The Book of Five Rings - Miyamoto Musashi

Category: Adults, Education, History, Military
Language: English
Keywords: Instruction Philisophy Warfare

Written by Miyamoto Musashi
Read by Scott Brick
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc.
Release date: June 30, 2010
Duration: 02:41:26

The Book of Five Rings is a text on kenjutsu and the martial arts in general. Setting down his thoughts on swordplay, on winning, and on spirituality, legendary swordsman Miyamoto Musashi intended this modest work as a guide for his immediate disciples and future generations of samurai. He had little idea he was penning a masterpiece that would be eagerly devoured by people in all walks of life centuries after his death.

Along with The Art of War by Sun Tzu, The Book of Five Rings has long been regarded as an invaluable treatise on the strategy of winning. Musashi’s timeless advice on defeating an adversary, throwing an opponent off-guard, creating confusion, and other techniques for overpowering an assailant was addressed to the readers of earlier times on the battlefield and now serves the modern reader in the battle of life.

In this new rendering by the translator of Hagakure and The Unfettered Mind, William Scott Wilson adheres rigorously to the seventeenth-century Japanese text and clarifies points of ambiguity in earlier translations. In addition, he offers an extensive introduction and a translation of Musashi’s rarely published The Way of Walking Alone.

… For more than three centuries, it has provided lessons that may be applied in many contexts. This edition includes biographical information and general background that put the author and the work into historical context. Scott Brick assumes the tone of a teacher standing before a group of passionate students. He speaks with authority without being pedantic or condescending. The audio format may not be useful to those who wish to study the material, but it lends itself to using individual chapters as guides to introspection and meditation. J.E.M. (c) AudioFile 2011

When A Book of Five Rings first appeared on North American bookshelves in 1974, its message took the business community by storm. It provided insight into the then-emerging Japanese influence and offered a new way to think about business. It instantly became a vital tool for assured success and has remained so ever since.The principles in this work are as true today as they were over 300 years ago, and are as valid for business negotiations as for hand-to-hand combat. Based in the principles of Zen and advocating a hands-on approach to mastering the skills for winning, A Book of Five Rings is very likely the most perceptive… Musashi establishes a “no-nonsense” theme throughout the text. For instance, he repeatedly remarks that technical flourishes are excessive, and contrasts worrying about such things with the principle that all technique is simply a method of cutting down one’s opponent.