- Hardcover: 224 pages
- Publisher: Osprey Publishing; illustrated edition edition (Oct 30 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1841767409
- ISBN-13: 978-1841767406
- Product Dimensions: 25.1 x 19.3 x 2.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 1 Kg
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #323,846 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
Review
"The best military history series published today--indispensable."
Product Description
The world of the samurai - the legendary elite warrior cult of old Japan - has for too long been associated solely with military history and has remained a mystery to the general reader. In this exciting new book, Stephen Turnbull, the world's leading authority on the samurai, goes beyond the battlefield to paint a picture of the samurai as they really were. Familiar topics such as the cult of suicide, ritualised revenge and the lore of the samurai sword are seen in the context of an all-encompassing warrior culture that was expressed through art and poetry as much as through violence. Using themed chapters, the book studies the samurai through their historical development and their relationship to the world around them - relationships that are shown to persist in Japan even today.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
The samurai were the legendary warriors of old Japan who led noble and violent lives governed by the demands of honour, personal integrity and loyalty. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
The samurai were the legendary warriors of old Japan who led noble and violent lives governed by the demands of honour, personal integrity and loyalty. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stephen Turnbull's best book,
By yury lepiankou (wheeling, IL United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Samurai - The World of the Warrior (Hardcover)
This book goes beyond samurai warfare.It goes into great detail about the origin of samurai traditions and how they still remained intact all the way to world war 2.This book has a lot of illustrations almost one on every page.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stretching its focus beyond the military aspect,
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Samurai - The World of the Warrior (Hardcover)
Samurai: The World Of The Warrior by Stephen Turnbull (Honorary Research Fellow, Department of East Asian Studies, University of Leeds), is an extraordinary historical work that examines the legendary professional and hereditary warrior class of ancient Japan. Stretching its focus beyond the military aspect of the samurai, Professor Turnbull deftly explores the culture and world that surrounded them. Full-color illustrations of classical works of art and artifacts highlight and enhance this informed and informative 224-page cultural and historical exploration with its immersion into the powerful societal, psychological, and physical forces that shaped these strictly disciplined warriors. Samurai: The World Of The Warriors is a welcome and enthusiastically recommended addition to personal, academic, and community library Japanese History and Martial Arts History reference collections and supplemental reading lists.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.5 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews) 18 of 20 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stretching its focus beyond the military aspect,
By Midwest Book Review - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Samurai - The World of the Warrior (Hardcover)
Samurai: The World Of The Warrior by Stephen Turnbull (Honorary Research Fellow, Department of East Asian Studies, University of Leeds), is an extraordinary historical work that examines the legendary professional and hereditary warrior class of ancient Japan. Stretching its focus beyond the military aspect of the samurai, Professor Turnbull deftly explores the culture and world that surrounded them. Full-color illustrations of classical works of art and artifacts highlight and enhance this informed and informative 224-page cultural and historical exploration with its immersion into the powerful societal, psychological, and physical forces that shaped these strictly disciplined warriors. Samurai: The World Of The Warriors is a welcome and enthusiastically recommended addition to personal, academic, and community library Japanese History and Martial Arts History reference collections and supplemental reading lists.
12 of 16 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good not great,
By Bellerephon - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Samurai - The World of the Warrior (Hardcover)
This is a good but not great book. Turnbull is clearly knows quite a bit about his subject and there is a lot of interesting information contained in this book. I think, however that there were a few issues that held "The World of the Warrior" back. First of all, his treatment of Medieval Japanese history is a bit too superficial. I know it was not his intention to write a narrative history, I still think, however, a more systematic approach was needed.The most glaring issue was the fact that he essentially ignores the traditional weapons of the Samurai. The one chapter on weapons focuses on guns and artillery. It was an interesting chapter, but hardly sufficient. Especially when one realizes, as Turnbull himself makes clear, that guns were not Samurai weapons but rather weapons used by peasant soldiers. I am well aware that he did not intend his book to be only about the military aspects of Samurai life, but this book needed at least one chapter about the traditional, medieval weapons of the Samurai. 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Samurai - The World of the Warrior,
By Mike R. Tinsley - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Samurai - The World of the Warrior (Paperback)
I found this book on the Samurai to be very well written. For a novice on this subject, it provided me with a great deal of insite into the history of these individuals. I would recommend this book to anyone. By the way, I was able to purchase a used copy of this bood for $2.50 plus shipping and it looked like new! Check this one out, it is worth it.
|
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > History > Asia > Japan
- Books > History > Military
- Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
