Showa 1953-1989: A History of Japan concludes award-winning author Shigeru Mizuki\'s stunning historical and autobiographical series about Japanese life in the twentieth century. The final volume picks up in the wake of utter defeat in World War II, covering the United States\' shift from enemy to ally. Jobs, money, and opportunity are funneled along in a bid to establish the country as a bulwark against Communist expansion. Japan thus reinvents itself, emerging as an economic powerhouse. This period of peace and plenty conceals a populace still struggling to come to terms with the devastation of their all-too-recent past. (W/A/CA) Shigeru Mizuki