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1. Moving Zen: One Mans Journey to the Heart of Karate (Bushido--The Way of the Warrior) by C. W. Nicol
Product Description Moving Zen: One Man's Journey to the Heart of Karate is a multifaceted work with ever-surprising depths. It is the story of a young man arriving in Japan to come to grips with an alien culture; his first two, hard years studying the technique of, and spirit behind, Karate; and, finally, the story of how he learned the art of gentleness through strength. Twenty-two-year-old C. W. Nicol, born in Wales, a student of Judo since fourteen, the youngest pro wrestler in England, and a member of three arctic expeditions, arrives in Japan in 1962 to study Karate. He shortly finds that the study of this martial art engages his whole being and transforms his outlook on life. Joining the Japan Karate Association, or Shotokan, he discovers that Karate, while being extremely violent, also calls for politeness and a sense of mutual trust and responsibility. He learns that the stronger the Karateka, the more inclined he is to be gentle with others. The dangerous ones are those who have gained a measure of skill but have not yet achieved spiritual maturity--a fact he observes not only in others but in himself. Studying kata, he comes to realize that these forms are, in essence, moving Zen and that the ultimate goal of all the martial arts is tranquility. Eventually C. W. Nicol, through the help of many wonderful teachers, gains his black belt. In the meantime he has taken a huge step forward in achieving the goal of tranquility. This saga--must-reading for all martial artists and anyone interesting in "moving Zen"--was first published in 1975 and has achieved the status of a modern classic. C. W. Nicol is now a seventh-dan blackbelt in the Shotokan Karate International Federation. Previously published as Moving Zen: Karate as a Way to Gentleness. Now with a new foreword by Hirokazu Kanazawa and a new afterword by C. W. Nicol. ... Read moreCustomer Reviews
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2. Return to Stillness: Twenty Years with a Tai Chi Master by Trevor Carolan
Product Description Trevor Carolan studied Tai Chi, meditation, and traditional Chinese healing for twenty-three years under the guidance of the late Master Ng Ching-Por in Vancouvers Chinatown. Over his many years of practice and learning, Carolan absorbed the wisdom that comes from studying so closely with a master teacher. Now, in Return to Stillness, he offers what the Japanese call "palm of the hand" tales: thirty brief chapters that explore the essential motivations that inspired him to adopt the path of Tai Chi and persevere in its practice. By connecting the spiritual aspects of Tai Chi to its technical and martial elements like breathing, dealing with frustration and competetive urges, and then ultimately to its roots in the great harmony of the Tao, Carolan gracefully conveys the insight, humor, life lessons, and wisdom inherent in the study of this ancient discipline. ... Read moreCustomer Reviews
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3. The pillowbook of Dr. Jazz: Travels along Asia's Dharma Trail by Trevor Carolan
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4. Angry White Pyjamas: A Scrawny Oxford Poet Takes Lessons From The Tokyo Riot Police by Robert Twigger
Product Description Adrift in Tokyo, translating obscene rap lyrics for giggling Japanese high school girls,, "thirtynothing" Robert Twigger comes to a revelation about himself: He has never been fit nor brave. Guided by his roommates, Fat Frank and Chris, he sets out to cleanse his body and mind. Not knowing his fist from his elbow, the author is drawn into the world of Japanese martial arts, joining the Tokyo Riot Police on their yearlong, brutally demanding course of budotraining, where any ascetic motivation soon comes up against bloodstained "white pyjamas" and fractured collarbones. In Angry White Pyjamas, Twigger blends, the ancient with the modern--the ultratraditionalism, ritual, and violence of the dojo (training academy) with the shopping malls, nightclubs, and scenes of everyday Tokyo life in the 1990s--to provide a brilliant, bizarre glimpse of life in contemporary Japan. Adrift in Tokyo, "thirtynothing" Robert Twigger came to a revelation about himself: He had never been fit or brave. Guided by his roommates, he set out to cleanse his body and mind. Not knowing his fist from his elbow, the author is sucked into the world of Japanese martial arts and joins the Tokyo Riot Police on their year-long, brutally demanding course of budo training, where any ascetic motivation soon comes up against blood-stained "white pyjamas" and fractured collarbones. In this entertaining book, Twigger blends the ancient with the modern--the ultratraditionalism, ritual, and violence of the "dojo" (training academy) with the shopping malls, nightclubs, and scenes of everyday Tokyo life in the 1990s--to provide a brilliant, bizarre glimpse of contemporary Japan.Adrift in Tokyo, "thirtynothing" Robert Twigger came to a revelation about himself: He had never been fit or brave. Guided by his roommates, he set out to cleanse his body and mind. Not knowing his fist from his elbow, the author is sucked into the world of Japanese martial arts and joins the Tokyo Riot Police on their year-long, brutally demanding course of budo training, where any ascetic motivation soon comes up against blood-stained "white pyjamas" and fractured collarbones. In this entertaining book, Twigger blends the ancient with the modern--the ultratraditionalism, ritual, and violence of the "dojo" (training academy) with the shopping malls, nightclubs, and scenes of everyday Tokyo life in the 1990s--to provide a brilliant, bizarre glimpse of contemporary Japan. ... Read moreCustomer Reviews
