| View previous topic :: View next topic |
Saberfencer10
Vagrant
Member for 6 months
Joined: 09 Jul 2012
Posts: 2
|
 Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2012 3:43 am Post subject: Some good books for the beginner |
 |
|
|
Hello everyone! I am a new member and this is my first post, though I have done a fair deal of browsing around before deciding to make an account. Based on how helpful and devoted to historical truth you all are I thought it was time I became a member myself. Also, I didn't see any section for the purpose of new people introducing themselves so I thought I would post it here. Do not hesitate to move it if it more properly belongs somewhere else.
Anyway, on to my question. I've been interested in Japanese history, specifically the military history of the Sengoku period, for quite some time now. I have read bits and pieces of certain books and I like to think I have a basic understanding of the broad sweep of Japanese history, but little beyond that. With that said, what are some good introductory works with a military focus that would help me broaden my understanding? I am extremely skeptical of Stephen Turnbull after seeing what is posted about him on here, but is there anything by him that one can read without being led astray by half truths or outright errors? If not, what are some other good choices? I'm currently getting into Thomas Conlan's "Weapons and Fighting Techniques of the Samurai Warrior 1200-1877 AD" which seems great aside from some sloppy editing. Is this a good starting point, or would I be better off elsewhere? Any suggestions are much appreciated! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Glyre
Peasant
Member for 3 years
Joined: 23 Nov 2009
Posts: 12
|
| Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2012 4:33 pm Post subject: |
|
|
|
Welcome!
I've read the Conlan book myself and it seems to be a good overview of the samurai. I had thought there was a discussion about it somewhere around here, actually...
There's also a recommended reading list here, not sure if you've seen it yet:
http://samurai-archives.com/rec.html
While not a book, I recommend the Samurai Archives Podcast-- I find it to be very informative and enjoyable to listen to. While it covers a myriad of topics, the "Intro to Japanese History" series would probably be a particular interest to you. You can find it on iTunes or here:
http://samuraiarchives.podbean.com/ |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
ltdomer98
Daijo Daijin
Veteran Member
Joined: 04 May 2006
Posts: 4963
Location: Bayou Country
|
| Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2012 3:06 am Post subject: |
|
|
|
| Glyre wrote: |
While not a book, I recommend the Samurai Archives Podcast-- I find it to be very informative and enjoyable to listen to. While it covers a myriad of topics, the "Intro to Japanese History" series would probably be a particular interest to you. You can find it on iTunes or here:
http://samuraiarchives.podbean.com/ |
Those guys are a bunch of morons. 
_________________
  
The Sengoku Field Manual Blog |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
ltdomer98
Daijo Daijin
Veteran Member
Joined: 04 May 2006
Posts: 4963
Location: Bayou Country
|
| Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2012 3:24 am Post subject: Re: Some good books for the beginner |
|
|
|
| Saberfencer10 wrote: |
| what are some good introductory works with a military focus that would help me broaden my understanding? I am extremely skeptical of Stephen Turnbull after seeing what is posted about him on here, but is there anything by him that one can read without being led astray by half truths or outright errors? If not, what are some other good choices? I'm currently getting into Thomas Conlan's "Weapons and Fighting Techniques of the Samurai Warrior 1200-1877 AD" which seems great aside from some sloppy editing. Is this a good starting point, or would I be better off elsewhere? Any suggestions are much appreciated! |
The major problem is that there AREN'T ANY good solid books for the beginner, or very few. Most things written at the introductory level (Osprey books like Turnbull's, for example) by necessity gloss over important details and make generalizations so as not to overwhelm the reader, but those generalizations are invariably wrong.
From a publishing perspective, it appears that for someone to put in the time and effort to actually do real research, they're not going to publish it in a basic, beginner-friendly format. They're going to publish it with Brill or Routledge or Stanford or someone like that so they get a higher academic profile and can get taken seriously by academics...but this means the book will cost north of $90.00 and no one in the "beginner" category will spend the money to read it. This is the problem I face as I move forward putting together my book--I want to be taken seriously, so I'm not writing an Osprey-type book, I'm writing something heavy on theory and so forth, and taking my time to work through it because I care how academics will review it. That said, some people (Conlan's book is a great example) can produce a more user-friendly book once they've established a reputation. You're right, the editing is horrible in that book, but it's FANTASTIC information, and worth it's weight in gold. That's the kind of book I'd love to be able to do, eventually.
The problem with the list that was linked, though helpful, is that we haven't updated that in years. We're working on it--I'm trying to do reviews of books as I read them, and they will start to go up on the blog. Unfortunately work doesn't just let me sit and read all day...sigh.
