Rating: 
Summary: Strong in content but a rough read...
Review: In terms of content this is a great book. Personally I'm more interested in the life of the Samurai during pre-Restoration Japan than the martial arts per se and Samurai life is covered admirably in the first third of the book. Topics include the Japanese feudal system, history, education, religion (to a small extent) etc. The quality of research and the level of detail are excellent. The author regularly challenges the reader's perception of the Samurai as obtained through popular fiction, revisionist history, and other sources. Based on the content alone I understand why this book is so highly recommended. However the writing can at best be described as academic. The text consists of elongated sentences wound together into equally drawn out paragraphs that are just plain tiring. If you are a student of the martial arts or Japanese history that is also fortunate enough to have obtained a law degree then you will love this book. However, if you are like me then you will probably wish that someone would take this wonderful book and re-write it in plain English.Test your reading skills and powers of concentration on the sample excerpts before buying.
Rating: 
Summary: Phantasmagoria
Review: Samurai is a very good work on several levels. It contains very entertaining illustrations, good detail on obscure topics and based on excellent research. The authors brought to light many of the obscure ideas and overall feeling of the martial arts. This book is not full of legend but appears to stand on verifiable, historical facts. On the downside, it was too wordy. I spent extra time rereading the text to get the idea when a simple and direct way to get the point across would work. Critical ideas were not upfront and some chapters went on and on and in the end, said very little. In popular and in martial art writing, it is usually better to stay away from words like phantasmagoria, oscillate, and integrative. Recommended reading for the mature martial artist and for those cross-training into other branches of self-defense.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Good Book
Review: Secrets of the Samaurai is an excellent book for anyone interested in learing about Japanese martial arts or wishing to expand existing knowledge about the subject.It is well written and fairly easy to read, however it is recommended that one takes their time when doing so as it contains a frightening amount of terminology.It can be used as a reference book and is a must buy if you are a fan of the martial arts.
Rating:
Summary: Required reading
Review: SECRETS OF THE SAMURAI is definitely required reading for any serious student of the Japanese martial arts. The text is informative and very entertaining and the illustrations have become staples of martial arts posters and patches.
Rating:
Summary: Required reading
Review: SECRETS OF THE SAMURAI is definitely required reading for any serious student of the Japanese martial arts. The text is informative and very entertaining and the illustrations have become staples of martial arts posters and patches.
Rating:
Summary: A classic comprehensive survey
Review: Solid research, great writing, and illustrations that bring the world of the martial arts of feudal Japan to life on the page.
Rating:
Summary: Fundamental in every Martial-Arts library
Review: This book is the best one you can read to take a perspective of the evolution of Japanese Martial Arts from a historical point of view. It is rigous and covers all the fundamental aspects of this beautifull subject.
Rating:
Summary: This is ok, but could be much better.
Review: This book offers an alright overview of the evolution of Japanese Budo. I don't feel it's written very well, because there seems to be a lot of repetition, and some parts seemed to be not well thought out and just glazed over. I wish they would have done better referencing so that if you were interested in researching a fact or story, you could do so easily.
Rating:
Summary: Great Work!
Review: This is one of the definitive books on the subject of Japanese bujutsu and medieval history. While several books cover the techniques themselves, this wonderfully-illustrated text devotes itself to the evolution of armed and unarmed Japanese combat systems, as well as the innermost workings and hierarchy of the "ryuha", the historical ancestor of the modern dojo. A good, affordable (and thick!) read for the martial artist or historian.
Rating:
Summary: A Comprehensive Study, But Facts are Shaky
Review: This is truly an impressive attempt to cover all of the martial skills that the fuedal warriors of Japan studied. Unfortunately, their section on Aiki-jujitsu and Aikido has some serious errors. First, they claim that Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido was the only legitimate heir of the Daito Ryu school of aiki-jujitsu. This is incorrect. Tokumine Takeda, son of Sokaku Takeda (Ueshiba's Daito Ryu teacher for over a decade), was the heir of Daito Ryu. The current headmaster is Katsuyuki Kondo. There are also several other branches of Daito Ryu: Kodokai, Roppokai, and Takumakai, which were started by students of Takeda Sokaku who were actually senior to Ueshiba. Ratti and Westbrooke also stated that Daito Ryu no longer exists, and that we have no way of knowing today the techniques of the the Daito Ryu. Again, untrue. Daito Ryu is one of the most widely practiced traditional styles of martial arts (Koryu Budo) in Japan. Finally, they state with some authority that Daito Ryu descended from Prince Sadasumi. This cannot be verified, even by Daito Ryu practitioners. Like many oral tales, it is a history that people accept in the absence of confirming or contradicting evidence. What is disturbing is that after twenty years, this information was never updated. Perhaps this was because Ratti and Westbrook did not use any original source, i.e. Japanese, material (at least I did not see any when I glanced through the glossary). Perhaps it was because they felt some need to promote aikido at the expense of Daito Ryu. It does not matter, really. Writing a traditional Japanese martial art out of any book that purports describe the history of Japanese martial arts is a gaffe that makes me wonder what else about the book they have gotten wrong. I give the book three stars for effort, but let the buyer beware. When reading, don't believe anything until you verify, verify, verify.
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