A lot of this book was ghost written by Stephen K. Hayes or someone whose writing style mimics that of Mr. Hayes. One only need to compare the wording of Stephen K. Hayes' own books with this one to see the strong similarities. As a result, a lot of the information is the ghost writer's own interpretation of Hatsumi-sensei's art and must be considered as incorrect as I've yet to see or hear Soke use such interpretations. There are a quite of lot of interesting photographs of training in the 'old days'... more info
Fun read, but dated.:
Masaaki Hatsumi's overview of the Japanese Ninja is a fun read that gives a fairly brief survey of Ninjutsu. As someone skeptical of the whole "ninja thing" I found it both informative and frustrating, that the author worked hard to dispel myths about the ninja and their powers and then turn around and wax esoteric on the very same topic.
Many of the photos in the book are not particularly well taken and tend to be fuzzy and dated, and the captions do little to make them any more clear.
Still,... more info
Ninjutsu 101:
I bought this book a long time ago when I first started learning Ninjutsu. This is essential for anyone studying Ninjutsu, as it has (like the title says) history. Besides the history, it has other information on stances, weapons, and practices of Ninjutsu. There are also many pictures and drawings to help you along. Like I said, if you are planning on taking Ninjutsu, if you are learning Ninjutsu now, or if you simply want to know the truth about where Ninjutsu came from (starting with the first... more info
A must-have for your martial arts library:
If your as tired of the usual ninja stereotypes as I am then this book is a must.
