A Book of Five Rings
by Miyamoto Musashi · first published 1974
42% recommend52% neutral6% critical
Why HN recommends it
Musashi's own strategy manual, valued as a pragmatic text on observing opponents, staying single-minded and balanced, and avoiding the useless. Read by entrepreneurs, engineers and martial arts fans.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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…fifth element is synonymous with "void" or "sky", ie "空". For a slightly abstract and colorful philosophy of martial arts, you may enjoy Miyamoto Musashi's Book of Void. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_Five_Rings It is more related to Aether in its Sanskrit origins. "आकाश" If you're willing to make a linguistic leap, you could argue that "nothingness" or "無" constitutes the essential foundation of modern Japanese…
on “Nothingness (2017)” ↗…for Rastan Saga pop up! (of course it crashed on launch, but still) I named it Musashi, after Shinmen Musashi-no-Kami Fujiwara no Harunobu (新免武蔵守藤原玄信), commonly known as Miyamoto Musashi, who wrote the Book of Five Rings - a book that had a huge effect on me.
on “Musashi: Motorola 680x0 emulator written in C” ↗I've enjoyed all the fictionalized accounts, but I think that if you want to learn from Musashi, you should read him directly. That's the Go Rin no Sho aka The Book of Five Rings. Nekopa has recommended the Cleary translation. I will recommend Hidy Ochiai's version, A Way to Victory: The Annotated Book of Five Rings. The annotations and analysis (after each book) really help get…
on “Ask HN: Interesting (Non software) books?” ↗This has come up a couple times before. However, specifically for entrepreneurs, the books to read are: 1) How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie 2) Musashi's The Book of Five Rings 3) Gonzo Marketing by Christopher Locke 4) Getting Things Done by David Allen 5) What Management Is by Joan Magretta There are other books, but less relevant in a business context.
on “Top Books for Entrepreneurs. List them.” ↗I have to add that people should also read The Book of Five Rings that was written by Musashi. I can't count the number of times I have bought and given away this book. Especially the translation done by Thomas Cleary. Cleary adds another text into the mix "The Book…
on “Ask HN: Interesting (Non software) books?” ↗I haven't read the fictional works of Musashi, but his own warrior manual "The Book of Five Rings" is quite good, like "The Art of War". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_Five_Rings
on “Ask HN: Good books?” ↗anyone more interested in the "brain hemispheres" bit (http://f2em.com/#brain-hemispheres) should check out Miyamoto Musashi's collection of writings called "The Book of Five Rings" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_Five_Rings Just some great writing on this idea of being a "balanced" human, and how that influences, informs, and improves your skills. His skills were as a…
on “A Front End Engineer's Manifesto” ↗…are), but a discussion of societal development would be lacking without an honest consideration of where the civilized components break down. I would suggest Musashi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_Five_Rings), Clausewitz, Influence of Seapower Upon History (Mahan), and of course Sun Tzu. While some are more specific than others (Musashi is actually about swordsmanship specifically, but conflict generally)…
on “Ask HN: What are the essential books of knowledge for civilization?” ↗…early stoic philosopher. Note, take some of what they say with a mountain of salt. Their views on things like the overall universe are... a product of their time. For more things I'd say also read The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi. And read up on Buddhism possibly with more modern views in the theravada traditions. Feel free to ignore any of the things that make no sense, even the buddha himself said to abandon…
on “Ask HN: What inspires you to persevere through adversity?” ↗Can't leave it at one book, because there are four which all tie into a whole: 1. The Book of Five Rings (how to manage yourself) 2. The Art of War (how to manage your campaign) 3. The Prince (how to manage your domain) 4. Proverbs (the wisdom of generations of people in positions of power)
on “Ask HN: Which non-technology book has influenced you the most and why?” ↗…happens) and the principle should be clear. Brinkmanship is the name of the game. A study of Martial Arts texts will help in building up the necessary principles/techniques and "mental fortitude". A Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi is a good starting point.
on “Ask HN: How do I develop aggressiveness?” ↗…Qur'an - The Prince by Machiavelli - The Art of War by Sun Tzu - Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky - The Confessions by Saint Augustine - Les Miserables by Victor Hugo - We by Yevgeny Zamyatin - The Book Of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi - The Bridge on the Drina by Ivo Andric - Bosnian Chronicle by Ivo Andric - Growth of the Soil by Knut Hamsun - Storm of Steel by Ernst Junger - All Quiet on the Western Front by Remarque -…
on “Ask HN: You've got $300 to fill an empty library. What do you choose?” ↗…Process (MDMP) [2][3]. I would recommend reading about the MDMP to anyone running a business, or being a technical lead. I'd also recommend the the better known books The Art of War [4] by Sun Tzu and The Book of Five Rings [5] by Miyamoto Musashi. I've had some chuckle at the idea of a book ostensibly on sword fighting being useful in business, until I mention the 9 basic principles Musashi lays out in the first section:…
on “The OODA Loop: How Fighter Pilots Make Fast and Accurate Decisions” ↗…proven that you're making money. Check out what banks will offer you in terms of loans. You can do both at once, but you must be single-minded. If you want some inspiration, read the Water Book of the Book of Five Rings by Musashi -- it's freely available as public domain online. Pay attention to what he says about striking (cutting, in many translations): "When you wield your sword, your intent must be to strike the…
on “Help Me HN: I am getting overwhelmed” ↗Nonsense. "A Book of Five Rings" is the strategy book for the pure pragmatist. "Art of War" is for sounding cool at parties.
on “Ask HN: Best books you read in 2012” ↗