[( A Brief History of the Samurai: The True Story of the Warrior )] [by: Jonathan Clements] [Mar-2010] by (PDF)

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⭐Jonathan Clements author of A Brief History of the Samurai: The Way of Japan’s Elite Warriors presents the history of Japan where the Samurai played a vital role with in a concise 300 page, while also avoiding the dry textbook prose. His intimate knowledge of the Japanese language and culture permits him to inquire into substantial detail and degrees of the blemished literature of already existing local recorded history. Clements describes the rise of the Samurai, varying affluence of the elite families, the side-lining of several emperors, the politics of the feudal lords that commanded them, the alliances that were prevalent, conspiracies, the clashes of the clans that took place within the country, as well as the myths surrounding the Samurai and the impacted their history of modern Japan. He gives a new view of the image of the Samurai as it changed and ultimately died out in Japan’s history, yet still has an influence in the national soul.This is well written, very clear and appealing and while some sections throughout the book were a hard to get through, but overall this book brings a certain perceptive and interest to this fascinating subject. On a minor note it would have been nice to have some illustrations, like the maps at the beginning but throughout the novel to clarify certain points raised and the last chapter, which links the Samurai to modern Japan. Throughout the entire book Clements managed to contain an unforgivably lewd and outstandingly hilarious double entendre that is itself causing the book to be a refreshing read. The last part was a bit unauthentic and took away from the historical perspective and should have been kept out of the book or placed in a side note and told to the read that way. But by and large this is a fascinating and informative read. This gives enough detail to make you feel informed, whilst not becoming stale or a slog to read and the assorted battles and wars made for gripping and exciting reading.Jonathan Clements is most definitely without a doubt well qualified to both analyze and comment on the history of the Samurai. He is an author of many books on East Asian history, including biographies of the empress and emperor, statesmen, warriors, foreign visitors and outcast rebels. His many works have been translated into over a dozen languages including: French, Spanish, Korean and Dutch, and he even achieved a rare honor of having his book on the First Emperor of China was itself published in Chinese. Even though it is not common Clements included fully sourced with references that helped him compile an index, maps, charts, and even family trees, so that the reader can easily know `Who was Who’ and `Where’ throughout the novel. The only `thumbs-down point with in this brief history is the poor editing and proofreading that either was or was not done. The author, Clements seemed to be non-bias throughout the book and a steady regular based, and remained objective throughout the entire novel. Clements put both the good and bad, the facts, about the Samurai warriors and remained solely focused on the Samurai and their life style, allowing the reader to get an up close and personal look and learn about the real Samurai and not what pop cultural makes the Samurai warrior out to be, but the factual Samurai. I agree with the conclusion of The Brief History of the Samurai: The Way of Japan’s Elite Warriors, especially the way it ties both the Samurai of the 16th and 17th Century with the modern thinking of the 21st century and how people can still see the ties linking the past with the present. I personally think that the linking of past and present is what helps push people toward a better the future.

⭐The author explains history related to the subject from the 6th into the 19th centuries. The material is informative and the author makes it clear what is fact, what is suspected to be fact, and what is likely false or exaggerated. Be prepared to interpret some passages that have incorrect sentences (e.g. Japanese mentioned twice when the author meant Japanese and Korean), some misspellings, and some confusing passages that you may need to read several times.

⭐Great read of history. More of there battles and timelines, not how they lived, or what they believed in. Would definitely suggest it if your interested in timelines of emperors

⭐A very interesting read. Although, it was true to its word in being brief (a definitive history would fill many books). It was very informative. I learned something about the code of bushido and its history in Japan.

⭐It is just as the title suggests, and I banged it out in a day. Not boring in any way, filled with what is known of early Japanese history,which ain’t much…I really enjoyed it.

⭐I read this not having had much of an introduction into Japanese history and found it to be very enjoyable. It’s a nice blend of thorough historical facts and intriguing anecdotes.

⭐A good solid history, not too down in the detail. The writer has achieved the perfect balance with excellent analysis to close.

⭐Such a wonderful book! Beautifully written , it tells the stories of the Samurai with a remarkable balance between history and literary fiction( the tales of the Samurai can not be separated from fiction). Highly recommended!

⭐I might send this back. I thought it would teach me how to fight with a sword the ancient way but turns out its for clever people who want to know about history. I read it and learned so much my red neck family have disowned me. It has a lot of big words and it hurt my head but I feel better for reading it. I learned a lot but its of no value on the Mcfry station. I might apply to Waggamamas but without a man bun I dont fancy my chances.Tbh this book has messed up my future as I was on 4 stars and now Im throwing it all away. Dont read it unless u want to learn stuff.

⭐I found the overall history content fascinating as did not know much about Japan. By isolating themselves from the West their development was so different and interesting. I did not realise how much power the Samurai used to have in the country, basically a military regime with the Emperor as a figurehead. Despite being a ‘brief’ history the battles seemed endless with incredible detail and complicated names (for me). I took a morbid curiosity in the constant brutality and cruelty and the frequency with which hari-kari was performed, the details of which are shocking. A more painful way to commit suicide can’t be imagined. Brave or mad? I was quite relieved when the Samurai lost their power and the country was more or less forced to interact with the rest of the world.

⭐If you are doing some type of history project on the samuri then this book may be useful, if you want a good story book to read whilst on holiday then this book isnt really for you, i feel id of got more out of a documentary program than trying to stay focused on this book, i had to re-read multiple pages because i couldnt stay on track

⭐A small paperback, that might be ok as a reference for a History student but without pictures it is very dry. A picture paints a thousand words as they say?

⭐I knew almost nothing about the samurai before I read this book apart from having watched a few Japanese films so I cannot comment on the accuracy. However the extensive notes at the end evidence that this is obviously well researched and he supports arguments he makes. Importantly the book is incredibly entertaining and well written. I can’t say I want to read another book about the samurai but I think that is largely because this book has satiated my interest in the topic.

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