I think I'm with Leonard on this one. His review is definitely worth a read.

I didn't finish this because it felt awfully breezy for the violent subject matter. Do I sound like I'm against nonfiction being fun? I'm really not. I like fun! But a light tone when talking about atrocity is more appropriate for adults who, presumably, get how serious it truly is, even when the violence took place hundreds of years ago. Booklist called this book "pure excitement" and I'm just SMH that senseless violence is so thrilling to so many.

Ever since I had a baby I can't stomach violence like I used to. I can't watch Game of Thrones anymore. I even have trouble watching the NFL because I feel bad for the mothers of the players getting their brains smashed for entertainment. I'm not the right reader for this book right now. ( )

I29VDPWA

Child exile.
Teenage runaway.
Military genius.
Immortal hero.

Yoshitsune had little going for him. Exiled to a monastery, he had no money, no allies, and no martial training. He wasn't big or strong or good-looking. His only assets were brains, ambition, and a dream. But childhood dreams can change history.

At the age of fifteen, Yoshitsune excaped. Blow by painful blow, he learned the art of the sword. Fall after bruising fall, he mastered mounted archery. He joined his half brother Yoritomo in an uprising against the most powerful samurai in Japan.

This is a story of insane courage and daring feats, bitter rivalry and fatal love. Based on one of the great works of Japanese history and literature, Samurai Rising takes a clear-eyed, very modern look at the way of the samurai-and at the man who became the most famous samurai of all.

Pamela S. Turner is the author of several award-winning books for young readers, including Life on Earth-and Beyond: Astrobiologist's Quest, Hachiko: The True Story of a Loyal Dog, and the ALA Notable Children's Book and Orbis Pictus Honor Book The Frog Scientist. Pamela first encountered Minamoto Yoshitsune's story while living in Japan. She now lives in Oakland, California, where she is a black-belt practitioner of kendo, the way of the sword.

While in College Gareth Hinds made artwork inspired by legends about Yoshitsune. He was therefore thrilled to return to twelfth-century Japan in Samurai Rising, this time illustrating Yoshitsune's real-life adventures. Gareth is a third-degree black belt in aikido and the award-winning creator of graphic-novel adaptations of Macbeth, Beowulf, The Odyssey, and other classics. He lives in Washington, DC.

Contents

Characters adn places
Map of Japan
Introduction
1 Disaster in Kyoto-Kyoto 1160
Headless ghosts-Kurama 1160-1174
3 Samurai boot camp-Hiraizumi 1174-1180
4 Brothesrs-in-arms-Kamakura 1180-1184
5 Perilous river-Kyoto 1184
Map of the Battle of Uji River
6 Midnight strike-Ichi-no-Tani 1184
Map of the Battle of Ichi-no-Tani
7 Hooves like hailstones-Ichi-no-Tani 1184
8 Into the storm-Kyoto, Shiroku and Yashima 1184-1185
Map ot the Battle of Yashima
9 The dropped bow-Yashima1185
10 The drowned sword-Dan-no-Ura 1185
Map of the Battle of Dan-no-Ura
11 Assassins in the dark-Dan-no-Ura, Kyoto and Koshigoe 1185
12 Shizuka's song-Koto, Kamakura, and he Yoshino Mountains 1185-1186
13 The fugitive-Locations unknown 1185-1187
14 Feast of arrows-Hiraizumi 1187-1189
Epilogue: The samurai weeps
Acknowledgments
Author's notes
A note on names
A note on dates
A note on the status of women
Re-creating Yoshitune's world
Time lines
Yoshitsune and the wider world
Major periods of Japanese history
Timelineo fSamurai Rising
Glossary of Japanese words
Chapter notes
Bibliography
Index

Initially I thought this was a graphic novel, for some reason. It is not, although the illustrations are spectacular. Great, fast paced and fascinating biography of Minamoto Yoshitsune. I like the somewhat lighthearted tone, the slightly snarky asides, and the well written biographical aspects. Given that I find medieval Japan to be an utterly foreign landscape, it was an excellent primer. It also feels like a story that is all horrific violence for the sake of honor and pride -- the more we change, the more remains the same. ( )