Richard D. McBride II is Professor and Chair of the Asian and Near Eastern Languages Department at Brigham Young University. His many publications include Aspiring to Enlightenment: Pure Land Buddhism in Silla Korea (2020).

• ChronologyIntroduction1 Legends and Origins of Korea's Three Kingdoms2 Koguryo and Paekche3 Kaya and Early Silla4 Religion and Culture in the Early Three Kingdoms5 Greater Silla and Parhae6 The Flourishing of Buddhism and Confucianism in Greater Silla7 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly in the Later Three KingdomsEpilogueREFERENCESBIBLIOGRAPHY PHOTO ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSINDEX

This is a much-needed monographic work treating early Korean history in a comprehensive yet very readable manner. Covering mythic foundations as well as current understandings of the origins of the earliest states in Korean history, this narrative describes the rise and decline of polities, their societies and cultures and their relations with neighbouring polities, ending with the fall of the Silla kingdom in 935 and the rise of the state of Koryŏ. This book covers over a millennium of Korean history concisely and clearly and should be required reading for anyone interested in Korea’s early history and cultures. - Mark E. Byington, founder and director of the Early Korea Project at the Korea Institute, Harvard UniversityRichard D. McBride II, the leading historian of this period in North America, guides readers on an entertaining romp through the histories and cultures of the various countries on the Korean Peninsula from earliest times up to the tenth century. He gives readers a chance to look at the broad sweep of the early history on the peninsula while also stopping where appropriate for a close look at interesting details of wars as well as social, political, and religious developments. - Don Baker, Professor in Korean History and Civilization, University of British Columbia