Provides a theoretical and empirical analysis of the dramatic industrial transformation of East Asia from the end of WWII to the present, with a specific (though not exclusice) focus on the Northeast Asian countries of Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Begins with an analysis of the political-economic dynamics of the region's rapid economic development over the post-war period and then moves on to examine the Asian crisis of 1997-8, including the complex ways in which international actors and insititutions such as the US and the IMF were implicated in the causes and cures of the crisis. Concludes with an examination of the post-crisis revival of the region in light of a number of emerging economic and political challenges, including globalisation and the rise of China.