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5. My Journey in Karate: The Sabaki Way by Kancho Joko Ninomiya
Product Description This is the autobiography of Japan's beloved karate champion, Ninomiya, who is dedicated to budo, the warrior code of conduct. It offers an appealing model for facing challenges in the modern world. ... Read moreCustomer Reviews
Before beginning his study of kyokushin karate at the age of 15, Ninomiya practiced judo. After making the transition to karate, Ninomiya never turned back and had the dream of becoming a karate champion. The book explains how he would go to different karate schools in Japan and challenge the top students to improve his skills. He challenged different schools in a dignified way, he never used bully tactics. After hearing about the all-Japan karate tournement, Ninomiya practiced diligently for years until he was able to win first place. In the book, he talks about his training and preparation, his fights and the people who helped him become better as a martial artist and as a person. I like the way Ninomiya emphasizes that karate is not about winning tournaments and beating people up, it's about confronting yourself and pushing beyond what you are today. Master Ninomiya admits that he did not realize the true meaning of karate until after he had accomplished one of his goals. Sometimes that's what it takes because after we win something or accomplish something big, we often ask ourselves "now what?" and become complacent. We should fight against this complacency because it will only make things harder in the long run. Towards the end of the book, Ninomiya gives his opinion of "no holds barred" fighting contests. I agree with Ninomiya that "no holds barred" contests appeal to a morbid curiosity. People often watch these types of contests and are happy to see someone lying flat on their back at the end of a match or seriously hurt in some way. Ninomiya founded The Sabaki Challenge which is a real karate tournament, but he has a point system that emphasizes technique to minimize injuries.
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6. Iron and Silk by Mark Salzman
Amazon.com Review In 1982, Salzman flew off to teach English in Changsha, China. He writes of bureaucrats, students and Cultural Revolution survivors, stripping none of their complexity and humanity. He's gentle with their idiocies, saving his sharpest barbs for himself (it's his pants that split from zipper to waist whilst demonstrating martial arts in Canton). Though dribs of history and drabs of classical lore seep through, this is mostly a personal tale, noted by the Los Angeles Times for "the charmingly unpretentious manner in which it penetrates a China inaccessible to other foreigners." Product Description Salzman captures post-cultural revolution China through his adventures as a young American English teacher in China and his shifu-tudi (master-student) relationship with China's foremost martial arts teacher. Customer Reviews
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7. Autumn Lightning: The Education of an American Samurai by Dave Lowry
Product Description Blending autobiography and history, Lowry offers an engaging portrait of the medieval Japanese samurai tradition and its survival in modern America. "A well-written, refreshing change from the standard martial arts fare."--Library Journal. 3 drawings. 3 halftone photos. ... Read moreCustomer Reviews
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8. Sensei by David Charney
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9. Sensei II: Sword Master by David Charney
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10. The Man Who Never Missed by Steve Perry
Product Description Once a ruthless soldier, Emile Khadaji has disappeared from the Confederation-with a secret plan to destroy it all in the name of freedom. ... Read moreCustomer Reviews
This is a great novel for what it is - a mythic tale of a hero, how he was formed, and the beginnings of his battle against an unassailable (and of course evil) foe. If you're looking for characters who are "ordinary mortals" or for some philosophy deeper than "good must triumph over evil", you won't find it here. But the thoroughly enjoyable tale that Perry weaves made me look past these points. Sure, TMWNM isn't a great piece of literature, but it's a helluva fun story. And in the end, don't you want to be entertained as much as enlightened?
