December 2021 Book Survey
Welcome to the December 2021 reading survey! Introduction In December 2021, I (Richard) continued my reading plan that prioritized print books that have been on my shelf for months, or years. This post describes a mix of print and digital books I read in December. Read on to separate the wheat from the chaff. Weapons of the Samurai, Stephen Turnbull, 2021 Weapons of the Samurai is one of the latest additions to the impressive catalog of Dr Stephen Turnbull. I devoted an entire post to him in March 2021 titled Survey of Stephen Turnbull Samurai Texts . This new book offers what you'd expect from publisher Osprey -- great illustrations, modern scholarship, and beautiful presentation. I was surprised to read about the use of Chinese-made firearms in Japan as early as 1468, well before their introduction by the Portuguese in the famous 1543 event. Dr Turnbull mentioned there is a record of a samurai being wounded by a firearm in 1524 or 1527 (p 55), for example. I liked how the boo