[ One] of the most important edited volumes to come out in recent memory Engineering Asia represents a significant intervention in the history of science and technology, foreign relations, and economic nationalism in cold war Asia. It is essential reading for scholars and graduate students in Japanese and East Asian history ... Scholars of the postcolonial history of science and technology in Latin America, Africa, and Asia will find the volume equally thought provoking. * The Journal of Japanese Studies * Focusing on science and technology in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia and in concrete rice, chemicals, highways, dams, oil, and more this extraordinary collaboration provides a unique and critical perspective on both colonialism and its postcolonial reincarnation as Cold War developmentalism and overseas aid. While based upon meticulous empirical research, the book also provides sweeping insights into the intra-Asian connections among the major players that both depended upon and yet exceeded U.S. Cold War projects in the region. Sophisticated and yet eminently accessible, this is transnational history writing at its best and should be read by a wide audience both inside and outside of Asian Studies. * Takashi Fujitani, Professor in Asia-Pacific Studies, University of Toronto, Canada *
