This is a really great book. Having visited India, this book answers a lot of the questions I had about the spiritual aspects of yoga and how the various practices came into being. It also is a great how-to for pranayama and meditation. Definitely worth the read.

Samurai Zen is a great example of Scott Shaw's positive spiritual teachings. Not only is it a great textbook for the refinement of the Iaido or Martial Art student (at all levels), but it presents a vast source of usable knowledge and masterable techniques for the individual who is interested in meditation and the development of Ki, as well.

When I came to the United States, from Japan, to attended the University of California, I was lucky enough to study the Martial Arts from Scott Shaw. That was almost twenty years ago. At that time, I was already a Black Belt in Kara-te Do and Kendo. So, I was seeking a teacher who integrated the self defense aspects of the Martial Arts with the spiritual understandings which I had come to embrace in my native county. Master Shaw was a great choice.

Whereas, Professor Shaw's Mastery of the Korean Martial Arts, such as Hapkido and Kumdo, (the Korean Art of the Sword), are highly documented, perhaps fewer people know that he went to the source of these arts, Aikijutsu and Iaido, in Japan, and also became a highly ranked, Certified Instructor, of these Martial Arts systems, as well.

I highly recommened this book. It reveals the Zen Buddhist aspects of the Martial Arts in a very direct and simplistic manner. Thus, it can be understood by anyone.

This is a very good book. I think what Scott Shaw does by integrating the spirituality inherent in Bushido into the modern practice of swordsmanship is not only inspiring but really proivdes an element to the martial arts which few people are exposed to.

I know from personal experience that is so common that low level martial art practitioners attempt to find fault in the truly inspirational knowledge of people like Sensei Shaw who has obviously spent the better part of his life not only mastering the Asian spiritual and martial arts but teaching them, as well.

As Dr. Shaw states in this book, "Thoes who enter into battles based in egotism eventually lose. The Spiritual Warrior never seeks to enter into battle. He will turn away from it, rather than take part in any unnecessary confrontation."

This book should be in anyone's library who not only wants to understand the foundations of the Japanese Samurai but those who wish to bring Zen into their everyday life.

Sensei Toshio Takeda

This is a very good book. I think what Scott Shaw does a great job integrating the spirituality inherent in Bushido into the modern practice of swordsmanship. This is inspiring and proivdes an element to the martial arts which few people in the west are exposed to. I try to do this at my own Dojo. Westerners have a hard time understanding.I think Samurai Zen really conveys Zen Buddhism in a exceptional manner.

Though the shaw focuses on Japan and Iaido. This book would benefit all practioners who wish to know more about Zen Buddhism.

This book should be in everyone's library who wants to understand the foundations of the Japanese Samurai and who wish to bring Zen into their everyday life.

I looked at this book with fairly low expectations, thinking that it was of so many simplisitic self-help loosely based on Buddhist principles. But I was surprised to discover just how insightful and often profound it is. True, there are many tried and true aphorisms included here, but there are several "mini-chapters" that were very original and powerful for me. I have been a student of Zen and Buddhism for many years and I found this book particularly interesting. Somewhere in these pages is the "way".

Scott Shaw's About Peace outlines over a hundred ways to be at peace. These are short one-liner admonitions to be read in times of turmoil, when life seems out of control.

What I love most about this book is that it is so easy to read -- each page is an individual chapter on how to find and maintain peace in this crazy world we live in. I find that I have been carrying this book around with me and periodically opening it up and reading a chapter or two in order to refocus my life and embrace my own inner peace. This is an important and very helpful book.

My Instructor told me not to waste my $$$ on this book. The first two or three chapters are acceptable, yet the remainder of the book is very poor. It has the simple basic strikes and counters that all "How To" books of Karate manuals have.
It is not the Way of Self Defense as the title would attempt to allude one.

Most books on self-defense are page heavy in photographs. Obviously, most martial artists don't read. Though this book has its share of photographs, providing the necessary how-to, what I like most about this text is its presentation of a self-defense mindset not dominated by the macho kick-butt attitude which most books on the subject present. Instead, this book details a way of encountering each type of self-defense circumstance from a conscious frame of mind. This is something I have not seen presented in other texts on the subject. I also like the fact that the author, Scott Shaw, goes back into history and references the more mindfull self-defense idealogies of ancient masters. Shaw then brings these concepts to this modern era by commenting on their applications.

