Bushido Explained by Alexander Bennett

Bushido Explained offers a good primer to how samurai thought across Japan’s different time periods. As the subtitle of the book states, it is a new interpretation for beginners. Bennett offers a broad, top view of samurai thought using diagrams and clear prose. While I wanted more details at times, Bennett sticks to offering a solid understanding of Bushido and debunking common misconceptions surrounding Bushido.

Namely, Bennett explains how Bushido wasn’t a unified philosophical system. Rathe...