| The Book of Five Rings | 
 enlarge | Author: Musashi Miyamoto
Creator: William Scott Wilson
Publisher: Kodansha Europe
Category: Book
List Price: £13.99
Buy New: £10.49
You Save: £3.50 (25%)
New (30) Used (9) from £6.74
Avg. Customer Rating:  5 reviews
Sales Rank: 69276
Media: Hardcover
Edition: New Ed
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 160
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.5 x 0.7
ISBN: 4770028016
Dewey Decimal Number: 181
EAN: 9784770028013
ASIN: 4770028016
Publication Date: April 1, 2002
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
 Old Wisdom with New Lessons July 1, 2007
The Book of Five Rings (Go Rin No Sho) "IS" a great book, if you take time to properly absorb and understand ALL of its teachings. It's not a very long book and so would be easy to read a few times over so that you get a proper flavour of the important message being presented.
A better and easier to digest version (IMHO) of this small book is "Samurai Strategies: 42 Martial Secrets" by by Boye De Lafayette Mente, who very cleverly summarises this book into 42 easy to digest and understand and apply chapters.
The ideas in this book are NOT dangerous to anyone in the least, IF you balance and apply ALL of the lessons within it - that's the idea that the great undefeated warrior Musashi was trying to put across. The life saving principles he expounds here are designed to help us all have a better, easier and more fulfilled life, Martial Artist or not. His strategies can be applied and used by anyone.
"A knife is dangerous for anyone - you just have to learn how to use is safely & intelligently"
We are all so lucky & truly blessed that, nearly 400 years ago, someone called Lord Hosokawa had the foresight to ask the ageing Musashi to write down his secrets of success. Musashi himself was not only extremely talented but must have been a very intelligent man for his time to write such a treatise.
The comment about this book not being for for beginners is misleading I think, it isn't that hard to understand and extrapolate the true meaning and intentions that Musashi was trying to put across.
I do believe William Scott Wilson's translation has to be one of the best of the various ones available. Although there are cheaper copies of this particular translation available, so look around for Willam's name. However, this hardback version uses a very pleasing typescript that is easy one the eye.
Don't be put off by ANY of the negative criticisms below, it's only because they've missed the point or just quickly scanned & glossed over the book.
Although we are not entirely certain of Musashi's religious bent, Musashi bases his book [loosely] on the Zen Buddhist philosophies of the Five Elements - Earth, Water, Fire, Wind & Emptiness. One of his close associates was Takuan Soho, author of "The Unfettered Mind"
Investigate Before Buying November 24, 2004
5 out of 10 found this review helpful
This book is interesting and insightful, even enlightening perhaps.
But it is important to know what you are getting before paying for it.
It is not really a book for beginners (I consider myself a beginner in the Martial arts). It contains no pictures besides Musashi's beautiful rendition of a bird on a bamboo cane (he was a superb artist as well as Samurai). The instructions in here will, I believe, take years of interpreting. I think they're cheifly useful after you have learnt a Martial Art (in my case a Kung Fu pattern) and wish to deviate from/develop your fighting skills.
Musashi's two sword style is appropriate not just for Sword work, but also hand-to-hand combat, simply because (exceptions aside) we all have two arms/hands. This is easy to forget.
Musashi's philospohy is worth studying. He advises his students to become aquainted with all the arts. Yet at the same time to simplify their lives.
Bare in mind that Musashi was an undefeated Samurai. He challenged many martial artists to fights. You might wish to consider how such a combative person's philosphy might influence you. If you have violent/competetive tendencies, then don't buy this book (although it will probably be right up your street).
If combat is your thing, check out The Art of War too.
Overall, a valuable insight into the mind of a Samurai. To be respected, and not abused.
dont listen to the guy who gave it a low score July 30, 2004
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
this book is not about technique, it is his opinions on how the go beond the technique,, its about THE WAY in martial arts (but not just martial arts), its about how to gain the phycological and physical edge USING YOUR OWN TALENT AND EXPERIENCE!!!!!!!!, its about developing as a person, its about the phycological edge you should gain in any confontation, he tells you WHAT instruments you use (eyes, posture ect) to gain the these edges on your apponent,, but not HOW to use them because HIS ideas will not apply to everyone as everyone does a diffent art and even people from the same art fight diffently and are all of on a different path, he stresses everyone should learn their own way. this book gives musashi's opinions on other martial arts and how techniques are learnt that are useless in real battle or confrontation, this is only an opinion of musashi and opinions cannot be rated. It only hapens to be written in the context of martial arts because musashi was a martial artist, but nowadays musicians, business men along with martial artists use this tital. this book is for anyone.
 Why did he bother to write this ? September 21, 2003
2 out of 58 found this review helpful
Useless, completely impractical book that serves absolutely no purpose. A waste of your time to read. Of no interest to those in martial arts, as it shows no techniques. It simply focusses on some ... well lets just say some curious philosophy.
An Awseome Insight September 16, 2003
16 out of 17 found this review helpful
This is a fantastic book. You are recieving a lesson in "the way" from a man who has spent his entire life trying to follow and discover the way. He is not just talking about these things in an abstract mannor he has lived through countless battles and proven his beliefs time and time again. Read this book, then read it again and carry on reading it and taking something new from it each time. The lessons which can be learned are endless.
Listen to the words of a truly great swordsman offering his final lessons to his students for after he is gone.
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