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Gran Leon Books - The Book of Five Rings
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List Price: $6.99
Our Price: $6.99
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Shambhala
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Average Customer Rating: 
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Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.809
EAN: 9781590302484
ISBN: 1590302486
Label: Shambhala
Manufacturer: Shambhala
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 192
Publication Date: 2005-01-11
Publisher: Shambhala
Release Date: 2005-01-11
Studio: Shambhala
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Editorial Reviews:
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The Book of Five Rings is one of the most insightful texts on the subtle arts of confrontation and victory to emerge from Asian culture. Written not only for martial artists but for anyone who wants to apply the timeless principles of this text to their life, the book analyzes the process of struggle and mastery over conflict that underlies every level of human interaction. The Book of Five Rings was composed in 1643 by the famed duelist and undefeated samurai Miyamoto Musashi. Thomas Cleary's translation is immediately accessible, with an introduction that presents the spiritual background of the warrior tradition. Along with Musashi's text, Cleary translates here another important Japanese classic on leadership and strategy, The Book of Family Traditions on the Art of War by Yagyu Munenori, which highlights the ethical and spiritual insights of Taoism and Zen as they apply to the way of the warrior.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: 2 for 1
Comment: The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi (Japan 1643) is a must read for those who would study Japan, Bushido, samurai, Japanese sword fighting, etc. Also has modern business applications. Translated by Thomas Cleary which always means a great product.
I already have two (2) other translations of this work and was pleasantly surprised. What sold me was, in the back is another work, "The Book of Family Traditions on the Art of War" by Yagyu Munenori (1632), also tranlated by Thomas Cleary. Two great works by two of Japans most famous (or infamous) samurai. pick it up!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great value
Comment: I won't waste anyone's time or space on reviewing the book itself; there are plenty of great references and articles on the value of its contents. Instead I'll focus on the format itself and this particular printing; for starters, it's a lot smaller and more compact than I expected, but still easy to read. The book itself isn't terribly long, so they managed to keep it small without having to shrink the text too much. It still has all of the add on material by Thomas Cleary, so nothing is lost in the transfer. All in all, a very worthwhile buy if you're looking for an affordable, pocket-sized version of the book, or just need to replace it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Comment: I received it in the time promised and a must read for military personel and historians. Great product and seller.
Customer Rating:
Summary: WARRIORS BIBLE
Comment: Musashi, like every great warrior, knew that strategy was as important as tactics and techniques in combat. This book will teach you things that were learned in combat and will enhance your survival potential on the battlefield, street and life.
It is not the easiest book to interpret and understand, but that hardly matters, as for the information in this book is worth your time and effort. One good book is worth a hundred crummy ones, and this book is one outstanding book. This book is divided into various distinct sections, and the serious and professional warrior should extract as much information as possible from each section. Every time I pick this book up I learn something new. This is the warrior's bible.
I highly recommend this book to all readers.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Business and Martial Arts
Comment:
The book written by the samurai warrior Miyamoto Musashi circa 1645 is considered a classic treatise on military strategy, and it enjoys an audience considerably broader than only that of martial artists: for instance, some business leaders find its discussion of conflict and taking the advantage to be relevant to their work.
The term "Ichi School", which is referred to in the book, Go Rin No Sho, when referring to such books, refers to "Niten No Ichi Ryu", or "Ni Ten Ichi Ryu", which literally translated, means "Two Swords, one heaven".
Throughout the book it is clear: what is primary for Musashi is The Goal, while the means of achieving the goal are secondary. He wrote "According to this Ichi school, you can win with a long weapon, and yet you can also win with a short weapon. In short, the Way of the Ichi school is the spirit of winning, whatever the weapon and whatever its size."
The same is in business: the leaders who are attracted by the goal rather than by embellishments are the true leaders. For example, the dot-com bubble of 2000 was caused by the managers who forgot about the primary goal of the business: net income. Those who were obsessed by their stock prices regarding of massive losses and the lack of revenue became bankrupt. They put attention to the fancy office buildings and furniture rather than to the assets that generate earning. Musashi wrote about it: "Just as a horse must have endurance and no defects, so it is with weapons. Horses should walk strongly, and swords and companion swords should cut strongly. Spears and halberds must stand up to heavy use: bows and guns must be sturdy. Weapons should be hardy rather than decorative".
Musashi also encourages to maintain a balance of your skills throughout your life. This balance could be thought of as Yin and Yang. The balance is to be neither over-familiar with something nor under-familiar. The over-familiarity or over-use of one weapon is not recommended by Musashi, as it would be seen to reveal your spirituality to your enemy, and thus your boisterousness, or over-calm. The over-familiarity makes you stick to a conviction. This is a very important for the business. Take, for example, mr. Warren Buffet.
A quality standing out about Mr. Buffett is his ability to morph. If you read his materials from the 1960s, he said very different things than in the 1970s and early-1980s. Early on he was buying dirt-cheap stocks by simple statistical standards and typically smaller stocks (smallcap), later he bought "franchises", then he entered a period of buying great managements of big companies and being a long-term holder, then, amazingly, he was buying smaller things dirt cheap again just as value came back into play as the twenty-first century began. He tactically morphed steadily over the decades. Trying to freeze his tactics from any decade and replicate them in the next few would never have led you to his actual actions. Musashi wrote about that this way: "You should not have a favourite weapon. To become over-familiar with one weapon is as much a fault as not knowing it sufficiently well. You should not copy others, but use weapons which you can handle properly. It is bad for commanders and troops to have likes and dislikes."
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