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The Heart Of A Samurai (2011)

by Margi Preus(Favorite Author)

3.84 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

1461804353 (ISBN13: 9781461804352)

languge

English

genre

Historical Fiction

publisher

Recorded Books, LLC

review 1: Interesting book pitched at middle school level about John Mung (Manjiro) the first Japanese person to sail to America, and who made important contributions to the opening up of Japan.Great as a historical novel about a time when whales were thought to be so plenty that they'd never run out, most of the book takes place on the whaling vessel that rescued him and his companions. Quite a bit on the mutual distrust, animosity and fear of both Japanese for Westerners and vice versa. The book is a bit "front loaded" so a lot about the stranding on an island, the voyage to America and too little about his life back in Japan and his contribution to geo-politics. Probably a conscious choice given the fact that it's geared at younger readers who would identify more with him as a... more boy.
review 2: A nice historical piece, maybe a bit too flowery at times, but it satisfied my recent interest in biographies. The writing wasn't all that engaging, but you do feel connected with the protagonist, and feel the ups and downs of his journey with him. There are a lot of historical notes, epilogues, final thoughts, glossaries, etc. in the back which all seems pretty forced. Although it's a bulky book, it's a quick read and very accessible to young'ns. Very appreciable work. less

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