The Samurai code of honor is deeply ingrained in the Japanese culture and influences it to this day. This book presents extracts from Samurai manuals, such as A Book of Five Rings, Code of the Samurai, and Hagakure, as well as extracts from Samurai literature, such as Comrade Love of the Samurai, to help individuals form a general picture of the Samurai. This book explains how the Samurai were warriors who fought for Japan and their warlords over a period of hundreds of years, leading to the creation of a period of stability, peace, and prosperity. This book is ideal for enthusiasts of Japanese culture, Eastern culture, and martial arts.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Robert T. Samuel translates Japanese books into English and is an avid collector of Samurai books, pictures, and swords.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Decent Light Reading, But...,
By
This review is from: The Samurai: The Philosophy of Victory (Paperback)
The Samurai:The Philosophy Of Victory is a hodgepodge of fiction, history, and excerpts from several well known (if historically misleading) Japanese books such as Book Of The Five Rings and Hagakure. At its best, it provides the reader with entertaining light reading along with plenty of attractive illustrations. However, the book has several problems, the most serious of which deals with plagiarized material. The entire 'Famous Samurai' section along with the accompanying illustrations was taken uncredited and without permission from the informative samurai-archives. Other sections of the book appear to have been lifted from the website as well. In addition, other illustrations and text have seemingly been taken from noted Samurai author Stephen Turnbull's books-again, uncredited and without permission. In addition, the book is full of errors both big and small. For example, in the aforementioned 'Famous Samurai' list, the author has replaced the correct term 'Shugo' (meaning provincial constable or military governor) with the incorrect term 'Shogun'. The book Tanki Yoriaku is identified as Hi Ko Ben (which was in fact the subtitle). There's more, but that should give you a general idea. This being the author's first effort, one would hope that he would improve upon the accuracy of its content and especially upon receiving permission to reprint the copyrighted work of others before trying again.
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
heh,
By
This review is from: The Samurai: The Philosophy of Victory (Paperback)
"The Samurai: The Philosophy of Victory" By Robert T. Samuel is a so so book at best.Some of the information came from sources such as the Book of five rings and Hagakure, these sources are sometimes biased and often did not refer to samurai culture but just the lives of the author. A frightening note is that the rest of the material seems ot be directly plagarized from both internet rescources, such as the Samurai Archives and material written by Dr. Stephen Turnbull. Overall I defintly cannot recomend this book.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Straight from the internet to you,
By Kitsuno (Honolulu, United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Samurai: The Philosophy of Victory (Hardcover)
A mishmash of sections grabbed from various parts of the internet and a few random history books, squashed together for a quick buck. Swathes are taken from the samurai-archives website and books by Stephen Turnbull, although granted odds are that the author wrote this book while most of the plagiarized information was on wikipedia before it was removed. Although wikipedia allows free use of its materials, it is little defense for the author who apparently lacks basic research skills. Save yourself cover price plus shipping and use google instead. It's all on the internet anyway, and buying the book is an encouragement to potential hucksters who want to make a quick buck by cutting and pasting from the internet to their wallets (Or maybe I'll just copy a bunch of stuff from Wikipedia and publish it for a little pocket-lining myself). Skip this and buy the originals by Musashi, Turnbull, and Yamamoto Tsunetomo. Go to the source and skip the fluff. Major disappointment, but three cheers for Amazon's return policy.
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