A short and hugely informative book for the layperson… Like a wise lecturer, de Bary brings the reader along to a fresh and rewarding comparison of Eastern and Western ways of thinking—and what the differences mean to us today… In the process, he has also written a succinct and valuable guide to the culture by which East Asia still lives.

The work is the personal manifesto of a scholar who is master of the broad overview and bold generalization which is the essence of profound erudition, and who knows that a properly chosen detail can highlight a given topic more boldly than a lengthy argument.

Bears the unmistakable imprint of de Bary’s erudition and bristles with provocative insights and useful comparisons…de Bary has done an excellent job.