Samurai: The Japanese Warrior's [Unofficial] Manual

An excellent, humorous beginner's book about samurai, and an entertaining, tongue-in-cheek summary for those with prior knowledge.I took one star off (and would have only taken a half-star off, if possible), not to disparage the book, but as a warning that the book is written in the "style" of an early-17th-century retainer to the shogun of Japan. This gives a false impression that everything about the book is a translation of an original text... which the author clearly states is NOT the case, but only at the very end of the book. Of course, if you're familiar the Unofficial Manuals series, you should be aware of this fact already. But still, just a note of caution.Having said all that, it's a wonderfully entertaining book, well worth the money.

Having read some of his other material, such as "Warriors of Medieval Japan " and "Samurai: The World of the Warrior", Steve Turnbull has become a familiar "go-to" when I need to research, brush up, or just get my fix on this great culture.While Turnbull brings much of his expertise to this compact historical account of what it would be to live like a samurai, it is his contemporary style that makes for a fun read, while remaining accurate to the time-period.A great example of the author's technique is found in the chapter on wearing of clothing and armor (chapter 3): "Oh, and another thing, heavy shin-guards and bearskin boots - no! They are just SO Kamakura period" (p. 53).If this comes across as some inside joke, Stephen Turnbull will give you the inside scoop on many of the samurai terms and practices within the pages of this very useful and fun read!For anyone who wants to get a good all-around overview of the samurai culture without needing to sift-through "typical" non-fiction reading material, this is a fun way to do so!Whether you have extensive familiarity or just a small interest in the samurai, this book is for you!

Was written under the guise of a historical samurai, and passed off as a translated maunual from the edo period, however most of this is fiction with some (about half) the work concerning actual samurai life and culture the other half is just commentary made via meta-thinking western on ancient japanese ideals.... Heard alot about Stephen Turnbull.... This book has but seeds of doubt about his credibility on the subject he as written so much on.

There have been so many books by this author on the Samurai and all are very good, reliable sources of historical information. The material is never "stylized" to fit the Hollywood version of what happened in Samurai life. This one is a bit interesting, as it is written as if you are a new recruit and having to learn your duties and responsibilities within a Samurai clan. I am still searching for which of his books contained the lacing patterns for their armor.

This book is worth the time to read. I loved the way it is written and the lessons that a young samurai would need to learn.

I really enjoyed reading this. Gives you an insight into the psychology of a Sengoku era samurai! Worth a read!

This was a great book and I recommend it to those who like Samurai.

Awesome book!

"SURPRISED" I have always admired Stephen Turnbull and his writings but I have to admit that this book I did not like, I suppose its meant to be a bit of a joke book ?

I've read a lot of things trying to explain samurai life but this was a nice refresher course. The fact that it's written as though by a samurai Lord gives it that something extra.

This is my favourite kind of history book, it's like a 1066 and All That for Samurai lovers. The ultimate manual on how to be a Samurai. First of all Are You A Real Samurai? Answer some multiple answer questions to find out.There's also some handy hints on how to torture a confession out of a criminal if you want to keep law and order. If disaster strikes then there are things you must know if you are to commit seppuku without upsetting your invited audience.......Then there's how to lay seige to a castle and lots of other necessary and handy hints on how to be invaluable to your liege lord. Stephen Turnbull has excelled himself, this is a real laugh.

This is written in a jokey style so you have to be on the same humor wavelength to really enjoy it.Unfortunately I seem to be suffering from SOHF and I would have preferred a less humorous approach.What concerned me is that there seems to be factual errors"For example:there are other grappling techniques that will be of much greater use to you. The first is karate, (Kindle Locations 921-922)."Karate comes from Okinawa and was only introduced to the Japanese mainland in the 1920's

Ótimo livro para aprender não apenas sobre samurai, mas também sobre o Japão. Detalha boa parte dos costumes com uma narrativa bastante divertida.