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Title: Move over, Richard Chamberlain
Review: Everyone is familiar with "Shogun"; if not the book, then surely the lengthy TV mini-series. But the real story of the English pilot, William Adams is far more interesting. This is a wonderful book that encapsulate an era of exploration, the first halting attempts of economic empire-building, and the dawn of the Shogunate. And while Adams' personal story is not quite as dramatic as James Clavell's pilot, it is certainly more interesting and entertaining. Especially remarkable was to watch the speed of navigational developement and international operations over a period of a mere thirty years. One forgets at times that Jamestown and Plymouth were established within a few years after Adams' arrival in Japan, and by the time of his death, the Eastern Seaboard was almost entirely settled. A wonderful view of a time less well understood and frequently miscaracterized.
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