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Summary: words can not express how much I like this book.
Review: this book is simply superb. I read this book 2 years ago and I was enchanted by the characters and amazed at the authors superb writing style. This book gave me faith in humanity, it made me see how much potensial lies with in each of us. It inspired me to become a better human being and to waste not even a moment of my precious life. This book kept me reading for hours on end. I highly recomend this book to people with an open mind. It may change your life!
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Summary: Musashi
Review: This samurai classic is absolutely the most enjoyable historical novel I have ever read. It is a wonderful book and it can be enjoyed by readers of all ages. It will be especially appreciated by those who have made their own way through personal struggle and have seen their efforts rewarded despite the self-doubts they may have experienced during the course of their personal journey. It is a great book.
Rating: 
Summary: Let's be honest for a second.
Review: O.K so Musashi is all these things: Heroic,interesting, LONG, a portrait of an age, filled with great characters like the repentant samurai priest it's a great book about swordsman in 17th century Japan. What it also is is a story of a very unlikeable man who seems to spend his entire life being unfathomably selfish to all he meets including Otzu who fell in love with him while he was tied to a tree (love wasn't blind it was ludicrous) and jotaru the brat. I mean and don't take this the wrong way,.. I think I would have loved this book if I'd read it at sixteen but at 28 I really think I need more substance to a book. Did anyone notice how often people accidently bumped into people they'd not seen for years? At some points I felt like there were only 20 people living in Japan and they all knew Musashi. By the end I was really hoping Musashi would stop taking himself so seriously and take up farming. Also, and I maybe being a philistine here but I'm still not sure what social purpose hacking people up with swords serves. However all in all it was enjoyable and if I didn't like it I wouldn't have made it through the 970 pages.. But and I hope I don't tread on too many toes.. it is not great. A beach book.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic and incredible
Review: 10 years ago I read a book on Japanese martial arts with a brief statement about Miyamoto Musashi and how he was a great swordsman. At that time I thought to myself, "I would like to learn about this man." I never got around to it sadly, until only recently, when another close friend of mine told me that 'Musashi' was "the best novel he had ever read," and recommended that I should get the hardcover version because it is unabridged. Well, what can I say, now it is the best novel that I have ever read. It's incredible, I feel like nothing has (or could've) been lost in the translation. I enjoyed the female and youth/child characters the most; I thought they were wonderfully expressed. If you train in the martial arts, I have a feeling you will enjoy this story even more. My only regret is having waited this long to read it. Don't miss out!
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Summary: Superb story craftsmanship amidst a rousing adventure fest.
Review: More than a conglomeration of pages and ink, Musashi transcends the medium and becomes something to behold. Although the title character, not to mention just about every other figure mentioned in the book, wanders about, the book itself never seems to meander aimlessly. It chronocles the adventures of the reknowned Japanese swordsman Miyamoto Musashi, from his late, late childhood to nearly his thirtieth year. That is an incredible span of time, and the size of the book reflects that, weighing in at just under 1000 pages of small type. But it flows, and, if you allow it, may just provide you with a hero.
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Summary: The greatest samurai story EVER
Review: This is one of my favorite books. How Musashi goes from a rough youth to an acomplished samurai is inspiring, the way the author creates a web of friendships and rivalries between Musashi and Kojiro, his greatest rival, is fantastic. This book is like an adiction, once you star you will not stop until its over, and the you'll star again!
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Summary: Life as life is
Review: The first time I started reading it was through a newspaper series back in 1980's. It was a re-translated version (translated from the English version into Indonesian). The translation was superb. When I got my hand into the English versoin (hardcover), it was like mirror image. Enough on the translation, the book itself inspire me to seek through myself the life it was supposed to be and I am still seeking. It gives the insight of how a great person develops from nothing into a full human being, and of all that, still being humble! Five Star is the maximum allowed here, otherwise, well, you know...
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Summary: LAY DOWN YOUR SWORDS!
Review: ok, folks. my THIRD review of "musashi." why? i simply cannot get it out of my head! no words can describe its beauty. no words can describe the effect it will have on your life (and if you don't believe me, check out the reviews of my fellow readers below). and no words can describe the penultimate chapter "the marriage" which STILL makes me tremble! much more than a book; a life experience.
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Summary: Musashi-man of all milleniums
Review: When i first read Musashi, i was about 12 yrs old, and i was in Switzerland visiting my sister and her husband who were living there. My new brother in law, showed me his collection of books, and i somehow gravitated towards the 5 book series called Musashi. From the first scene at the battlefront, to the last words to Sasaki Kijiro, "...you've already lost Ganryu, or you wouldn't have thrown away your scabbord..." The book is gripping and exciting. Perhaps i should've taken some time to look out the window of the car as the Alps and the rest of Europe flew by, but i couldn't help it. i just finished reading it again, years later, and this time i found even more insight in his way of life. The poetry, the farming, the calligraphy, it teaches a lesson to all, and is a good read for all.
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Summary: A timeless classic
Review: I first read this book back in 1982 while a student attending the American School in Japan in Tokyo. The thousand or so pages of text did seem daunting at first but I could not put the book down ater the first few pages. Not only did it provide me with a greater understanding of my own Japanese heritage (I am half Japanese) but it did offer a greater and fundamental insight into what all of us are searching for -- the understanding of the self, way to approach things seen and unseen around us and a calm awareness of life. I have worked and lived throughout the world (Latin America, West/East Europe, and Russia in addition to the US)since my first reading and find that I am able to identify with the local cultures and find that many of the "lessons" garnered from this epic are also interwoven into the ideals of each of culture. It is also interesting to note that "the way" is now commonly referenced in leading business publications and books (read some of the great recent stuff from Tom Peters and you will see what I mean). The search for such understanding goes back to the Iliad but it is possible to trace the development, maturation and blossom of one single person (in this case Musashi) and experience the continous challenges he must face in order to defeat his demons. The combat scene at the Spreading Pine rivals any such related written description of someone working in a difficult situation but under total self control. Whenever I find myself in a difficult situation, I take time and re-read that chapter. Read the "Book of Five Rings" from the pen of Musahi himself next. At the very least, anyone who wants to gain a deeper understanding into Japanese culture should read this book.
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