{"schema_version":"bf_book_companion_v1","release_id":"20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset","book":{"amazon_purchase_url":"https://www.amazon.com/dp/1957363746?tag=bookfrontier-20","asin":"1957363746","authors":["Jonathan Clements"],"book_id":"9781957363745","canonical_url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781957363745","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781957363745.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T10%3A13%3A18Z","description":"The gripping history of Taiwan, from the flood myths of indigenous legend to its Asian Tiger economic miracle—and the renewed threat of invasion by China. Once dismissed by the Kangxi Emperor as nothing but a ‘ball of mud’, Taiwan has a modern GDP larger than that of Sweden, in a land area smaller than Indiana. It is the last surviving enclave of the Republic of China, a lost colony of Japan, and claimed by Beijing as a rogue province—merely the latest chapters in its long history as a refuge for pirates, rebels, settlers, and outcasts. Jonathan Clements examines the unique conditions of Taiwan’s archaeology and indigenous history, and its days as a Dutch and Spanish trading post. He delves into its periods as an independent kingdom, Chinese province, and short-lived republic, and the transformations wrought by 50 years as part of the Japanese Empire. He examines the traumatic effects of its role as a lifeboat in 1949 for two million refugees from Communism, and the conflicts emerging after the suspension of four decades of martial law, as its people debate issues of self-determination, independence, and home rule.","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9781957363745","publication_date":"20240517","publisher":"Scribe Publications","slug":"rebel-island","subtitle":"The Incredible History of Taiwan","title":"Rebel Island"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"HIS003000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Asian History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"POL011000","confidence_band":"high","label":"International Relations","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"POL062000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Geopolitics","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}],"hint":[],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"HIS003000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Asian History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"POL011000","confidence_band":"high","label":"International Relations","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"POL062000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Geopolitics","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"Asian History","score":1,"slug":"asian-history"},{"label":"International Relations","score":1,"slug":"international-relations"},{"label":"Geopolitics","score":1,"slug":"geopolitics"}],"reader_fit":["Good for readers who enjoy Asian History","Good for readers interested in history","Good for fans of History"],"related_lists":[],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["Tim Marshall"],"book_id":"9781982178635","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781982178635.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T10%3A13%3A18Z","score":11.381,"title":"The Power of Geography","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781982178635"},{"authors":["Amos Oz","Nicholas de Lange"],"book_id":"9780156032520","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780156032520.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T10%3A13%3A18Z","score":9.9881,"title":"A Tale of Love and Darkness","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780156032520"},{"authors":["Mark Pendergrast"],"book_id":"9781541699380","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781541699380.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T10%3A13%3A18Z","score":9.6286,"title":"Uncommon Grounds","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781541699380"},{"authors":["George Guidall","Craig Nelson","Simon & Schuster Audio","& 0 more"],"book_id":"9781451660500","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781451660500.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T10%3A13%3A18Z","score":9.4977,"title":"Pearl Harbor","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781451660500"},{"authors":["Jonathan Kennedy"],"book_id":"9780593240472","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780593240472.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T10%3A13%3A18Z","score":9.3546,"title":"Pathogenesis","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780593240472"},{"authors":["Walter Russell Mead"],"book_id":"9780375713743","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780375713743.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T10%3A13%3A18Z","score":9.0213,"title":"The Arc of a Covenant","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780375713743"},{"authors":["Greg Grandin"],"book_id":"9781250214850","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781250214850.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T10%3A13%3A18Z","score":9.015,"title":"The End of the Myth","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781250214850"}],"topics":[{"evidence_refs":["keyword:history of taiwan"],"label":"History","score":0.9238,"slug":"history"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:taiwan self-determination debate"],"label":"Self","score":0.336,"slug":"self"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:books about taiwan"],"label":"About","score":0.1285,"slug":"about"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:taiwan politics"],"label":"Politics","score":0.1054,"slug":"politics"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:taiwan japanese colonial history"],"label":"Japanese","score":0.0684,"slug":"japanese"}],"what_you_get":["Themes: History, Self, Politics.","Reading lane: Asian History and International Relations.","Publisher: Scribe Publications."]},"llm_signals":null,"source_presence":{"amazon":true,"book_detail":true,"goodreads":true,"llm_signals":false,"similarity_seed":true},"stats":{"amazon_ratings_count":0,"goodreads_ratings_count":257,"goodreads_reviews_count":34,"quality_score":0.8825}}