A Brief History of the Samurai cover art

A Brief History of the Samurai

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A Brief History of the Samurai

By: Jonathan Clements
Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
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About this listen

From a leading expert in Japanese history, this is one of the first full histories of the art and culture of the Samurai warrior. The Samurai emerged as a warrior caste in Medieval Japan and would have a powerful influence on the history and culture of the country from the next 500 years. Clements also looks at the Samurai wars that tore Japan apart in the 17th and 18th centuries and how the caste was finally demolished in the advent of the mechanized world.

©2010 Jonathan Clements (P)2014 Audible Ltd Asia Europe Japan Medieval Military Samurai World Warrior War Thought-Provoking

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All stars
Most relevant  
Clear and engaging tale for the most part. Good narration, jarring cuts and edits aside.

Compelling and accessible history.

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My knowledge of this time period was very basic so that made it a little difficult to follow to begin with but it was great once it got going. Covered a lot of aspects of the time period in adequate detail.

It was a bit strange to hear this book by read by educated English accent but it did give it authority.

Interesting book

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My interest here was to find out something of the Samurai - this was my first look.

what I found here was a wonderful listen,very well read and it held lots very interesting content.

Little is known of the Samurai themselves, pre the sixteenth century.
There is an introduction that delves into the murky historical beginings.

Even from the later periods it seems problematic to find the true historical Samurai.

There is a lot of myth and embelishment surrounding the stories and history, especially when focusing on the actual historical charactors.

Happily for the layman, me, this book is not too dry and was a very approachable overall.

Even with what I have said above there is still much to be learned about this intriguing period in history.

I feel my time was well spent in the company of this book ...
i would definitely recommend it, if your at all interested in it.

i will happily revisit it to absorb more from it.

The same author has another book on audible 'A brief history of Japan.' which is on my radar to listen to.

And with that dear reader, may I bid you goodluck and farewell.

chasing down the Samurai

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A Brief History of the Samurai by Jonathan Clements. The book, although informative, fell short in several areas: the way events were chronicled was like a samurai drunk on sake, a clear set of convictions were missing & pronunciations of words seemed wrong. 📚3/5🌟 #BookReview

Follow me on Twitter @zennyreadsalot for more cutting tweets

Samurai drink on sake

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I don't speak Japanese, so I had no idea about whether the pronunciation is correct or not, which some listeners have commented on. The narrator did a fantastic job. Bringing drama to the text and emphasis when needed. Very interesting subject.

Great narration.

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this book offers a good starting point if you want to know more about the history of Japan and the Samurai.

my one critique is that there must have been recording issues as the main narrators voice drops out to be replaced by another briefly but frequently. both have decent narrtion voices but it is slightly jarring

A srong starting point for a history of Japan

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This book covers all history from rise is the Samurai to the modern days. It’s very interesting especially from someone who is not Japanese to learn history and also understand references on Samurai culture and values in Japanese culture and also it gives a good view how and why Japan developed very differently than the rest of the world.

Fascinating history of Japan!

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Any additional comments?

As a Japanese school child, Japanese History was just dates and names, but this audiobook brought these historical people and incidents to life for me. Samurai are all too often depicted through rose tinted glass, but Clements delivers the stories of human foibles with a dry sense of humour, and he got me laughing out loud often.

I have been a massive fan of European history but not of my own country, because of the way history was taught in Japan when I was a child. If this was my History textbook, I would have read it in bed.

The only reason why I gave four stars, not five, for the performance is because Keeble's pronunciation of Japanese words are often incorrect. Otherwise his delivery lets you suck into the drama of Japanese history.

It is well researched, and quotes and anecdotes are so well chosen that you cannot help but be interested in these historical characters and incidents. It is not a long book, but Clements achieves a lot, telling the story of the long era of samurai concisely, and educate and entertain you at the same time. I would recommend this for anyone who is interested in Japan or History.

Anecdotes bring life to samurai history

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Not an expert in this subject, but this was a clear and informative history. Thoroughly recommended.

Well written. Well read.

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I loved hearing about the life and ways of samurai in a neat timeline but I really didn't enjoy listening to so many Japanese words being read in an English way. If you don't know any Japanese, it probably won't bother you. But, if you do, I'm sure you'll find it a bit irritating. The first few hours felt particularly difficult to listen to because of that. But still, a good book none the less.

Full of information in a nice timeline but...

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