http://newsdesk.tjctv.com/2015/07/up-close-tracy-dahlby-and-blaine-harden/ This week on Up Close, as Asian economies rise in prominence and productivity, two journalists offer varying looks at some of the more prominent countries in the region.

Tracy Dahlby spent decades going in and out of Japan, China, Vietnam, and more. Reflecting on his reporting for National Geographic and other publications, he discusses his book "Into the Field: a Foreign Correspondent's Notebook."

And then, one country that stands as a major outlier in the region for seeing no rise in prosperity at all is North Korea. Former Washington Post correspondent Blaine Harden examines the country as a study in contrast, in "The Great Leader and the Fighter Pilot: The True Story of the Tyrant Who Created North Korea and the Young Lieutenant Who Stole His Way to Freedom."