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Legends of the Samurai
- Narrated by: Walter Dixon
- Length: 14 hrs and 39 mins
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Over the decades, the reputation of the samurai has grown to mythical proportions, owing to such films as Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai and Yojimbo, as well as works such as James Clavell's epic Shogun.
In Legends of the Samurai, Hiroaki Sato confronts both the history and the legend of the samurai, untangling the two to present an authentic picture of these legendary warriors.
Through his masterful translations of original samurai tales, laws, dicta, reports, and arguments accompanied by insightful commentary, Sato chronicles the changing ethos of the Japanese warrior from the samurai's historical origins to his rise to political power.
A fascinating look at Japanese history as seen through the evolution of the samurai, Legends of the Samurai stands as the ultimate authority on its subject.
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Mr. Henty weaves a story of the life and times of King Richard the Lion-hearted that is yet to be equaled. Cuthbert de Lance, the hero of the story, is of Norman blood on his father's side and Saxon by his mother. By providing timely aid to the Earl of Evesham, Cuthbert is rewarded by being allowed to go to the Crusade as his page. He gains a reputation for valor and prowess due to gallant deeds, and his resourcefulness not only helps King Richard but aids Cuthbert in many a 'hairbreadth escape'.
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Fantastic adventure for all ages!
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Alexander of Macedon
- By: Harold Lamb
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 14 hrs and 58 mins
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The enigma of Alexander the Great has remained with us for 2,300 years. In spite of the best efforts of historians, Alexander is no less a mystery to us now than he probably was during his own lifetime. There was no one like him before or since. In the pages of Harold Lamb's intriguing Alexander of Macedon, we find some of the answers to the great riddle of his character.
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Read Arrian first
- By cbrann on 10-16-05
By: Harold Lamb
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Robert Graves continues Claudius' story with the epic adulteries of Messalina, King Herod Agrippa's betrayal of his old friend, and the final arrival of that bloodthirsty teenager, Nero.
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The Deified King of Historical Fiction
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In the spring of 1839, Britain invaded Afghanistan for the first time. Nearly 20,000 British and East India Company troops poured through the high mountain passes and re-established on the throne Shah Shuja ul-Mulk. On the way in, the British faced little resistance. But after two years of occupation, the Afghan people rose in answer to the call for jihad and the country exploded into violent rebellion. The First Anglo-Afghan War ended in Britain's greatest military humiliation of the 19th century.
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Read the hard copy
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Alexander the Great
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Alexander was born into the royal family of Macedonia, the kingdom that would soon rule over Greece. Tutored as a boy by Aristotle, Alexander had an inquisitive mind that would serve him well when he faced formidable obstacles during his military campaigns. Shortly after taking command of the army, he launched an invasion of the Persian Empire, and continued his conquests as far south as the deserts of Egypt and as far east as the mountains of present-day Pakistan and the plains of India.
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Great book!
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By: Philip Freeman
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Sword for Hire
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When his father is killed at Arsuf protecting King Richard, Thomas is knighted. His hopes of inheriting his family's manor are dashed when Prince John takes power in his brother's absence. With a handful of men, Sir Thomas is forced to travel to Sweden where he joins the Jarl Birger Brosa fighting the Estonians, Karelians and Slavs. Fighting in the harsh environment of a Baltic winter makes Sir Thomas and his men stronger. There he learns of further treachery and dishonour among Bishops, Kings and Princes who value thrones more than men.
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A rollicking ride through the 13th century
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By: Griff Hosker
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Nero's Killing Machine
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The 14th Gemina Martia Victrix Legion was the most celebrated unit of the early Roman Empire - a force that had been wiped out under Julius Caesar, reformed, and almost wiped out again. After participating in the a.d. 43 invasion of Britain, the 14th Legion achieved its greatest glory when it put down the famous rebellion of the Britons under Boudicca.
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Read anything by this author.
- By Norbert S. Matson on 05-20-17
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Children of Earth and Sky
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From the small coastal town of Senjan, notorious for its pirates, a young woman sets out to find vengeance for her lost family. That same spring, from the wealthy city-state of Seressa, famous for its canals and lagoon, come two very different people: a young artist traveling to the dangerous east to paint the grand khalif at his request - and possibly to do more - and a fiercely intelligent, angry woman posing as a doctor's wife but sent by Seressa as a spy.
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Deep Echoes of the Sarantine Mosaic
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Mark Antony's Heroes
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This fourth book in Dando-Collins’ definitive history of Rome’s legions tells the story of Rome’s 3rd Gallica Legion, which put Vespasian on the throne and saved the life of the Christian apostle Paul. Named for their leader, Mark Antony, these common Roman soldiers, through their gallantry on the battlefield, reshaped the Roman Empire and aided the spread of Christianity throughout Europe.