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11. Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel
Amazon.com Review So many books have been written about the meditation side of Zen and the everyday, chop wood/carry water side of Zen. But few books have approached Zen the way that most Japanese actually do--through ritualized arts of discipline and beauty--and perhaps that is why Eugen Herrigel's Zen in the Art of Archery is still popular so long after it first publication in 1953. Herrigel, a philosophy professor, spent six years studying archery and flower-arranging in Japan, practicing every day, and struggling with foreign notions such as "eyes that hear and ears that see." In a short, pithy narrative, he brings the heart of Zen to perfect clarity--intuition, imitation, practice, practice, practice, then, boom, wondrous spontaneity fusing self and art, mind, body, and spirit. Herrigel writes with an attention to subtle profundity and relates it with a simple artistry that itself carries the signature of Zen. --Brian Bruya Product Description The path to achieving Zen (a balance between the body and the mind) is brilliantly explained by Professor Eugen Herrigel in this timeless account. This book is the result of the author's six year quest to learn archery in the hands of Japanese Zen masters. It is an honest account of one man's journey to complete abandonment of 'the self' and the Western principles that we use to define ourselves. Professor Herrigel imparts knowledge from his experiences and guides the reader through physical and spiritual lessons in a clear and insightful way. Mastering archery is not the key to achieving Zen, and this is not a practical guide to archery. It is more a guide to Zen principles and learning and perfect for practitioners and non-practitioners alike. Features: Customer Reviews
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12. Zen and the Art of Street Fighting: True Battles of a Modern-Day Warrior by Jack Sabat
Product Description In the author's portrayal of the causes, dynamics, and outcomes of real-life fights from Tijuana to Japan, Sabat applies the Budo (the martial way) philosophy in this powerful, personal account of 30 years of karate study emphasizes the mental as well as physical demands of the sport. ... Read moreCustomer Reviews
BTW he would win in most all fights on the street. He is a very powerfull fighter. Also... A gun can take care of anyone so please dont say that if somebody came up to him with a gun he'd lose...
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13. Unsui: A Diary of Zen Monastic Life by Giei Sato
Product Description Although the lines of the palm of the hand are barely visible in the early light, the monks of the Tofukuji monastery have been about their familiar rounds of daily tasks for several hours. Their routine is simple but faithfully practiced. Within its repetition lies the key to the self and the Buddha who resides within. The daily life of the monastery is portrayed here in ninety-seven watercolor sketches. Drawn during his last years by the Zen monk Giei Sato, these sketches recollect his days as an unsui, an apprentice monk. With humor and steadfast warmth Sato depicts the day of leaving home and the day of returning; the rainy season and the snowy season; the chores, the celebrations, the days of cleaning, and the days of begging. Each of the charming drawings is enhanced by a brief description of the event portrayed, a touch of Zen teaching, or a note on monastic life. ... Read moreCustomer Reviews
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14. Karate-Do: My Way of Life by Gichin Funakoshi
Product Description Linking the time when karate was a strictly Okinawan art of self-defense shrouded in the deepest secrecy and the present day, when it has become a martial art practiced throughout the world, is Gichin Funakoshi, the "Father of Karate-do." Features:
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1. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
Product Description An international publishing sensation, Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo combines murder mystery, family saga, love story, and financial intrigue into one satisfyingly complex and entertainingly atmospheric novel. Amazon.com Review Amazon Best of the Month, September 2008: Once you start The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, there's no turning back. This debut thriller--the first in a trilogy from the late Stieg Larsson--is a serious page-turner rivaling the best of Charlie Huston and Michael Connelly. Mikael Blomkvist, a once-respected financial journalist, watches his professional life rapidly crumble around him. Prospects appear bleak until an unexpected (and unsettling) offer to resurrect his name is extended by an old-school titan of Swedish industry. The catch--and there's always a catch--is that Blomkvist must first spend a year researching a mysterious disappearance that has remained unsolved for nearly four decades. With few other options, he accepts and enlists the help of investigator Lisbeth Salander, a misunderstood genius with a cache of authority issues. Little is as it seems in Larsson's novel, but there is at least one constant: you really don't want to mess with the girl with the dragon tattoo. --Dave Callanan Features: Customer Reviews
