The Book of Five Rings
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The Book of Five Rings
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Narrated by:
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Scott Brick
About this listen
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 readers of earlier times on the battlefield and now serves the modern listener 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 17th-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.
©2002 William Scott Wilson (P)2010 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
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What listeners say about The Book of Five Rings
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Robert Berggren
- 29-10-20
A good way
It is inspiring to me to think about training and hear this over and over again. I do miss a good friend who moved away. He would have enjoyed practicing the true way with me.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Chantelle Hudson
- 05-01-19
Great Martial artist book
A great book if you want to learn more of the individual and how he thought of martial arts
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Andrew Hammond
- 09-03-19
Ancient wisdom
This book undoubtedly contains deep ancient wisdom of approaches to combat and swordsmanship which can be difficult to follow at times, or to decipher what is being suggested. I came away thinking it would be far better to read the book in the traditional manner as I'm sure it would provide visual demonstrations of the concepts being discussed. One phrase I will undoubtedly take away from this book is "You should practice this thoroughly" as it is repeated to the extent of being a little irritating; to me at least.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mr R A Nitman
- 13-03-18
Interesting listen
Really enjoyed this book. The narration was good, especially considering its a translation, and the story is very interesting.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 18-08-17
struggled with the narration very monotone
book is great although a physical copy is probably better the narration however I found quite monotone so hard to finish in one sitting
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 28-05-23
philosophy through the lens of a master swordsman
This book resonates well with general themes of Eastern philosophy combined with martial arts in equal parts, some interesting philosophy concepts were discussed in ways to apply to martial arts which also can be broadly applied to any area of life by reframing the concepts of the book to the given scenario.
"once you know the way broadly, you can see it in all things" - Miyamoto Musashi
9.5/10, highly recommend.
pros:
easy reading, interesting throughout
easy to understand
thought provoking good philosophy concepts
cons:
highly specific on sword fighting in some parts (can you really blame him though)
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Aidan O'Donnell
- 15-12-23
An inner strength, from a different time
Especially because of how short and easy to digest this is, go for it.
I listened to it on runs and it definitely effected my performance, you must investigate this thoroughly.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- wesley vasili james
- 20-05-19
5 star
really intresting listen, wise words for any combat athlete to consider, narration was ok, I would have preferred for a last samuria style narration.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Steve
- 05-12-14
Classic book for martial artists
If you could sum up The Book of Five Rings in three words, what would they be?
Budo, budo & budo
What did you like best about this story?
If you are not a martial artist or have little interest in the martial arts this is not for you. However, every martial artist will find a mind set and pattern that should be all to familiar to them. The authors instruction is simple but direct without any subtle backgrounds that you have to try and fathom. Whilst the exact details focus very specifically on Musashi's own sword style the message being put across is applicable to all martial arts....
Which character – as performed by Scott Brick – was your favourite?
There is only one character
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
N/A
Any additional comments?
The initial introduction is a little long and drawn out in my opinion and seems to last longer than the actual book itself. I personally enjoyed the narrators voice as it added to the age of the book putting it in context to the time of it's writing
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- michael brookes
- 29-06-24
Interesting book. Worth a listen.
The book is interesting and shows similarities between sun tzu and also reminds me of the havamal where odin speaks. they all have common themes and wisdoms. Worth a listen.
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