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Well worth listening to
- By Acteon on 06-14-15
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An Excellent History of the Samurai
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Not much new here if you are already familiar
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Great Way to Experience the Book Again
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Pt 2 was delightful (+no cringey pronunciations!!)
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Great, great read
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Content great - pronunciation not so much
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Great book. Terrible narration.
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Zero analysis just-the-story history
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A Brief Review of the Book
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The Unfettered Mind
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The Unfettered Mind of a Genius
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Great book
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The Rise of Modern Japan
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Noted Japan expert Professor Mark J. Ravina of the University of Texas at Austin covers the politics, economics, and culture of the island nation since World War II - a conflict that saw the end of Japan’s dream of regional conquest, which Professor Ravina calls Empire 1.0. The country’s postwar leaders radically changed course, renouncing a strong military to pursue Empire 2.0 - Japan as an economic colossus.
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A great introduction to modern Japan
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China and Japan
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China and Japan have cultural and political connections that stretch back 1,500 years. But today, their relationship is strained. China's military buildup deeply worries Japan, while Japan's brutal occupation of China in World War II remains an open wound. In recent years, less than 10 percent of each population had positive feelings toward the other, and both countries insist that the other side must deal openly with its history before relations can improve. Ezra Vogel's China and Japan examines key turning points in Sino-Japanese history.
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China & Japan is first rate by a top scholar
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What listeners say about Legends of the Samurai
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Andy Capo
- 11-29-18
Lots of interesting tid bits.
Even if the reader anglicized the japanese words and phrases, as this seems to bother some folks, I thoroughly enjoyed these retellings of old legends very much, and would definitely recommend this work for anyone interested in the Samurai class. Anglicized Japanese dosen't negate the research and compilation that ie presented here.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Jonathan D.
- 02-07-22
Poetry and Philosophy
This book has a lot of fantastic stories of the samurai and tide to those stories are their poems and philosophy about how they lived, fought, and died.
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- Sharon S. Dorondo
- 06-25-17
Like nails on a chalkboard....
With so many Japanese names, places, quotes and poetry, couldn't they get a reader who could pronounce them correctly? The reader was good if it was English, but treated what is a beautiful language, terribly. I believe it did this book a great disservice. Listening to the readers pronunciation of Japanese, was like nails on a chalkboard. There was lots of good information, but the mispronunciation for me was very distracting and frustrating. Unfortunate.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Alphonse
- 04-03-23
Pronunciation
The content itself was great. Really cool stories and some background provided to explain the culture of Japan for people unfamiliar to it.
The narration was pretty bad. The narrator should have looked up Japanese pronunciation guides, which are pretty easy for English speakers to grasp. Either that, or a different narrator who already knew at least a little Japanese should have been hired. As someone actually studying the language, I found the Japanese excerpts impossible to understand.
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- tyler
- 11-29-17
Pretty Bad
What would have made Legends of the Samurai better?
I downloaded this for a class I was in. The reader nearly put me to sleep when I was listening.
What could Hiroaki Sato have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?
This subject wasn't much of interest to me. So with that being said it is difficult for me to give an unbiased opinion
How did the narrator detract from the book?
He was very monotone. I did not enjoy his voice and I thought his reading style was boring.
You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?
I helped me realize and recognize that the samurai were a complex and proud people. But they were also babaric. Very good historical account, probably would enjoy it if you were into asian history.
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- wiley dutkiewicz
- 10-19-19
Meh
Meh. The narrator is horrible. Bad bad bad pronunciation. It's an older audiobook. It just hurts my inner samurai pizza cat.
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3 people found this helpful
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- B
- 09-27-17
Not Worth the Purchase or the Listen Even if Free
This is by far the worst audio book I have listened to thus far. There was no sense of organization and it frequently skipped around to different eras. It would make sense had this been advertised as a collection of short stories taken from noted historical tellings. My initial impression was there would be linear story telling of the ways of the samurai. Instead, it's hours and hours of pronunciations being butchered and stories being told in a random fashion. The narrator sounded so dull and tired it seems as if he too hated reading the book. There was no emotion in any retelling and was one solid flat pitch for hours. Seriously struggled to get through this.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Anna C
- 07-29-24
Needed a narrator familiar with Japanese
So... a book full of Japanese names and long quotations from Japanese poetry, so let's get a reader with no knowledge of Japanese at all? There was no one else available?
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