Few countries have a warrior tradition as ancient and exciting as that of Japan--and it is embodied by one powerful and romantic figure: the loyal, self-sacrificing samurai. Exalted in stories, painting, and film, he was the valiant lone swordsman in battle, the ultimate individual combatant, but also a lover of beauty and nature. And for over 700 years, the samurai--whose name means "those who serve"--ruled Japan, struggling to protect the country from foreign influences. Their history and that of the nation are inseparably intertwined, and both unfold with the help of some 300 line drawings, photographs, and maps. Follow their rise between the 9th and 11th centuries A.D., their participation in over 600 years of civil war, and their role shift from knights on horseback to peacemaking administrators. Understand bushido, the complex code of conduct they lived by, and finally their decline and disappearance. A thrilling saga of an ever-fascinating warrior tribe.