Samurai: The Last Warrior

There are traces in our culture that have strong Japanese roots. For example, George Lucas based much of his Jedi characters on old Bushido and Samurai code. To understand the root of this, John Man take a profound insight on the most famous Samurai of all, Saigo Takamori. He became one of the most influential Samurai of all time. The book covers everything from Takamori’s birth to his eventual seppuku. It all leads to how this one man changed not only his country but the world.

The book tries hard to be the bridge that crosses the gap of history text and fictional adventure. Too bad it fails. The informational parts feel boring and sluggish against the faster-paced sections. It’s like watching a movie with a documentary spliced into it. John Man puts up a valiant fight but his writing style can’t pull off what he is trying to do. Put all this together and it all creates a mediocre read. There are far better more engaging books about Samurai out there than this one. Trust me.