When the undefeated samurai Miyamoto Musashi retreated to a cave in 1643 and wrote The Book of
Five Rings a manifesto on swordsmanship strategy and winning for his students and
generations of samurai to come he created one of the most perceptive and incisive texts on
strategic thinking ever to come from Asia.Musashi gives timeless advice on defeating an
adversary throwing an opponent off-guard creating confusion and other techniques for
overpowering an assailant that will resonate with both martial artists and everyone else
interested in skillfully dealing with conflict. For Musashi the way of the martial arts was a
mastery of the mind rather than simply technical prowess and it is this path to mastery that is
the core teaching in The Book of Five Rings.William Scott Wilson s translation is faithful to
the original seventeenth-century Japanese text while being wonderfully clear and readable. His
scholarship and insight into the deep meaning of this classic are evident in his introduction
and notes to the text. This edition also includes a translation of one of Musashi s earlier
writings The Way of Walking Alone and calligraphy by Japanese artist Shiro Tsujimura.
