Bruce Cumings's rich narrative focuses on Korea's fractured, shattered, twentieth-century history. In 1910 Korea lost its centuries-old independence, and it remained an exploited colony of Japan until 1945. Then came national division, political turmoil, a devastating war, and the death and dislocation of millions, all of which left Korea still divided and in desperate poverty. Its recovery and spectacular growth over the next generation is one of this century's most remarkable achievements.

Cumings provides a compelling account of Korea's travails and triumphs in the modern period.