Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Gramercy Books
Date Published: 1988
ISBN-13:9780517415283ISBN:0517415283
Description: Fair in fair dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 96 p. Audience: General/trade. vERY READABLE HARD COVER WITH DUST COVER, SHELF WEAR AND RUBBING, NO TEARS OR SCORING, ALL PAGES ARE FINE. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Gramercy
Date Published: 1988
ISBN-13:9780517415283ISBN:0517415283
Description: Good. Used Condition-GOOD can be a well cared for Book that is in great condition to a Book that may show some signs of wear. GOOD Books sometimes are permanently marked; have some spine or page creases; exibit signs of aging or an ExLibrary copy. ** Sometimes grease pencil or permanent marking on cover. May contain limited notes and or highlighting. 100% Satisfaction guaranteed on all purchases. ** SHIPS FROM USA-Domestic Delivery takes 5-14 days ** read more
"Pay no attention to my rating, as this is not a judgement on Musashi's book, but rather the audio version of the book. For me, Musashi's Book of Five Rings is a book that, after listening to it, I learned that I could only truly understand his writings by reading it and then, rereading it.
The Book of Five Rings is similar to Sun Tsu's Art of War, in that it was a book written in a different time for a different situation, but even so, it is timeless in it's applications to life, business, martial arts and other areas.
Five Rings seperates itself into Five Books : Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Void. Each of these books deals with a seperate aspect of the whole Way that Musashi teaches.
This book, especially the audio version, is not meant to be understood, let alone applied or mastered upon first venture. This is a study material to return to and reflect upon time and time again.
Because of this, for Miyamoto Musashi's Book of Five Rings I cannot truly give a rating."
"I'll be honest, I only read about halfway through the book. I had wanted to read it because I thought it was about the history and legend of the samurai period of Japan. In actuality, it is a book on strategy and technique for sword fighting, war, and the samurai code. In some ways it is similar to Sun Tzu's The Art of War. The publishers of this edition of the book mentioned several times that businessmen in today's world could use the teachings of Miyamoto to "vanquish" the competition and make their businesses do well. Well yay for them. I just wanted some cool stories of samurai challenges and battles and whatnot. Which I didn't find here."
"Unlike Sun Tzu, this is a very cryptic and almost a purist's philosophical text. Very introspective in nature.
It is infinitely easier to comprehend and process (or at least begin to) with at least a basic understanding of the Kendo martial art before going into it... the psychological disciplines involved moreso than the actual swordsman techniques, though knowledge of both seems like an obvious requirement as some of the examples assume the reader knows how the mind & body flows through certain sword movements.
If one of the following applies to you, it will completely go over your head: 1) You have a politically-correct-knee-jerk-reaction to anything that is pro-warfare 2) You have a morbid fear of the concept of hermitage 3) You're one of those "martial artists" that trains just to feel "tough" about yourself
oh, and skip the intro... read a bio about Musashi somewhere else if need be, but skip it. It is so nullifying (and littered with inaccuracies) that you will need to step away from the book for at least a few hours before feeling purged and fresh again."
"Look, if you don't carry around two swords and challenge other masters, this book may seem like a stretch...but as you gathered I am not dual-sword carrying master and I really enjoyed the short text.
Take-away thesis: - If you choose to engage someone in battle do it entirely, with every intent to vanquish your opponent...this seems like a good rule for anything in life - The Way is beset by many distractions, but all may be overcome with practice, discipline and introspection.
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