Concise yet comprehensive, "Understanding East Asia's Economic Miracles" is the perfect introduction to the political economy of East Asia. Professor Zhu's analysis of the economic 'miracles' of Japan, South Korea, China and Taiwan takes into account both domestic factors and the international environment, and is sensitive to the similarities as well as differences between the developmental experiences of these nations. Zhu raises important related issues such as the connections between economic development and democratization, the relative economic contributions of the state and the market, and the portability of the East Asian developmental model (Robert Y. Eng, Professor of History, University of Redlands).