After being shipwrecked in Japan, adopted, and taught the Way of the Warrior at samurai school, Jack is ready to embark on the next chapter of his training: the Way of the Sword. His lessons involve fighting blindfolded, using a b-o staff, and finding messages in origami—all while withstanding the constant pressure of being a foreigner. The stakes are raised even higher when the school holds a contest. The winners will learn the great samurai Masamoto-sama's secret martial arts technique.

How the samurai cultivated Zen, relating its teaching of a free and spontaneous mind to the experience of a warrior in individual combat, and finding philosophical strength in Zen as they prepared themselves for death.

Young Samurai: The Way of the Warrior is the first book in this blockbuster series by Chris Bradford August 1611. Jack Fletcher is shipwrecked off the coast of Japan - his beloved father and the crew lie slaughtered by ninja pirates. Rescued by the legendary sword master Masamoto Takeshi, Jack's only hope is to become a samurai warrior. And so his training begins. But life at the samurai school is a constant fight for survival. Even with his friend Akiko by his side, Jack is singled out by bullies and treated as an outcast. With courage in his heart and his sword held high, can Jack prove himself and face his deadliest rival yet? 'A fantastic adventure that floors the reader on page one and keeps them there until the end' - Eoin Colfer ***You can learn more about Chris Bradford and his books at www.youngsamurai.com.***

A multidisciplinary overview of current research into the enduringly fascinating martial artefact which is the sword.

Miyamoto Musashi's Go Rin no Sho or the book of five rings, is considered a classic treatise on military strategy, much like Sun Tzu's The Art of War and Chanakya's Arthashastra. The five "books" refer to the idea that there are different elements of battle, just as there are different physical elements in life, as described by Buddhism, Shinto, and other Eastern religions. Through the book Musashi defends his thesis: a man who conquers himself is ready to take it on on the world, should need arise.

Awarded the Navy Cross for gallantry under fire, Staff Sergeant Jeremiah Workman is one of the Marine Corps’ best-known contemporary combat veterans. In this searing and inspiring memoir, he tells an unforgettable story of his service overseas–and of the emotional wars that continue to rage long after our fighting men come home. Raised in a tiny blue-collar town in Ohio, Jeremiah Workman was a handsome and athletic high achiever. Having excelled on the sporting field, he believed that the Marine Corps would be the perfect way to harness his physical and professional drives. In the Iraqi city of Fallujah in December 2004, Workman faced the challenge that would change his life. He and his platoon were searching for hidden caches of weapons and mopping up die-hard insurgent cells when they came upon a building in which a team of fanatical insurgents had their fellow Marines trapped. Leading repeated assaults on that building, Workman killed more than twenty of the enemy in a ferocious firefight that left three of his own men dead. But Workman’s most difficult fight lay ahead of him–in the battlefield of his mind. Burying his guilt about the deaths of his men, he returned stateside, where he was decorated for valor and then found himself assigned to the Marine base at Parris Island as a “Kill Hat”: a drill instructor with the least seniority and the most brutal responsibilities. He was instructed, only half in jest, to push his untested recruits to the brink of suicide. Haunted by the thought that he had failed his men overseas, Workman cracked, suffering a psychological breakdown in front of the men he was charged with leading and preparing for war. In Shadow of the Sword, a memoir that brilliantly captures both wartime courage and its lifelong consequences, Workman candidly reveals the ordeal of post-traumatic stress disorder: the therapy and drug treatments that deadened his mind even as they eased his pain, the overwhelming stress that pushed his marriage to the brink, and the confrontations with anger and self-blame that he had internalized for years. Having fought through the worst of his trials–and now the father of a young son–Workman has found not perfection or a panacea but a way to accommodate his traumas and to move forward toward hope, love, and reconciliation.

Three Japanese swordsmen recorded their philosophy, experiences and ideas during their lifetime in the 16th and 17th centuries. Hiroaki Sato's translation of their work is an illuminating and revealing book on the basic elements of strategy.

In this YA fantasy adventure by a New York Times–bestselling author, a shapeshifter must stop a demon from using a dragon to destroy the world. One thousand years ago, a wish was made, and a sword of rage and lightning was forged. Kamigoroshi. The Godslayer. A weapon powerful enough to seal away the formidable demon Hakaimono. Now he has broken free . . . Kitsune shapeshifter Yumeko has one task: take her piece of the ancient and powerful Scroll of a Thousand Prayers to the Steel Feather temple in order to prevent the summoning of the great Kami Dragon, who will grant one wish to whomever holds the scroll. But she has a new enemy now, more dangerous than any she has yet faced. The demon Hakaimono is free at last, and he has possessed the very person Yumeko trusted to protect her—Kage Tatsumi of the Shadow Clan. Hakaimono has one goal: break the curse of the sword and set himself free to rain chaos and destruction over the land forevermore. To do so, he will need the scroll. And Yumeko is the only one standing in his way. Books in the Shadow of the Fox trilogy: Shadow of the Fox Soul of the Sword Night of the Dragon Praise for Shadow of the Fox “One of my all-time favorite fantasy novels! I’m in love with this book, its characters, its worldbuilding!” —Ellen Oh, author of the Prophecy and Spirit Hunters series “Kagawa uses elements of Japanese mythology and folklore to spin an epic yarn . . . readers will be drawn into the world of Kagawa’s first Japan-based fantasy; with its engaging action scenes and the cliffhanger ending, they will look forward to the next volume. Action-packed adventure.” —Kirkus Reviews “Kagawa’s series starter never disappoints; she’s a vet at putting realistic characters within believable worlds, here doused in Japanese folklore.” —Booklist