Five Rings

Written by legendary Japanese swordsman Musashi Miyamoto, The Five Rings (c.1645) is a brilliant exposition of the struggle for mastery. Combining swordfighting techniques with Zen philosophy, this classic Bushido text - devoted to achieving success through strategy and tactics - is as relevant today as it was to the 17th-century samurai. Miyamoto's teachings, based on a lifetime of experience in battle, give us unfaltering guidance on the path to victory. The book advises the reader on psychological tactics to put the enemy off guard, on ways to forestall an attack and on the importance of observation. This is also one of the great Japanese treatises on aesthetics and spirituality, speaking to us of the essential role of harmony in the way of the warrior.