This book may not be for the macho martial artist who thinks he or she can kick everybody's butt. But, it is for the martial artist, like myself, who appreciates the deeper understanding of the true art of self-defense.

As a martial artist virtually forever, I really enjoyed this book. It is not one of those books on self defense that you pick up, skim through the pictures, and then put on your bookshelf. Nor is it one of those macho who can kick who's butt the fastest type of mindless self defense manuals. This book really needs to be read. I think any martial artists, or for that matter, non-martial artists, who really wants to gain a new insight into not only the realms of self defense but a new and different way to look at life and life encounters should read this book.

I bought this book as soon as my fiance and I were engaged, excitted about the prospect of eloping. Reading it will get you excited about eloping, show you that it can be done, and give you some general ideas as to how to start the process, but when it comes down to it, the book does not offer that great of advice.

I highly recommend that you consider buying "Beyond Vegas" by Lisa Tabb and Sam Silverstine instead of "Let's Elope." We ended up buying both of them in the end, and actually using the information in BV to plan our wedding in Scotland. Unlike with Let's Elope, the authors actually got married in all of the destinations discussed in there books, and give all the pointers you need, not just what can be found on the official country registrar web sites.

Have fun with it. But don't buy two books when one will do.

This book is a great read. Lynn Beahan and Scott Shaw have written a witty, enjoyable, and useful book. More importantly for me, I am going to put their suggestions into practice and elope with Yuka-chan. How's that for high praise?

There are great suggestions and hints that you simply cannot get from your relatives who you are not inviting to your wedding. Those that have not eloped have much less to say on the subject.

It is a must read for those running off to get married. It may even change the minds of those planning a traditional wedding.

David T.

Since my engagement over a year ago, I have been delicately evasive when asked the constant When's-the-date? question. I adore my fiancé and am ecstatic at the idea of our spending the rest of our lives with each other. Still, I've seen too many of my supposedly level-headed friends get in over their heads during the planning of a wedding: finances spiraling out of control, knock-down drag-out fights over minute details, overbearing mothers-of-the-bride...you name it.

Enter "Let's Elope : The Definitive Guide to Eloping, Destination Weddings, and Other Creative Wedding Options". I found it on a display at Barnes and Noble, hidden behind a ponderous book on wedding floral arrangements. At last! A book that confirms what I've suspected all along! Beahan and Shaw cover alternatives to a traditional wedding in a lighthearted, hilarious style. I loved the sections about throwing a "Surprise Wedding" and breaking the elopement news gently to loved ones. The how-to half of the book is chock-full of ideas on holding your wedding anywhere from Nantucket to Scotland to Fiji. My only disappointment is that their website (www.letselope.com) isn't ready yet. You can be sure that I'm buying additional copies and shipping these anonymously to my family and friends!

For those that know their martial art history, the beginning chapter of this book is shady. Most of the information is true, but some of the printed material is speculative and not labeled as such.

The mixing and mingling of feminine and masculine pronouns assigned to 'the warrior' throughout the text made the reading...inconsistent and strangely difficult. There is no doubt that both men and women are/can be warriors, and I think the writing would have been more fluent if Shaw had just made that point, chose one pronoun, and stuck to it.

Shaw displays his opinions upon the spiritual path to the martial arts very well, but I think that he forgot to stay open to the idea that there is more than one way to skin a cat. When reading this book it sounds as if you are doing everything wrong if not following the path he is documenting, and I strongly disagree. To put it more poetically, "There are many paths up the mountain, but only one peak".

Sprirituality is a difficult subject to write about. It is like sand - when a person tries to take hold of it in a physical manner it simply slips through the fist. I bought this book looking for a truly spiritual text, and was disappointed to find yet another picture filled manual on the martial arts. Shaw's effort is to be commended, but I'm affraid that in his attempt to convey something very esoteric the sand slipped between his fingers.

