Western scholars and educators are generally far less familiar with the samurai in his original-and, ostensibly, primary-role as warrior and masters of arms than in his other functions as landowner, feudal lord, literature, or philosopher. Yet, any attempt to comprehend fully the samurai without considering his military abilities and training (bugei) is futile. With verve and wit, Karl Friday combines the results of nearly two decades of fieldwork and archival research to examine samurai martial culture from a broad perspective: as a historical phenomenon, as a worldview, and as a system of physical, spiritual, and moral education.

Elucidates and argues for the author's concept of human history from the past to the present.

Master of Craving, the third book in the Blood Sword Legacy series, is a sensual historical romance that takes readers into the world of medieval knights. Eight mercenary knights, each of them bound by unspeakable torture in a Saracen prison, each of them branded with the mark of the sword for life. Each of their destinies marked by a woman. It was whispered, but only by the bravest of souls, that each Blood Sword was destined to find only one woman who would bear him and only him sons, and until that one woman was found, he would battle and ravage the land. But the darkest secret whispered was that there was one among them whose violent craving for the one woman he could not have would be the spark that would set an entire region on fire, and nearly bring down a kingdom, with the aftermath to be felt for the next thousand years…

Nearly 100 German military edged weapons are presented in this sumptuously photographed volume featuring information about their owners. Spanning nearly two hundred years, Legacies in Steel is an in-depth photographic study of historical edged weapons from the German military. The elegant details of each selection are displayed in close-up detail. Many of these weapons belonged to nobility, aristocrats, high-ranking military personnel as well as soldiers and seamen. Where possible, the careers and exploits of these former owners are highlighted, bringing both personal and historical context to these beautifully crafted artifacts. By the 19th century, swords and daggers were no longer effective fighting weapons, but they maintained their popularity in Western Europe as uniform regalia. They were carried as a symbol of authority, achievement, and most importantly, honor. These weapons were produced with great skill and at high cost, requiring the skill of specialized artisans, often using precious metals and ivory, elaborate hand engraving and chiseling. Blades were fabricated of the highest quality Solingen steel. Folded steel Damascus blades were also painstakingly produced. Many examples are unique and border on singular works of art.

Tracing the evolution of state military institutions from the seventh through the twelfth centuries, this book challenges much of the received wisdom of Western scholarship on the origins and early development of warriors in Japan. This prelude to the rise of the samurai, who were to become the masters of Japan's medieval and early modern eras, was initiated when the imperial court turned for its police and military protection to hired swords--professional mercenaries largely drawn from the elites of provincial society. By the middle of the tenth century, this provincial military order had been handed a virtual monopoly of Japan's martial resources. Yet it was not until near the end of the twelfth century that these warriors took the first significant steps toward asserting their independence from imperial court control. Why did they not do so earlier? Why did they remain obedient to a court without any other military sources for nearly 300 years? Why did the court put itself in the potentially (and indeed, ultimately) precarious situation of contracting for its military needs with private warriors? These and related questions are the focus of the author's study. Most of the few Western treatments see the origins of the samurai in the incompetence and inactivity of the imperial court that forced residents in the provinces to take up arms themselves. According to this view, a warrior class was spontaneously generated just as one had been in Europe a few centuries earlier, and the Japanese court was doomed to eventually perish by the sword because of its failure to live by it. Instead, the author argues that it was largely court activism that put swords in the hands of rural elites, thatcourt military policy, from the very beginning of the imperial state era, followed a long-term pattern of increasing reliance on the martial skills of the gentry. This policy reflected the court's desire for maximum efficiency in its military institutions, and the policy's succes

The Blood Sword Legacy Bound by a brotherhood forged in the hell of a Saracen prison, eight Blood Swords -- mercenary knights for William the Conqueror -- set out to claim their legacies the only way they can: by right of arms, by right of victory, by right of conquest. For Sir Rohan du Luc, known as the Black Sword, enemies fall easily beneath his assault...until he comes face-to-face with a foe more worthy than any battle-hardened knight. Bold and courageous though she is, Saxon maiden Isabel of Alethorpe cannot stop Rohan de Luc from seizing Alethorpe and its people in the name of William the Conqueror. Then Rohan demands not just the manor, but Isabel herself. She vows that her heart will remain her own, even if she is forced to allow him to lay claim to her body. But while the lady's lips say no, Isabel's traitorous body is awakened to desire by the seductive attentions of this potent invader. Can she remain true to her Saxon heritage and her hopes that her brother may have survived the battlefield, or will Sir Rohan's skilled touch capture her unwilling heart as surely as his prowess with his sword captured her father's lands?

For centuries, Inuit in the Arctic have lived on and around the frozen ocean. Now, as climate change is rapidly melting the sea ice between Canada and Greenland, development here threatens to upset the delicate balance between their communities, land and wildlife.