Shibumi
by Trevanian · first published 1979
14mentions
4recommended by
9HN commenters
2008–2026first – last mentioned
44% recommend56% neutral
NICHOLAI HEL.... Born in the ravages of WWI China to an aristocratic Russian mother and a mysterious German father, raised in the spiritual gardens of a Japanese Go master, he survives the destruction of Hiroshima to emerge as the world's most artful lover and it's most accomplished and highly paid assassin. Genius, mystic, master of language and culture, Hel's secret is his determination to attain a rare kind of personal excellence, a state of effortless perfection..... shibumi. Now living in an isolated mountain fortress with his magnificent Eurasion mistress, Hel faces his most
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
One of my all-time favorite characters is Le Cagot from Shibumi by Trevanian. https://www.amazon.com/Shibumi-Novel-Trevanian/dp/1400098033 Up there with Edna from the Incredibles.
on “Cagot: a persecuted and despised minority found in the west of France” ↗Go has an intrinsic beauty that some value more than chess. In Shibumi (great book btw), young Nicholai Hel declares (http://books.google.com/books?id=Li4EzEdaX1oC&pg=PA73...): "What Go is to philosophers and warriors, chess is to accountants and merchants" If so, why…
on “The Bobby Fischer Defense, by Garry Kasparov” ↗…speak in terms of Go whenever he dealt with anything of importance. As General Kishikawa had once said, for Otake-san life was a simplistic metaphor for Go." If you like Go, you'll enjoy Trevanian's Shibumi. This looks like a great documentary and on one of my favorite subjects so donation submitted. On a different note, I think a large percentage of TV programming in the near future will be financed like…
on “The Surrounding Game: A Documentary Film (kickstarter)” ↗Shibumi - Trevanian; I've read the book three of four times now and I'm not sure why but the characters and the characterizations just resonate with me.
on “Ask HN: Which non-technology book has influenced you the most and why?” ↗Shibumi by Trevanian. Ice Station Zebra by MacLean. Clive Cussler novels. Tom Clancy. Last of the Breed by Louis L'Amour. Scaramouche and Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini. (Note: Many of these contain some really…
on “Ask HN: Books as cool as Jason Bourne series” ↗This is a quote I use very often! As with many other great quotes, I think it originates in English from Trevanian's Shibumi (when Otake-san, the Go master is giving his final teaching to Nicholai): Do not fall into the error of the artisan who boasts of twenty years experience in his craft while in fact he has had only one…
on “Programmer Competency Matrix” ↗Go is to Western chess what philosophy is to double entry accounting. -- from Shibumi , bestseller by Trevanian
on “Ask YC: What Is Your Favorite Board Game?” ↗…struggle against himself. While there's some artistic license (a good backgammon player will crush a mediocre one in the long run) this comment does provide some interesting cultural. And there's also a Shibumi quote I like: "Go is to Western chess what philosophy is to double-entry accounting." This book was the first time I heard about Go.
on “Why the Chess Computer Deep Blue Played Like a Human” ↗…freedom, wordiness with articulation, fun with pleasure - in short, all of the misconceptions common to those who assume that justice implies equality for all, rather than equality for equals.” ― Trevanian, Shibumi
on “Why Are Palo Alto's Kids Killing Themselves?” ↗…responsibility as evidence that he and his life are uniquely open to new experiences. In the later stages, the sufferer is reduced to seeking that most trivial of human activities: fun.” ― Trevanian, Shibumi
on “Boeing Disaster Proves Americans Businesses Greedy Mentality Is Broken” ↗Trevanian is a pen name, Shibumi is a book from 1979. He was routinely critical of American culture, which is sometimes called Western culture. I'm not sure why some people think it's verbal vomit, but apparently it's disturbing enough…
on “Boeing Disaster Proves Americans Businesses Greedy Mentality Is Broken” ↗…The masses are the final tyrants. ... The roar of the plodders is inarticulate, but deafening. They have no brain, but they have a thousand arms to grasp and clutch at you, drag you down.” ― Trevanian, Shibumi This is what we need to guard against i.e. "not become mediocre" (and add to the inanity on the Internet) in our own communications/behaviour on HN and elsewhere. We need to focus on the s/n ratio always…
on “Life and work is not meant to be spent in isolation” ↗…yojimbo, the critic, to defend him. The roar of the plodders is inarticulate, but deafening. They have no brain, but they have a thousand arms to grasp and clutch at you, drag you down.” ― Trevanian, Shibumi
on “Ask HN: HN frontpage feels boring now?” ↗…masses are the final tyrants. ... The roar of the plodders is inarticulate, but deafening. They have no brain, but they have a thousand arms to grasp and clutch at you, drag you down.” ― Trevanian , Shibumi
on “A Letter from Dijkstra on APL” ↗