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2. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
Product Description The stunning third and final novel in Stieg Larsson’s internationally best-selling trilogy Amazon.com Review Amazon Best Books of the Month, May 2010 As the finale to Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest is not content to merely match the adrenaline-charged pace that made international bestsellers out of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played with Fire. Instead, it roars with an explosive storyline that blows the doors off the series and announces that the very best has been saved for last. A familiar evil lies in wait for Lisbeth Salander, but this time, she must do more than confront the miscreants of her past; she must destroy them. Much to her chagrin, survival requires her to place a great deal of faith in journalist Mikael Blomkvist and trust his judgment when the stakes are highest. To reveal more of the plot would be criminal, as Larsson's mastery of the unexpected is why millions have fallen hard for his work. But rest assured that the odds are again stacked, the challenges personal, and the action fraught with neck-snapping revelations in this snarling conclusion to a thrilling triad. This closing chapter to The Girl's pursuit of justice is guaranteed to leave readers both satisfied and saddened once the final page has been turned. --Dave Callanan Features: Customer Reviews
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3. Mockingjay (The Final Book of The Hunger Games) by Suzanne Collins
Product Description Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she’s made it out of the bloody arena alive, she’s still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what’s worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss’s family, not her friends, not the people of District 12. Powerful and haunting, this thrilling final installment of Suzanne Collins’s groundbreaking The Hunger Games trilogy promises to be one of the most talked about books of the year. ... Read more Customer Reviews
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4. The Girl Who Played with Fire (Vintage) by Stieg Larsson
Product Description Part blistering espionage thriller, part riveting police procedural, and part piercing exposé on social injustice, The Girl Who Played with Fire is a masterful, endlessly satisfying novel. Amazon.com Review Amazon Best of the Month, July 2009: The girl with the dragon tattoo is back. Stieg Larsson's seething heroine, Lisbeth Salander, once again finds herself paired with journalist Mikael Blomkvist on the trail of a sinister criminal enterprise. Only this time, Lisbeth must return to the darkness of her own past (more specifically, an event coldly known as "All the Evil") if she is to stay one step ahead--and alive. The Girl Who Played with Fire is a break-out-in-a-cold-sweat thriller that crackles with stunning twists and dismisses any talk of a sophomore slump. Fans of Larsson's prior work will find even more to love here, and readers who do not find their hearts racing within the first five pages may want to confirm they still have a pulse. Expect healthy doses of murder, betrayal, and deceit, as well as enough espresso drinks to fuel downtown Seattle for months. --Dave Callanan Features: Customer Reviews
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5. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Product Description This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read moreCustomer Reviews
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6. Freedom: A Novel by Jonathan Franzen
Product Description Patty and Walter Berglund were the new pioneers of old St. Paulthe gentrifiers, the hands-on parents, the avant-garde of the Whole Foods generation. Patty was the ideal sort of neighbor, who could tell you where to recycle your batteries and how to get the local cops to actually do their job. She was an enviably perfect mother and the wife of Walter’s dreams. Together with Walterenvironmental lawyer, commuter cyclist, total family manshe was doing her small part to build a better world. But now, in the new millennium, the Berglunds have become a mystery. Why has their teenage son moved in with the aggressively Republican family next door? Why has Walter taken a job working with Big Coal? What exactly is Richard Katzoutré rocker and Walter’s college best friend and rivalstill doing in the picture? Most of all, what has happened to Patty? Why has the bright star of Barrier Street become a very different kind of neighbor,” an implacable Fury coming unhinged before the street’s attentive eyes? In his first novel since The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen has given us an epic of contemporary love and marriage. Freedom comically and tragically captures the temptations and burdens of liberty: the thrills of teenage lust, the shaken compromises of