Hideyoshi (Harvard East Asian Monographs, No 146)

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Summary: A fascinating account of Hideyoshi's life and career
Review: "Hideyoshi" is an incredible biography of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who more than anyone else is responsible for transforming Japan from a crazy-quilt of fiefs and feudal lords engaged in civil war to a centralized state at peace. It is one of history's ironies that a child born to a subsistence farmer could end his life as the most powerful man in the country. If you share my admiration of Japan and fascination with its history, don't pass this book up!

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Summary: Berry captures the grand sweep of Japan's great unifier.
Review: This book provides an excellent portrait of arguably the most important single individual in Japanese history. Berry's scholarship is abundantly informative without being heavy-handed. This account of Hideyoshi's life reads like a narrative and is rich with references from diverse resources. More important than that, however, is the respect Berry shows for the subject matter. She really captures the grand sweep of Hideyoshi's life, which was inseparable from the fate of Japan at the time. This is a must read for anyone interested in Japanese history or anyone wishing to deepen their appreciation of Japanese samurai movies that depict this period of time (the late 1500s).