I actually read the comments from the other readers before purchasing this book myself and the "he" / "she" reference which most of the reviewers mentioned didn't really get in the way of the content of the book itself. (Who knows, that may not have been the writer, but rather the publishing company, like so many other typos in books). I liked the way Scott Shaw intermingles spirituality with the martial arts; it reminds you of how the old Chinese practitioners see the martial arts - as an art and not just for fighting. I learned interesting tid-bits from this book and recommend it for anyone who is spiritually-minded.

The is really a great book. It begins by detailing a factual history of the ancient martial arts and their interaction with Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism. It then goes on to outline numerous meditation and Ki development exercises. It even throws in a few self defense techniques, just to show how the "Spiritual Warrior" can learn to consciously defend "Him" or "Her" self. This text provides the reader with not only a new and deeper understanding of the physical aspects of the martial arts but a complete how to for Ki development and the various forms of Buddhist meditation which have been developed for and associated with the martial arts over the centuries. I used this book as one of the references for my Master's Thesis.

While doing my Thesis I contacted Master Shaw. He was so nice and talked to me indepth about meditation and how it can become a natural evolution of the martial arts. He possesses a vast amount of knowledge on this subject, which is apparent in this book. I believe this book truly adds a new chapter to the martial arts.

One of the things I like most about this book is that it does not solely reference the martial artist, or "Spiritual Warrior" as Scott Shaw details all of us to be as, "He" or "Him." It also intermingles "She" or "Her" with this delineation. When speaking to Master Shaw he told me that this was not his idea, nor was it the way he had written the book. It was something done by the editors. None the less, I think this interchangable style is great. It acknowledges and gives power to us ladies, something most books on the martial arts never do.

Overall, I believe this to be an important work on breaking down the barriers of the traditional macho male dominated martial arts and taking them to the level where they can be embraced by the more spiritually inclined among us.

Your one stop shop...

As a practitioner of Hapkido for fifteen years and an Instructor for ten, I think this is a great book on Hapkido -- it really takes the reader to the essence of the art.

Hapkido is such an elaborate system of self defense, I think few people really realize how impossible it is to truly illustrate this art in the form of a book. Master Scott Shaw, does just that, however. Through very clear detailed descriptions and photographs, he instructs the reader in the true self defense aspects of Hapkido.

I picked this book up a couple of years ago, read through it, and put it on the shelf with my hundred or so other books on the martial arts. After recently reading Scott Shaw's, "The Tao of Self Defense," I decided to take another look at it. I really enjoyed it the second time. As a Korean martial art stylist for virtually my entire life, what I really appreciate about this book is that it exactingly describes each Traditional Hapkido technique which is demonstrated in its photo illustrations. From this, the reader is allowed to gain a deeper understanding of how to actually peform each self defense application. The other books I have seen, and own, on Hapkido do not do this. They are mostly just filled with photos. Though this book has numerous photos, as well, the detailed description of each technique is what really sets this book apart. I would love to see a second volume.

Having practice the martial arts for over ten years, I find this book to be an excellent resource for both the Korean martial art of hapkido and self defense. The history section is great. The ki section is very interesting. The self defense section is very detailed and teaches true hapkido. This book is a necessary addition to anyone library. Recommended.

Eye of the Beast provided a great portrayal of the actions and crimes of James Wood. The only thing lacking was the past history that led Wood to act out in such a way. The book started after he had already been in prison for an earlier crime, but no insight into the development of beast inside. Regardless the book was a great read!

This book was a must read for my family. We grew up with his family. The way the writer explained David Haggards involvement was great. It shows that family doesn't always protect family when someone is doing wrong. David is a very nice and gentle man and I am glad that the book did nothing to show differently. I have read this book twice and it has helped me to caution my daughter on how to not trust strangers. It also explains to her the dangers of people in this world.This book also shows the hard work and emotional toll that being a police officer takes on people. Even when they do their best it isn't always enough to make things safe. This world has some evil people in it that are often protected by the judical system.

This is a well written book that I believe does a good job of exploring the life of James Woods. I recommend this as a good read for any true crime buff who is interested in serial murders.