During the last nine millennia or so, man has improved the rice plant, increased its productivity and has found various uses of its parts. The story of rice differs from region to region and has been different in different periods of time. There was a time when tax was collected in the form of rice in Japan, the Southeast Asian kingdoms created hydraulic feats for its cultivation and Ottoman armies advanced with rice as their ration. In recent years, there have been riots due to scarcity of rice and also international efforts to produce enough rice to avoid hunger. The book provides an interesting reading of all such events in the course of its 9000 years long history.

Domestication and Diaspora of Rice, S.D. Sharma
Thai Participation in the Spread of Rice Agriculture in Asia, J. Hartmann, W. Luo, and V. Sysamouth
Rice in Social and Cultural Life of People, S.C. Ahuja and U. Ahuja
Domestication of Rice in China and Its Cultural Heritage, S. Tang and S. Xuan
History of Rice Culture in Korea: The Origin, Antiquity and Diffusion, M.-H. Heu and H.-P. Moon
History of Rice in Japan, C. Kaneda
History of Rice in Southeast Asia and Australia, L. Falvey
History of Rice in South Asia (Up to 1947), M. Sattar, S.D. Sharma and A.K. Pokharia
History of Rice in South Asia (1947-2007), S.S. Vepa, M. Sattar and S.D. Sharma
History of Rice in Western and Central Asia, M. Nesbitt, St John Simpson and I. Svanberg
History of Rice in Europe, A. Ferrero and F. Vidotto
History of Rice in Africa, A.E.-A.T. Badawi, M.A. Maximos and I.R. Aidy, R.A. Olaoye and S.D. Sharma
The Rice Industry of the United States, P.A. Coclanis
History of Rice in Hispanic America, J.A. Pereira and E.P. Guimarães
History of Rice Marketing, S. Kumar and J. Ali
A Century of Rice Breeding, Its Impact and Challenges Ahead, G.S. Khush and P.S. Virk