The countries of Northeast Asia and the United States share a twenty-year legacy of war, beginning with the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War in 1931 until the formal conclusion of the Pacific War in 1951. Historical memories of this period are often conflicting, as reflected by the master narratives presented in textbooks, and serve to impede effective, lasting reconciliation. In its groundbreaking new publication History Textbooks and the Wars in Asia: Divided Memories (Routledge Press, 2011), edited by Gi-Wook Shin and Daniel C. Sneider, the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center examines the evolution of master narratives in China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the United States in an effort to help lay the foundation for eventual historical reconciliation in the region. This is the first in a series of three books dealing with wartime memories and reconciliation.