middle age, the wages of suburban sprawl, the heavy weight of empire. In charting the mistakes and joys of Freedom’s characters as they struggle to learn how to live in an ever more confusing world, Franzen has produced an indelible and deeply moving portrait of our time. Amazon.com Review Amazon Best of the Month, August 2010: "The awful thing about life is this:" says Octave to the Marquis in Renoir's Rules of the Game. "Everyone has his reasons." That could be a motto for novelists as well, few more so than Jonathan Franzen, who seems less concerned with creating merely likeable characters than ones who are fully alive, in all their self-justifying complexity. Freedom is his fourth novel, and, yes, his first in nine years since The Corrections. Happy to say, it's very much a match for that great book, a wrenching, funny, and forgiving portrait of a Midwestern family (from St. Paul this time, rather than the fictional St. Jude). Patty and Walter Berglund find each other early: a pretty jock, focused on the court and a little lost off it, and a stolid budding lawyer, besotted with her and almost burdened by his integrity. They make a family and a life together, and, over time, slowly lose track of each other. Their stories align at times with Big Issues--among them mountaintop removal, war profiteering, and rock'n'roll--and in some ways can't be separated from them, but what you remember most are the characters, whom you grow to love the way families often love each other: not for their charm or goodness, but because they have their reasons, and you know them. --Tom Nissley Customer Reviews
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7. A Little Death In Dixie by Lisa Turner
Product Description The Blues were born out of need, anger and pride. Murder comes from those same dark places. Memphis has both. One of Memphis' most seductive and notorious socialites has vanished. Either she's off on another drunken escapade or the disappearance is something much more frightening. What begins as an ordinary day's work for Detective Billy Able quickly grows into a complex spider's web of tragedy, mystery, suspicion, and sordid secrets including a few of Billy's own. With the help of Mercy Snow, the estranged sister of the missing socialite, Billy follows a twisted trail of human frailty and corruption to disturbing truths that undermine everything he thought he knew about himself and the people he loves. "Memphis, the Mississippi River, and the underbelly of human nature they're all exposed in the dark brew of this fast-paced Southern Gothic suspense. Page-turning and atmospheric, this tightly-plotted novel turns the screws and sends readers racing to its surprise conclusion." ~Michael Finger, Senior Editor, Memphis Magazine ... Read moreCustomer Reviews
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8. Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert
Product Description This beautifully written, heartfelt memoir touched a nerve among both readers and reviewers. Elizabeth Gilbert tells how she made the difficult choice to leave behind all the trappings of modern American success (marriage, house in the country, career) and find, instead, what she truly wanted from life. Setting out for a year to study three different aspects of her nature amid three different cultures, Gilbert explored the art of pleasure in Italy and the art of devotion in India, and then a balance between the two on the Indonesian island of Bali. By turns rapturous and rueful, this wise and funny author (whom Booklist calls "Anne Lamott’s hip, yoga- practicing, footloose younger sister") is poised to garner yet more adoring fans. ... Read moreFeatures:
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9. Bake Sale Murder (Lucy Stone Mysteries, No. 13) by Leslie Meier
Product Description Ever since local developer Fred Stanton and his wife, Mimi, built five modular homes next door to Lucy Stone's farmhouse, life just hasn't been the same. With Mimi complaining about everything from the state of Lucy's lawn to another neighbor's lovable dog, quaint Tinker's Cove, Maine, is now entangled in cul-de-sac politics and backstabbing. And when Mimi doesn't show up for her shift at The Hat and Mitten Fund bake sale, the scent of burnt sugar leads Lucy to a shocking discovery: Mimi, face down on her kitchen floor--with a knife in her back. While the police start their investigation, Lucy gets busy writing up the murder for the local Pennysaver--and following a few leads of her own. Lucy knows the women in her neighborhood didn't like Mimi, but they certainly didn't want her dead...right?
"I like Lucy Stone a lot, and so will readers." --Carolyn Hart
"Leslie Meier writes with sparkle and warmth." --Chicago Sun Times
"Mothers everywhere will identify with Lucy Stone and the domestic problems she encounters." --Publishers Weekly ... Read moreCustomer Reviews
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10. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Product Description This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read moreCustomer Reviews
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