Customer Rating:  
Summary: Budo
Comment: It's got some interesting takes on Aikido, and some really good photos of O Sensei, but I felt that it wasn't put together cogently, or at least enough to keep my attention. If you like Aikido, I would recommend getting 'the art of peace' before I would recommend this work.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Budo
Comment: Books to do with Morihei Ueshiba are a must for the Aikido student, this book is loaded with great text and photos. Also recommend "The Art of Peace".
Customer Rating:
Summary: Budo: Teachings of the Founder of Aikido
Comment: This is a fascinating book about the life of O'Sensei, arguably the best martial artist of his time, and the founder of the Art of Peace--Aikido. I believe every serious aikido student should read this book. The photographs and stories help to humanize the reality of this man. Far from diminishing his legend, the book reveals just how impressive in reality this man was both physically and spiritually, especially in light of the personal tragedies and hardships he faced and overcame.
Customer Rating:
Summary: I originally bought this for my best friend...
Comment: I originally bought this for my best friend, a random gift. He use to practice Aikido when he was younger and I was hoping to get him interested in it. However the book never left my house because I read the book and decided to keep it for myself. Greedy? Sure. The book is very nice because of the way it is written. It shows poetry written by O'Sensei as well as a brief story of his life. The most interesting part however is the fact that the person who created Aikido appears in the techniques. He is, by the looks of it, in his 30s and 40s, so he does not resemble the famous old man that people reconize. The photos, for there age, are quite detailed. I recommend this for any martial artist.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Technically interesting, but not for the beginner
Comment: This is a technically interesting book, with good, interesting pictures of Ueshiba's technique. The pictures are all black and white, and are all of the middle years of Ueshiba's life. Academically, this is a fairly interesting book, with a short, concise history of Ueshiba's life in the preface. It also contains some relatively rare poetry and literary instruction coupled with helpful discourse on it by the translator, John Stevens, which serves to clarify some rather mystifying esoteric principles. In terms of technique, there is a lot covered here, with good photographs of generally about two or three instances of each technique.
As i said in the title, however, this book is probably not the best for beginners: in my opinion, it's explanations of aikido philosophy and technique are overly esoteric, and can be, at times, rather overwhelming. For beginners, i would recomend "aikido and the harmony of nature" by Mitsugi Saotome, which provides a simple, easily understandable, if slightly lengthy overview on the philosophies of aikido. Technique is for learning from a master, not a book.
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