Acclaim for Prof. Metzler's new book
Posted: January 30, 2007
The book is the first full account of the prehistory of financial superpower Japan.
Richard J. Smethurst, author of A Social Basis for Prewar Japanese Militarism, writes, "Lever of Empire is an engrossing page turner – I simply could not put it down until I had finished it. This is an important subject, and one that has not been given adequate attention in Western scholarship on Japan until now. . ."
Simon James Bytheway from Nihon University describes the book as "thought-provoking, intellectually curious, and at times controversial. . . . Replete with astute references and finely drawn observations, it is a financial history for all those who study the humanities and social sciences. . . . Metzler has painted us a complete historical landscape, broad in focus and rich in insight."
In a review for the American Historical Review, Peter K. Frost writes that Metzler clearly illustrates how foreign bankers played a large role in shaping Japan’s monetary policies. "Metzler's book discusses the often hidden ways in which Western bankers, no doubt without fully realizing it, quietly helped create a 'lever of empire.' He concludes by praising its "wide scope, prodigious research, and vivid writing" that make it "an excellent book that we all need to master."
Related sites:
Assistant Professor Mark Metzler
University of California Press 
