A Book of Five Rings: The Strategy of Musashi

By: Miyamoto Musashi

Narrated by: Jim Donaldson

This is legendary 17th century swordsman Miyamoto Musashi’s exposition of sword fighting, strategy, and Zen philosophy. Required listening for any martial artist, business person, or student of strategy, this audiobook includes the one hour Zen inspired soundtrack, The Mysterious Sound of Wind in the Bamboo, performed on authentic Japanese instruments.

©2012 Trout Lake Media (P)2012 Trout Lake Media

A timeless classic with Fabulous narration

I loved the performance. Felt like I was sitting at the feet of the master himself.

Great Clasic

Would you consider the audio edition of A Book of Five Rings: The Strategy of Musashi to be better than the print version?

the points are valid regardless of format.

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

the detail of approach and mind sets that benefit you on the path of life.

What does Jim Donaldson bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

poor attempts of a Japanese accent that is so think at first its a little distracting. but soon after 15mins he clearly struggles to keep the act up and I found my self not so distracted by his accents.

What did you learn from A Book of Five Rings: The Strategy of Musashi that you would use in your daily life?

It takes deliberate practice and will to attain expertise/genius/mastery, but once you know the way, you will see it in all things.

the book details wonderfully why he feels this is the case.

Any additional comments?

hear or read it. but then leave it a few days and do it again. you'll be surprised how many level his teachings have to them. re-reading with fresh eyes/ears

Offensive Narration

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The narrator's style.

What didn’t you like about Jim Donaldson’s performance?

He performs with a stereotypical Japanese accent and cadence, despite not being Japanese. It was distracting.

Any additional comments?

A great piece of literature hindered by distracting narration.

White washed narrator

The book is written by a Japanese Samurai from the 17th century. Yet the author was clearly was man of European ancestry doing a very thick accent.

The book itself was very enjoyable. But it took me a long time to get over the weird accent.

weird narration, and pointless music

I enjoyed this, but for some reason the narrator uses a very obvious fake accent. There's also about eight chapters of pointless music after the narroration for some reason. not a bad price though.

Ridiculous Reading

I love this book. I have read it many times. I took a pilgrimage to the cave where it was written. I read anything I can find on this topic and the author. Jim Donaldson’s adoption of what he apparently thinks the author sounded like is ridiculous. His groaning is a total distraction. This classic stands on its own and is only cheapened by Donaldson’s ridiculous affectation.

Not sure why there are 12 chapters of just music

my biggest complaint about this audiobook is that I purchased it thinking I was going to get 19 chapters of actual story turns out you get seven chapters of speaking in the 12 remainder is just music