Title: Keeper of the Arts
Author: Jackie Grant Miller
Publisher: Trafford Publishing
ISBN: 141207784-2
Genre: Fiction/Martial Arts

Any one who watched Bruce Lee's "Enter the Dragon" (if not other movies) will be certainly intrigued by the apparently effortless way the Master defends him/herself from many attackers. And watching that movie and some of Jackie Chan certainly whetted my curiosity and so when an opportunity came along to review this book, I said yes. I also read / heard of other styles like Aikido, Jujutsu etc. and thus wanted to read about the different styles that the author was mentioning.

The book is a bridge between a fictitious account and a thesis. So, you need to persevere with it. The book is certainly informative but unless you are familiar with the movements of the different martial arts, it may be difficult to relate to them. The historical accuracy of the book is out of my purview since I am not an expert on the history of the different cultures.

The book evolved from a stage play titlled Dream Maker. Thus, what is obviously a very visual exression of the different martial arts had to be converted into prose and that is not easy, esp. in the absence of any photos or illustrative diagrams.

Try to browse through the book (either online or in a bookshop) before deciding whether it is for you.