CompleteMartialArts.com - Samurai William : The Englishman Who Opened Japan
|
List Price: $14.00
Our Price: $3.87
Your Save: $ 10.13 ( 72% )
Availability: N/A
Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
|
Average Customer Rating:  
|
|
Binding: Paperback
EAN: 9780965124072
Format: Bargain Price
ISBN: 096512407X
Label: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 368
Publication Date: 2003-12-30
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Studio: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
|
|
|
|
|
|
Editorial Reviews:
|
With all the adventure, derring-do, and bloodcurdling battle scenes of his earlier book, Nathaniel’s Nutmeg, acclaimed historian Giles Milton dazzles readers with the true story of William Adams—the first Englishman to set foot in Japan (and the inspiration for James Clavell’s bestselling novel Shogun). Beginning with Adams’s startling letter to the East India Company in 1611—more than a decade after he’d arrived in Japan—Samurai William chronicles the first foray by the West into that mysterious closed-off land. Drawing upon the journals and letters of Adams as well as the other Englishmen who came looking for him, Samurai William presents a unique glimpse of Japan before it once again closed itself off from the world for another two hundred years.
|
|
|
Spotlight customer reviews:
|
Customer Rating:
Summary: Makes history exciting and accessible
Comment: I found this to be a superbly written book, filled with fascinating details and enough excitement to fill a novel. Using quotes from contemporary sources, Milton brings history to life by focusing on the human elements rather than dry chronology. I can't wait to read the rest of Milton's books.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The True Story of the English Entrepreneur.
Comment: When I was gathering material to complete my review on Mr. James Clavell's "Shogun" I saw a reference to this book and can't resist the temptation to bought it and read it. After finishing reading it I was amazed by how deeply Mr. Clavell has grasped this exotic environment in his novel.
Mr. Milton has thoroughly researched the contemporary European sources to build this book. He took into account the diary & letters from William Adams (the historical character on which Clavell's book was based), Richard Cock, the chief English Factor at Hirado (Japan), Captain John Saris and other Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese sources. Japanese sources are omitted. This in my opinion, is not a great setback, because the author is telling the story of the hundred year relationship between Europeans and Japanese from the Europeans stand point of view, and he doesn't claim otherwise.
The amazement and shock, that such a different culture generated on these seamen and merchants is shown in their own words. In one hand the higher cultural level, reflected in the cleanness, sophistication and demeanor of the Japanese, seduce them. In the other hand the harsh justices applied: deaths for minor and major faults, without appellation or mercy, appall them.
The spicy language used by William Adams and his fellow merchants is shown, with minor standardization in order to render it intelligibly for modern readers, recreating their environment and mindset. The book is very entreatingly and provides a colorful sight of that historical period and place.
Enjoy this reading!
Reviewed by Max Yofre.
Customer Rating:
Summary: one of the best books on Japanese/European history
Comment: I'm moving to Japan in a few months and one of my buddies suggested I read the book before I go. It's very entertaining and gives you the mindset behind what makes the Japanese tick-truly amazing culture.
Customer Rating:
Summary: I'm happy to have this book in my shelf
Comment: In my case, I learned about William Adams watching the PBS Empire Series which I recommend as a complement of this delightful book. What a story, supposedly bound to the East Indies as part of a Dutch Enterprise, Williams Adams is one of the few to reach Japan after a long and difficult voyage. From there comes an exquisite recount of Adams stay in feudal Japan of the 1600 which include a view of their customs and cities and the efforts made by other English Men to establish a trade spot in the Land of the Rising Sun. Is impressive how Williams Adams became a personal advisor of the Shogun Ieyasu and how he became part of this culture that remember him even after 200 years of his death. This book was also an excellent portrait of the Portuguese and Dutch East Indies Company of the time, the expulsion of Jesuits and eradication of Catholicism from Japan, and also provide some interesting information about the natives of Africa's Guinea Ecuatorial and of course, the South of Chile (passing the Magellan Strait).
You can see a letter sent by Adams in 1613 in the British library site. Enjoy!!!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Move over, Richard Chamberlain
Comment: Everyone is familiar with "Shogun"; if not the book, then surely the lengthy TV mini-series. But the real story of the English pilot, William Adams is far more interesting. This is a wonderful book that encapsulate an era of exploration, the first halting attempts of economic empire-building, and the dawn of the Shogunate. And while Adams' personal story is not quite as dramatic as James Clavell's pilot, it is certainly more interesting and entertaining. Especially remarkable was to watch the speed of navigational developement and international operations over a period of a mere thirty years. One forgets at times that Jamestown and Plymouth were established within a few years after Adams' arrival in Japan, and by the time of his death, the Eastern Seaboard was almost entirely settled. A wonderful view of a time less well understood and frequently miscaracterized.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|