"Japan is a fascinating and beautiful nation of mountains, hot springs, forests, and gleaming, ultramodern cities. Made up of four main islands and thousands of smaller ones, the long narrow East Asian country is just slightly smaller than California. The Japanese name for their country, Nippon, means "sun's origin," because the Japanese once believed that the sun shines first on Japan. From their point of view, of course, this is true every morning since Japan faces no other land to the east, just the vast Pacific Ocean. For this reason, the country is known as the Land of the Rising Sun. This lovely idea is symbolized on the national flag, which is a simple red sphere centered on a white background. In cultural terms, Japan is land of great contradictions. As a society, it has adapted to rapid change over a relatively short span of history--from isolated hermit nation to world power, from wartime aggressor to noncombatant pacifist, from divine absolute monarchy to secular democracy"-- HighSchool-A series of country profiles that are comprehensive and textbook-like. The table of contents shows 13 chapters per title and gives a brief summary for each. The "Welcome" section introduces readers to the country using longer two-column paragraphs with a captioned color photo. Each profile includes geography, history, government, economy, environment, the people, lifestyle, religions, languages, arts, leisure, festivals, and food such as the diet in Myanmar where "Rice makes up about 75 percent of the diet and is accompanied by curries and other stewed dishes" (Myanmar). Each chapter has infographics that show a point of interest, a common phrase in the native language, ancient sites, travel tips (even mentioning COVID-19) and links to learn more. The final pages offer activities, such as recipes, a topographical economic, and cultural maps with a list of points that can be found on it, and a timeline of the country mirrored with the world. The back matter has a glossary, further information, bibliography, and index. While the series may be overwhelming with the sheer amount of information offered, the text can be used for the activities or projects for older students. VERDICT A comprehensive series that features in-depth country profiles and activities for older readers.α(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.