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Win a copy of Eclipse Collections Categorically: Level up your programming game this week in the Open Source Projects forum!
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To be or not to be. It's a question.
qunfeng wang wrote:The one on the cover seems not a ninja.
It's a well known hero in Chinese tale. His name is Sun Wukong. He is famous for his 72 kinds of skills
Would you please share with us why this figure is picked to be the cover?
BTW, the cover looks great.
About the cover illustration
The figure on the cover of Secrets of the JavaScript Ninja is captioned “Noh Actor, Samurai,” from a woodblock print by an unknown Japanese artist of the mid-nineteenth century. Derived from the Japanese word for talent or skill, Noh is a form of classical Japanese musical drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Many characters are masked, with men playing male and female roles. The samurai, a hero figure in Japan for hundreds of years, was often featured in the performances, and in this print the artist renders with great skill the beauty of the costume and the ferocity of the samurai.
Samurai and ninjas were both warriors excelling in the Japanese art of war, known for their bravery and cunning. Samurai were elite soldiers, well-educated men who knew how to read and write as well as fight, and they were bound by a strict code of honor called Bushido (The Way of the Warrior), which was passed down orally from generation to generation, starting in the 10th century. Recruited from the aristocracy and upper classes, analagous to European knights, samurai went into battle in large formations, wearing elaborate armor and colorful dress which meant to impress and intimidate. Ninjas were chosen for their martial arts skills rather than their social standing or education. Dressed in black and with their faces covered, they were sent on missions alone or in smaller groups to attack the enemy with subterfuge and stealth, using any tactics to assure success; their only code was one of secrecy.
The cover illustration is from a set of three Japanes prints owned for many years by a Manning editor, and when we were looking for a ninja for the cover of this book, the striking samurai print came to our attention and was selected for its intricate details, vibrant colors, and vivid depiction of a ferocious warrior ready to strike—and win.
At a time when it is hard to tell one computer book from another, Manning celebrates the inventiveness and initiative of the computer business with book covers based on two-hundred year old illustrations that depict the rich diversity of traditional costumes from around the world, brought back to life by prints such as this one.
To be or not to be. It's a question.
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I claim this furniture in the name of The Ottoman Empire! You can keep this tiny ad:
Clean our rivers and oceans from home
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/paulwheaton/willow-feeders
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