I remember one was by James Clavell, the author of Shogun, and while I was a fan of his fiction, I really thought this was bad.
One was by a retired Special Forces NCO or officer and enjoyed it the most but I can't remember the translator.
But as pointed out, in the late 80s, several different editions came out that were targeted towards corporate strategy than anything else. I'm guessing if you find one in the Asian arts or Philosophy section of your bookstore these days, it will be one of the more traditional translations.
If you want to get a flavor of the period and the person, look at
Yes It's fiction but it was written in 1935 by Eiji Yoshikawa about the life of Miyamoto Musashi and it's a fun read. If I remember, it's around a 1,000 pages so it's not a quick read but what the hell.
That's just for 2008 though... I'd open it up to other years.
First up is anything by Umberto Eco. He's the guy who wrote "Name of the Rose", but his other books are phenomenal. If you hated "The DaVinci Code" then check out "Foucalt's Pendulum". He makes Dan Brown look mildly retarded. His novels are so heavy and serious that I was surprised by his tiny book of essays "How To Travel With a Salmon" which is hilarious.
Let's see... what else... "Shadow of the Wind" is excellent. The Musashi novels are fun to read. Scaramouche, which was turned into an OK movie. Classics like Cyrano de Bergerac should be required reading.
I had a hard time hunting down all the volumes to "Journey to the West" and it's not a task that should be taken on lightly, but I think I'm a better person for having muscled through them.
I would first recommend Shogun by James Clavell. It's an epic story with a great plot. I don't believe it's too accurate, but it's a good read.
If you want to continue on with historical Japanese literature you can't go wrong with Musashi or Taiko both by Eiji Yoshikawa.
Moving on to more western stuff, I recommend the many James Michener books, but they can be boring at times. My favorite of his is Hawaii.
I'd also recommend Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield about the Battle of Thermopylae.
One of my favorite books of all time... Not just one of the best Samurai books of all time
http://www.amazon.com/Musashi-Eiji-Yoshikawa/dp/4770019572
Samurai. No look further than Musashi!
Check out Musashi after you're done.
Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa, based loosely on the life of famed swordsman Miyomoto Musashi.
It's epic in scope and follows several different points of view, sort of a Japanese Game of Thrones meets Count of Monte Cristo.
Check out some of Yoshikawa's writing specifically Musashi and Taiko.
Sorry, They are all packed up right now.
I remember one was by James Clavell, the author of Shogun, and while I was a fan of his fiction, I really thought this was bad.
One was by a retired Special Forces NCO or officer and enjoyed it the most but I can't remember the translator.
But as pointed out, in the late 80s, several different editions came out that were targeted towards corporate strategy than anything else. I'm guessing if you find one in the Asian arts or Philosophy section of your bookstore these days, it will be one of the more traditional translations.
If you want to get a flavor of the period and the person, look at
http://www.amazon.com/Musashi-Eiji-Yoshikawa/dp/4770019572/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1302727882&sr=1-4
Yes It's fiction but it was written in 1935 by Eiji Yoshikawa about the life of Miyamoto Musashi and it's a fun read. If I remember, it's around a 1,000 pages so it's not a quick read but what the hell.
Here's what I was reading at that age. It was awesome.
http://www.amazon.com/Musashi-Eiji-Yoshikawa/dp/4770019572
It's an epic book, based in reality. It's a fictionalized biography of Miyamoto Musashi, likely the most famous swordsman ever to have lived.
Musashi: http://www.amazon.com/Musashi-Eiji-Yoshikawa/dp/4770019572
Forget the other crap and get Musashi.
Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa
That's just for 2008 though... I'd open it up to other years.
First up is anything by Umberto Eco. He's the guy who wrote "Name of the Rose", but his other books are phenomenal. If you hated "The DaVinci Code" then check out "Foucalt's Pendulum". He makes Dan Brown look mildly retarded. His novels are so heavy and serious that I was surprised by his tiny book of essays "How To Travel With a Salmon" which is hilarious.
Let's see... what else... "Shadow of the Wind" is excellent. The Musashi novels are fun to read. Scaramouche, which was turned into an OK movie. Classics like Cyrano de Bergerac should be required reading.
I had a hard time hunting down all the volumes to "Journey to the West" and it's not a task that should be taken on lightly, but I think I'm a better person for having muscled through them.
Links:
http://www.amazon.com/Name-Rose-Everymans-Library-Cloth/dp/0307264890/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228637805&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.com/Foucaults-Pendulum-Umberto-Eco/dp/015603297X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228637841&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.com/Travel-Salmon-Other-Essays-Harvest/dp/015600125X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228637864&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Wind-Carlos-Ruiz-Zaf%C3%B3n/dp/0143034901/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228637894&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.com/Musashi-Eiji-Yoshikawa/dp/4770019572/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228637921&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.com/Scaramouche-Rafael-Sabatini/dp/0554360268/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228637963&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.com/Cyrano-Bergerac-Edmond-Rostand/dp/0451528921/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228637993&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.com/Journey-West-4-Boxed-Set/dp/7119016636/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228637756&sr=8-1
Musashi http://www.amazon.com/Musashi-Eiji-Yoshikawa/dp/4770019572 "sold 120 million copies in Japan."
Get on that shit.