The famed samurai sword (nihonto) represents the pinnacle of bladed weaponry in the Japanese warrior’s arsenal. As you read other books and articles about Japanese swords, or practice kendo or iaido, or see highly polished blades in a museum, the chapters here will enhance your knowledge and appreciation of nihonto and their intrinsic value.

Reading this anthology will help martial art students better understand differences between traditional schools and those that focus solely on profit. Owners can deepen their business acumen and utilize information provided in these chapters to shape their schools’ program. Of course many are influenced by martial art organizations that may be established on a local level, national or international. As an addition to your regular studies of martial art techniques and traditions, the inform...

The untold story of 2018 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Sister Rosetta Tharpe, America’s first rock guitar divaLong before “women in rock” became a media catchphrase, African American guitar virtuoso Rosetta Tharpe proved in spectacular fashion that women could rock. Born in Cotton Plant, Arkansas, in 1915, Tharpe was gospel’s first superstar and the preeminent crossover figure of its golden age (1945–1965).Shout, Sister, Shout! is the first b...

So, my girlfriend, Cassidy, is threatening to kick me to the curb again, my best friend suddenly wants to put the brakes on our lives of fabulous fun, my mom and big sister are plotting a future in which I turn into an atomic vampire, and my dad, well, my dad is a big fat question mark that I’m not sure I want the answer to.Some people would let a senior year like this get them down. Not me. I’m Sutter Keely, master of the party. But don’t mistake a midnight philosopher like me for...