The Western world believes that capitalism has won, that our model of individual enterprise and rights has triumphed. But in East Asia a new system has emerged that challenges the economic principles the West extols. In fact, as James Fallows vividly demonstrates, the theories we embrace to explain how nations rise and fall have prevented us from seeing the true nature of this new system and its enormous impact on us.

Skillfully blending history with on-the-ground reportage and astute analysis, Fallows reveals how political goals and historical experience have shaped Japan's economic rise and placed it at the heart of the Asian system.

He shows how the explosive growth of Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore has been fueled by Japanese investment; why Burma, the Philippines, and Vietnam have been largely isolated from the region's progress; and why Korea, Taiwan, and "Greater China" are the strongest contenders for future economic dominance. Extraordinary in depth and scope, Looking At the Sun provides the first clear picture of the Asian rise and the magnitude of its challenge to the Western world.