Shogun is one of those rare books that you wish would go on forever. Indeed, I know people who re-read it every year. The story follows the adventures of marooned English sailor John Blackthorne in late medieval Japan during the tumultuous years when Tokugawa Ieyasu (here called Toranaga) was uniting all of Japan under his rule by any means necessary. It's truly an epic tale of war, honor, trechery, masterful manipulations, tragic heroism, and star-crossed love.
James Clavell
The time is World War II. The place is a brutal prison camp deep in Japanese-occupied territory. Here, within the seething mass of humanity, one man, an American corporal, seeks dominance over both captives and captors alike. His weapons are human courage, unblinking understanding of human weaknesses, and total willingness to exploit every opportunity to enlarge his power and corrupt or destroy anyone who stands in his path.
Set in Japan in the year 1600, Shōgun is the earliest book in James Clavell’s magnificent Asian Saga. Grand in scope and scale, filled with the richness and passion of history, Shōgun is a classic novel of Japan—a vibrant and authentic portrait of a nation seething with violence and intrigue as it moves from the medieval world to the modern.