Courtesans, Intellectuals, and Entertainment Culture: 1850–1910. 2006. An engaging account of the culture that developed in the treaty ports of China.