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This book is former Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida's record of Japan's ten years of postwar economic recovery. It mainly records the historical events in the past ten years after Japan's defeat, from May 1946 to December 1954, when Yoshida formed the government five times. The Yoshida regime was born in the turbulent era after the war when everything was in ruins. From Yoshida's personal perspective, this book records in detail a series of historical events that he personally participated in and witnessed, which were fundamental and directional and of great significance to Japan's post-war recovery. But in general, what is revealed between the lines is not literary interest, but the rationality, perseverance, hard work and courage unique to politicians.

With short and concise writing style, this book profoundly records the ups and downs that Japan experienced in the 100 years from the Meiji Restoration in the 1860s to the 1960s from a majestic and sweeping historical perspective. From the perspective of a political leader, the author Yoshida Shigeru explains Japan's history over the past century, from the rise of the Meiji Restoration to the trough after the defeat, and then to the history of getting back on its feet with the help of good post-war development opportunities. This book also includes Japan through the eyes of foreigners over the past century, as well as the author's economic papers and current affairs comments published in Japanese postwar newspapers and magazines. Generally speaking, what is revealed between the lines is not literary interest, but the rationality, perseverance, hard work and courage unique to politicians.

The book "A Century of Agitation" has 5 chapters in total. The first 4 chapters of Yoshida Shigeru divided the century-old history of modern Japan into four stages in chronological order - the Meiji Restoration, the move toward modernization, the difficult post-war period, and the period of economic recovery and development. He discussed them in detail one by one. In the last chapter, Yoshida Shigeru made a brief summary and proposed Japan's future plans and ideas with great hope. Each chapter is divided into several subtitles, all of which have a clear direction. They basically directly raise the specific issues faced by society at that time, once again linking to the author's political identity. Of course, what really shines in "A Century of Turbulence" is the creative strategy for governing the country it proposes. The final implementation of these governance strategies was due to the various efforts made by the Japanese government and people on the one hand, and on the other hand it was also due to the full use of the international environment at the time. As Yoshida Shigeru said in the book, Japan "was born at the right time and relied on its lucky side." At the end of the article, Yoshida Shigeru's "Reminiscences" are included.

As Japan's most reputable and influential prime minister after the war, Yoshida Shigeru relied on his statesman's grand perspective and unique vision to deeply analyze Japan's century-old development history since the Meiji Restoration from all aspects of politics, economy, and education. He elaborated on how Japan relied on the power of the nation and its citizens to seize opportunities in the ever-changing world structure, move from a barren island country to revitalization, re-establish itself from the ruins after the war, and become a world power. This book uses short and profound language and precious and rich historical pictures to take you back into Japan's century-old vicissitudes, and to carefully read the unique culture of the Japanese nation's perseverance and progress. This book became very popular in China in the 1980s and was rated as one of the "100 books that have influenced China in the past 20 years" by Sanlian Bookstore.