Interview with Alton C. Halbrook, a Marine WWII veteran and POW who was captured by the Japanese at Corregidor. Halbrook discusses joining the Marine Corps and prewar duty in Shanghai, transfer to the Philippines, the Japanese invasion, retreat to Corregidor, the American surrender and capture by Japanese forces, internment at Camp O'Donnell and Cabanatuan, transfer to Clark Field and labor there, transit to Japan, internment and labor at a Japanese steel mill, a powerplant, and a factory, and the end of the war. In appendix is an autobiographical account by Halbrook.

Interview with George W. McDaniel, draftsman and U.S. Marine Corps WWII veteran, concerning his experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese during World War II. McDaniel discusses the fall of Wake island and capture; hell ship to China, 1942; Wusong Prison Camp, Shanghai, 1942; Kiangwang Prison Camp, 1942-45; Pusan, Korea, 1945; Hakodate, Hokkaido, 1945; liberation.

Outer Edges of the Middle Kingdom is a narrative by the author about his two years as a teacher in the People's Republic of China. Organized chronologically, the account begins in August, 1985, and ends in June, 1987. The narrator describes meeting students at Tianjin University, Tianjin, China, designing English classes for English majors, daily episodes in the classroom, and interaction with Chinese colleagues. The narrative alternates between life on a university campus and extensive trips the narrator made to various cities in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Kunming, Guilin, Harbin, Hohot, and Guangzhou. Also recounted are the narrator's reactions to the student demonstrations of December, 1986, and the resulting anti-bourgeois liberation campaign of January-April, 1987.

Volume provides abstracts of agricultural experiments conducted during the year. Also includes statistics, convention reports, bulletins, and bibliographies. Name and subject indexes start on page 901.