Describes the history and philosophy of the Ninja, looks at their traditional weapons and tactics, and demonstrates stances, punches, and throws.

The ace dealer of death takes his fight to the land of the rising sun.

The thrilling finale of the Ninja trilogy. Taka, Cho and Renzo are on a mission of vengeance. The Grandmaster says that it will not heal the hurts of the heart, but Taka is hurting badly and he can see no other way out – Lord Oda must pay. Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant and dyslexic readers aged 8+

The Ninjas today are the stuff of myth and legend in comics, film and electronic games. But once they were real, the medieval equivalent of the SAS: spies, saboteurs, assassins. In their secrecy, under-cover skills and determination to survive, they were the opposite of the overt, self destructive samurai. Could they fly? Make themselves invisible? Of course not.It was just that their skills gave them a magical aura. As a result, martial artists and story-tellers have turned them into fantasy creatures, from James Bond to Mutant Turtles. In Ninja John Man goes in search of the truth. In a journey to the heartland of the ninjas, he takes us from their origins over 1,000 years ago, through their heyday in the civil wars that ended with Japan’s unification in 1600. But that was not the end of the ninja ethos. That re-emerged in World War Two as a little-known counterpart to Japanese militarism. Ninja ways live on in the real ‘last of the ninjas’, Hiroo Onoda, who held out in the Philippine jungle for 30 years.

Ashida Kim is one of a handful of men in the world who have learned the true art of Ninjitsu, the Silent Way of stealth and assassination in feudal Japan. Initial attempts to bring these secrets to the public were met with resistance due to the brutal and terrifying effectiveness of the techniques. The Ninja can fight or disappear. Looked for, cannot be seen, listened for, cannot be heard, felt for, cannot be touched. Now, you too can become a master of invisibility with the ability to penetrate anywhere unseen and vanish without leaving a trace. You will learn: * Nine Steps for erasing sight and sound * Attacking from ambush * Sentry Removal * The Art of Escaping * Ninja Weapons * The Power to Cloud Men's Minds * And much more... "Train yourself and be your own master. Dare to be great. Anyone can do the things I do if they but know how. One of your skill and determination need only follow this simple course of instruction to be certain of success."

This history of the ninja uncovers the truth behind the image—from the exploits of medieval ninjas to their modern incarnation as pop culture icons. The ninja is a legendary figure in Japanese military culture, a fighter widely regarded as the world’s greatest expert in secret warfare. The word alone conjures the image of a masked assassin dressed in black, capable of extraordinary feats of daring; a mercenary who disposes of enemies by sending sharp iron stars spinning towards them. This is, of course, a popular myth, based on exaggerations and Hollywood movies. But the truth, as Stephen Turnbull explains in Ninja, is even more fascinating. A leading expert on samurai culture, Turnbull presents an authoritative study of ninja history based on original Japanese sources, many of which have never been translated before. These include accounts of castle attacks, assassinations and espionage, as well as the last great ninja manual, which reveals the spiritual and religious ideals that were believed to lie behind the ninja’s arts. Turnbull’s critical examination of the ninja phenomenon ranges from undercover operations during the age of Japan’s civil wars to the modern emergence of the superman ninja as a comic book character. The book concludes with a detailed investigation of the ninja in popular culture.