Anecdotes bring life to samurai history

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.

38 people found this helpful

Everything is good other than the pronunciation of Japanese words

This was an engaging listen (with respect to history books in general). The performance was good overall but I have one complaint. Please, please(!) do a bit of research before narrating a book to learn how to pronounce names in another language. It shouldn’t be so hard to figure this out, right? And the people involved with making audiobooks should want to do a good job by correctly pronouncing names or words in another language, right? And it isn’t just one or two Japanese words I’m talking about, this book is about Japan! So if it was me who was narrating this book, I wouldn’t just make up pronunciations as I see fit but actually look up how these words are pronounced. Otherwise, it’s just cultural disrespect. It’s not just Western people who listen to these books about other cultures, so please, a little bit more sensitivity about other’s people’s cultures and languages.

12 people found this helpful

Long and boring

Too much detail and very forgettable. I prefer shorter and more captivating stories and just couldn't get into this.

3 people found this helpful

Dry

Would you try another book written by Jonathan Clements or narrated by Jonathan Keeble?

Yes, but I would read any reviews first.

Who was your favorite character and why?

N/a

What aspect of Jonathan Keeble’s performance might you have changed?

None really.

You didn’t love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?

It was interesting in places but it listed lots of facts without being thought provoking.

3 people found this helpful

A srong starting point for a history of Japan

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

2 people found this helpful

It’s just too long!

Very interesting and gives a great level of detail. However,I felt that it was repetitive and after couple of hours it didn’t seem to provide any new information. Unfortunately, I couldn’t carry on and gave up.

1 person found this helpful

Not really a history of Samurai

This book is more history of Japan's aristocracy than the Samurai. It is quite informative but not what I was truly looking for. It is quite long and tedious.
The narrator. . . oh dear! I have listened to Jonathan Clements narrate some detective books and apart from his VERY audible intakes of breath, I have found him ok. In this book he is sooo frustrating and annoying! His pronunciation of the Japanese words is appalling! He even butchered the name Gautama. Towards the end of the book he pronounces Samurai differently every time he says it.

1 person found this helpful

An interesting and informative introduction

The narration is clear and concise, although I can make no comment on the pronunciation of Japanese words as some other reviewers have. The writing style is precise and scholarly. I shall certainly look for other titles by the same author.

1 person found this helpful

in Depth chronological work

Having spent time travelling throughout Korea and Japan I was able to associate much of the content to places and perceived historical lifestyles. I much enjoyed the well measured clear narrative but the content may be a little too detailed for a passing interest.

1 person found this helpful

Title is a Misnomer

What disappointed you about A Brief History of the Samurai?

It was actually an account of the aristocracy of Japan rather than about the Samurai themselves. A certain amount of background is required to understand the theme but the background became the bulk of this book. I'm sure a book entitle a 'Brief History of European Knights' would be disappointing if it was mainly about the Kings and Queens of Europe.

Who might you have cast as narrator instead of Jonathan Keeble?

Anyone who had had a brief lesson in Japanese pronunciation. It was distracting at times.

You didn’t love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Not for me, I'm afraid, I found it tedious.

Any additional comments?

Change the title to a 'Brief History of Japanese Rulers'.

4 people found this helpful