My advice: read whatever you can find. Hell, many of us here (myself included) started with Turnbull, and AJ Bryant (/bows his head in mock remembrance). As frustrating as Turnbull can be, it's what is out there--and the more you read, the better you'll get at sorting through the filler and fluff he has. Just...get his books from a library, so you're not paying for 4 books which are all the same thing repackaged. I had a professor at UH who drove it home to me, when I was starting my project on Nagashino and left Turnbull's book out of my planned biblio. His comment was "how can you write something that says how wrong he is if you're not including what he says in your paper?" And he's right.
My philosophy on leadership is that you can learn something about how to be a leader from every boss (or person you work for) you have--you might only learn that they're a poor leader and so that's how NOT to do things. The same can apply with books and authors. Everything has some value in reading it--it may only be "well, Turnbull bases everything off of AL Sadler and Papinot, and doesn't even bother to cite them, so while it may be interesting I'll take it with a grain of salt until I can verify elsewhere..."
_________________
The Sengoku Field Manual Blog |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Bethetsu
Izu no Kami
Veteran Member
Joined: 14 May 2006
Posts: 1273
Location: Center of Musashi
|
| Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2012 4:03 am Post subject: |
|
|
|
| ltdomer98 wrote: |
| Those guys are a bunch of morons. |
But even so, what they say is informative. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
ltdomer98
Daijo Daijin
Veteran Member
Joined: 04 May 2006
Posts: 4963
Location: Bayou Country
|
| Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2012 4:39 am Post subject: |
|
|
|
| ltdomer98 wrote: |
| Those guys are a bunch of morons. |
| Bethetsu wrote: |
| But even so, what they say is informative. |
I wouldn't believe anything those guys say. Especially that "Nick" or "Ned" or whoever the idiot babbling about Sekigahara all the time is.
_________________
The Sengoku Field Manual Blog |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Glyre
Peasant
Member for 3 years
Joined: 23 Nov 2009
Posts: 12
|
| Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2012 8:07 am Post subject: |
|
|
|
| ltdomer98 wrote: |
| ltdomer98 wrote: |
| Those guys are a bunch of morons. |
| Bethetsu wrote: |
| But even so, what they say is informative. |
I wouldn't believe anything those guys say. Especially that "Nick" or "Ned" or whoever the idiot babbling about Sekigahara all the time is. |
You're quite the tricky one! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Tornadoes28
Oki no Kami
Member for 4 years
2009 Benefactor
Joined: 31 Dec 2008
Posts: 1400
Location: Los Angeles
|
| Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2012 9:33 am Post subject: |
|
|
|
| ltdomer98 wrote: |
| ltdomer98 wrote: |
| Those guys are a bunch of morons. |
| Bethetsu wrote: |
| But even so, what they say is informative. |
I wouldn't believe anything those guys say. Especially that "Nick" or "Ned" or whoever the idiot babbling about Sekigahara all the time is. |
I don't trust that Ned guy either.
_________________
http://toshogu.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/Toshogu
Google+ |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
ltdomer98
Daijo Daijin
Veteran Member
Joined: 04 May 2006
Posts: 4963
Location: Bayou Country
|
| Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 12:47 am Post subject: |
|
|
|
All joking aside, it's a problem that doesn't have any easy answers. The best thing is to read as much as you can. Turnbull's faults are pretty apparent once you've read Friday or Conlan and compared them. And if you read Mikael Adolphson, he'll tell you Turnbull's faults himself!
_________________
The Sengoku Field Manual Blog |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
mktanaka
Artisan
Member for 3 years
Joined: 04 Mar 2010
Posts: 104
Location: Oakland, Ca USA
|
| Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2012 9:16 am Post subject: |
|
|
|
| ltdomer98 wrote: |
| All joking aside, it's a problem that doesn't have any easy answers. The best thing is to read as much as you can. Turnbull's faults are pretty apparent once you've read Friday or Conlan and compared them. And if you read Mikael Adolphson, he'll tell you Turnbull's faults himself! |
My personal advise is start right here where you are at..
http://www.samurai-archives.com/
Historical Research
- SA Japanese History Wiki
- Famous Samurai
- Famous Women
- Famous Generals
- Military Rulers of Japan
- Emperors and Empresses
- Samurai Battles
- Samurai Culture
- Samurai Banners
- Samurai Family Crests
- Japanese Castle Explorer
in addition to the main S-A site, the S-A message boards on topics of interest you have...
with the various point/counter point discussions...
and now more recently, the S-A podcast on a host of topics that continues to expand going forward.
and every so often, (as you use the site, a small donation to the site)... as computer servers and bandwidth is not free not to mention the site's leadership team's time/effort. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Staff
