Stray Dogs & Lone Wolves

Finally, a book about the ever-popular genre of samurai film. Stray Dogs & Lone Wolves provides essential background on the samurai warrior in Japanese culture to help explain what makes these tales of loyalty, revenge and explosive swordsmanship so watchable. It covers top directors and stars and has over 50 original reviews of a wide variety of films, from classics like Samurai Trilogy and Yojimbo to influential films like Lady Snowblood, plus newly released hits like Takeshi Kitano's Zatoichi. With American directors like Quentin Tarentino increasingly influenced by Japanese films, this book is as much a guide to style as it is a solid film reference.

Patrick Galloway, a lifelong student of Asian philosophy, film and culture, lives in Eugene, Oregon.