Part of a nine-volume series examining the history and current characteristics of school systems around the world, this work edited by Postiglione (education, U. of Hong Kong, China) and Tan (National Institute of Education, Singapore) focuses on East Asia and includes country studies of Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, North Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, East Timor, and Vietnam. Hong Kong is also included as a special case and a regional overview chapter is provided. Authors limit themselves to surveying the scholarly literature as they describe the evolution of each system. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)