A nice piece of history. I enjoyed learning more about the interaction between Japanese and Europeans hundreds of years ago. As mojosmom said, it's not really just about Samurai William Adams, but a wider view.

Takes a few pages to get used to the olde english spelling taken from primary sources.

A good read for this topic. I enjoyed it ( )

A much wider-ranging book than I at first assumed, this is as much about the West's first incursions into Japan as it is the life story of William Adams. In fact, for the last third, Adams seems to recede from view, his place being taken from a more salubrious cast of characters.

https://youtu.be/q-cTtGAiyuA ( )

The story of William Adams, the first Englishman to live in Japan and gain high esteem in the shogun's court, is interesting. Giles Milton is a good storyteller, and the story is one of treacherous sea voyages, unruly seamen, and the rivalry and hate between the Catholic (Spanish and Portuguese) and Protestant (British and Dutch) colonizers. As with Nathaniel's Nutmeg, which is the only other book I have read by Milton so far, he tells the story of all, not just the title character, with its twists and turns. The wealth of information gathered here from historic records and letters is impressive, though at the same time Milton's easy going yet elegant language makes everything read like one epic story.
Why only three stars then? Well, compared to Nathaniel's Nutmeg, I found the fumbling adventures of Englishmen in Japan to be less captivating. It seems that there was very little business done, many incompetent "factors" who were just criminal-minded or good old drunks, and the only competent man, William Adams, was stuck in Japan, unwillingly trying to help the Englishmen to survive the shogun's and the local lord's trade policies. Beyond that there seems to be just a lot of sitting and waiting and drinking and whoring. In the end, I am not sure what the historical impact of this brief British presence in Japan was. Perhaps none. Certainly, for two centuries no other foreigner had access to the shogun's court like William Adams had. ( )

A very well-written and interesting book about William Adams, the first Englishman in Japan. It managed to give plenty of information not only about Adams, but also Japan in general and all the things influencing Adams's life in Japan. And somehow it stayed interesting all the way through. Oftentimes, such indepth nonfiction books end up boring me with dry, uninteresting writing, but Giles Milton's is trully impressive. ( )

Interesting, quick read with parallels of the novel Shogun.

http://allbookedup-elena.blogspot.com/2010/06/samurai-william-giles-milton.html ( )