The Lone Samurai; The Life of Miyamoto Musashi

The first biography of this world-renowned and undefeated swordsman, The Loneamurai follows the dramatic escapades of Musashi - author of The Book ofive Rings - from his initial victory at the age of 13 to his earlyretirement' at 30 to pursue a more spiritual path. Wilson provides aiveting account of Musashi's trials and his triumphs, as well as a portraitf the turbulent and dangerous times in which he lived. The authorupplements the story with fascinating insights into Musashi's mind - how heurned his opponents' strength against them, how he outwitted even the mostkilful assailant, how he honed and eventually perfected his style ofwordsmanship and philosophy.

William Scott Wilson was born in 1944 and grew up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. As an undergraduate student at Dartmouth College in 1966, he was invited by a friend to join a three-month kayak trip up the coast of Japan from Shimonoseki to Tokyo. This eye-opening journey, beautifully documented in National Geographic, spurred Wilson's fascination with the culture and history of Japan.
After receiving a B.A. degree in political science from Dartmouth, Wilson earned a second B.A. in Japanese language and literature from the Monterey Institute of Foreign Studies in Monterey, California, then undertook extensive research on Edo-period (1603-1868) philosophy at the Aichi Prefectural University, in Nagoya, Japan.
Wilson completed his first translation, Hagakure, while living in an old farmhouse deep in the Japanese countryside. Hagakure saw publication in 1979, the same year Wilson completed an M.A. in Japanese language and literature at the University of Washington. Wilson's other translations include The Book of Five Rings, The Life-Giving Sword, The Unfettered Mind, the Eiji Yoshikawa novel Taiko, and Ideals of the Samurai, which has been used as a college textbook on Japanese history and thought. Two decades after its initial publication, Hagakure was prominently featured in the Jim Jarmusch film Ghost Dog.