Shogun (Asian Saga, #1)

by James Clavell

‘There are no “mitigating circumstances” when it comes to rebellion against a sovereign lord.’ ‘Unless you win.’

for, by universal custom, your enemy is never more polite than when he is planning or has planned your destruction.

How baffling it was that even the most cunning and clever people would frequently see only what they wanted to see, and would rarely look beyond the thinnest of facades.

‘ “What are clouds But an excuse for the sky? What is life But an escape from death?”