Customer Reviews
If you only ever read one book... - By: Mr. S. P. Rowe, 08 Oct 2008 
..this should be it.
I first read this book in the late 80's & my mind was blown. I made each of my closest 5 or 6 friends read it & alll they alll felt the same.
Whenever in life I've been asked what was the best book I've read, without hesitation I say Shogun. The only downside is that until Shogun, I thought I might be able to write a book; after Shogun I was humbled & realised I shouldn't bother.
I went on to read the rest of Clavells novels, Tai pan, Noble House, Whirlwind & King Rat, alll are of a high standard until you get to Gai- Jin. Don't put the effort into Gai-jin. It is pants. Harsh? Maybe but, after spending a lot of time ploughing through such a heavy thome I reallly did wonder how alll the plot lines were going to tie up in the last 100 pages or so. They didn't. It was as though Clavell asked someone else to finish the book as he had something better to do.
However, back to the point, Shogun, buy it, it's great.
First Englishman in Feudal Japan - By: Mr. William Oxley, 05 Oct 2007 One of the best historical action drama novels ever written. The book is on par with the Masters of Rome series by Colleen McCullough that brings Caesar to life.
What makes James Clavell's story so unique is his knowledge of the culture of the Samurai & Asia, that he came to understand as a POW during WWII.
Blackthorne is an English Captain shipwrecked on the shores of 17th Century Feudal Japan. The problems for him & his crew are life threatening from the start. In Shogun we get immersed in the warrior culture of the samurai. How can an Englishman thrive in such an alien culture, where he has no friends, no knowledge of the language, & only one dream - to build a ship that will take him home.
You simply must buy it. - By: pikeman, 18 Jun 2007 I bought this book for the first time when I was 19 in 1982.
I have since bought two more copies simply because I have reread it so much the first two copies fell apart.
It just doesn't get much better than this story of a man dumped into a world completly different from anything he (or we) have seen before.
It's like the best science fiction in that it creates a world massively different to anything we've seen before - & makes us care about it & want to understand it.
Following directly from Shogun I bought 15-20 books about Japan - just becasue it was so compelling I wanted to know more about the country & it's history & it's people.
It's not going too far to say that this book changed my view of the world & has been a constant friend for a quarter of a century
My favourite book of all time - By: Mr. D. Ryan, 15 Dec 2006 I simply love this book.
It has an adictive plot. James Clavell has a great way of expressing the characters & the surrounds of 17TH Centuary Japan. For me personallly it made me see the world in a different light. This is simply a book you must own.
shogun - By: J. Riley, 27 Jul 2006 I cant believe no one has chosen to review this book ! Vaguely remember watching Richard Chamberlain playing the lead role back in the 70's, along with "The water margin" & "monkey" . Fast forward to 2004 & "The last samurai" - I was hooked - I wanted more & then up pops in my recomendations SHOGUN!! . Bought it ,read it , re read it! Absolutely brilliant! Action ,intrigue ,honour . It will never leave my bookcase.
