Every Boy's Judo. A.P. Harrington. Signet, 1959. A surprisingly good introduction to Judo from warm-ups, to basic movement, to some relatively advanced techniques including some surprising variations on arm locks not found anywhere else.

Every Girl's Judo. A.P. Harrington. Emerson Books, Inc., 1960. 127 pp. Hardcover. A good Judo book covering a broad range of skills, and a nice section on "necklocks" (chokes) and self defense from a woman's perspective. All of the line drawings have been changed to show a girl or woman performing the technique, but Harrington does not suggest that woman should not be doing the full range of technical Judo Skills, to the contrary, he covers the full range of standard, basic Judo. [9/1/2002]

The Father of Judo. Brian N. Watson. Kodansha International. 2000. 212 pp. Hardcover. The first extensive biographical treatment published in English of the life of the founder of Judo, Jigoro Kano, this book is quite readable. This is both its strong point and its weak point. It is written in a novelistic style, inventing appropriate conversation and situations to describe actual occurrences in Kano's life. The author utilizes the somewhat disconcerting habit of referring to Kano as "Jigoro" throughout the book which is a familiarity uncomfortable to Japanese and Judo people alike. This writing approach is not footnoted and so the scholarly work that obviously went into this book is not reflected as clearly as it could or should be. On the other hand, a great deal of the book is devoted to actual quotes from Kano himself, from various sources, and so the book rings with authenticity for anyone interested in this giant of modern Budo. The author emphasizes Kano's remarkable range of interests and achievements across a broad spectrum of activities, and the reader quickly begins to appreciate that the creation of Judo, and the modernization of Budo, was no accident, nor was it inevitable. It was the single-handed achievement of an extremely intelligent, well-educated man of exceedingly broad interests energized by a powerful personality. A book well worth reading for all ages. Available at Amazon Books. [12/2/2000].

Fighting Judo. Katsuhiko Kashiwazaki. Pelham Books, 1985. This is an inspiring book because, firstly, the photography in this book is matchless. No martial art book conveys the spirit of its art through photography better than this one. Secondly, its author is one of the premier grappling and sutemi waza specialists, and this book reflects his specialty. Thirdly, he is a bit of a philosopher, and it shows through in short sidebars throughout the book. His own story, in a brief chapter at the end, is inspiring, and shows that suffering, which is inherent in the sport aspect of Judo, produces a wisdom and a spirit and a character missing from those martial arts which dabble in the theory of movement without the suffering of defeat.

The Fighting Spirit of Judo. Yasuhiro Yamashita. Ippon Books, Ltd., 1993. A wonderful book which is sort of autobiography of skill and spirit by one of the all-time greats in Judo. It also provides in-depth examinations of Yamashita's favorite throwing and grappling skills. Although we sometimes think of Yamashita as huge and powerful, he was in fact smaller than most of his opponents, so this book's title has substantial meaning in explaining this great champion's success. Available as one of Ippon Books Special Interest Judo Books.

The Forge of the Spirit. John J. Donahue. Garland Publishing Co., 1991. An interesting investigation by an anthropologist into the Japanese martial arts of Judo, Kendo and Aikido. He attempts to place these into a cultural context, and also to distinguish their philosophical approaches. Judo, he observes, is "Budo by Ordeal. ... the judoka I practiced with seemed to absorb a tremendous amount of damage during practice. ... I was injured more in three months of judo practice than I had been during the three years that I had studied karate while an undergraduate at college." Well, how do you forge a spirit? Although there is much to disagree with in this book, it is very good reading and an outstanding reference.

Get to Grips with Judo. Peter Holme. Blandford Publishers, 1995. This is designed as a basic introduction, apparently for teenagers, and includes some odd things such as a katakana lesson, better coverage of the contest rules than most, but an oddly limited section of techniques. The only standing throws discussed are osotogari and soto maki komi. A very good glossary of terms is included. At Barnes & Noble Bookstore.

Go-Kyo- Principles of Judo. Anton Geesink. Arco Publishing Co, 1967. 96pp. Hardcover. Geesink points out, from the standpoint of a Westerner who trained extensively in Japan, that the Japanese placed a much greater emphasis on contest results as a basis for promotion than did the Europeans. He also discusses the influence, a corrupting one he thought, of Kawaishi on European Judo. This book, though, is mainly dedicated to an exposition of the Go-kyo, the series of techniques which form the foundation of the Judo syllabus. There is a good detailed exposition of each of the 65 throws of this 1967 version of the Go-Kyo, and reasonably good photographs. The interesting observation is that Geesink was a true "giant" of Judo, and it shows in these photographs where he literally dwarfs his opponents. The first non-Japanese to win a world championship, then the 1964 Olympic Gold Medal, Geesink trained hard in both the Netherlands and in Japan. His world championship win, when Judo was still only an open class sport, promptly reversed the long-standing Japanese opposition to the European idea of weight classes. By the time he reached the Olympic Games, some Japanese coaches were already predicting that his dedication and power would carry the day. Other Japanese coaches, convinced that no non-Japanese could excel at Judo, ignored the advice. Donn Draeger and Takahiko Ishikawa had earlier emphasized weight training in their landmark textbook, but Geesink, as well as Isao Inokuma, proved that it worked. 

Great Judo Championships of the World. Oon Oon Yeoh. Ippon Books, 1993. This is a historical record of Judo in the Olympics, the Judo World Championships, European Championships, Kano Cup, the Fukuoka Cup, and the Tournament of Paris. This is kind of a "Who's Who" listing of the results over the years, with textual backup on the big matches and dramas. The book is nicely enhanced by sidebars on important competitors, many of whom we have only heard their names but don't know much about. For instance, we are told that the president of the German Judo Federation wanted to take a day and go to Disneyland during the 1984 Olympic Games, and so asked his chief coach which German player was least likely to win a medal. He thought Frank Wieneke, a virtual unknown in the 78kg class, would probably lose his first match, so the GJF president missed the "greatest upset in Olympic Judo history," when Wieneke beat Neil Adams for the Gold Medal. 240 pp. softcover. Ippon Books.

Grips. Neil Adams. Judo Masterclass Series. Ippon Books, 1992. Kumikata, or grips, is an important area of Judo and self defense skills, for which there exist surprisingly little literature. Adams was a grip specialist, and this book fills an important need, and is stimulating reading for Judoka. Available from Ippon Books

Guide to Judo. Takumi Ohashi. Nihon Kogyo Shimbun, 1962. Designed as an introduction to Judo, it is designed for intelligent Judo practitioners, describing sophisticated variations of throwing and grappling techniques.

Guide to Judo, Ju Jitsu and Associated Arts. James M. Moynahan, Jr. Pullman, Washington, 1961. An introduction to Judo from a "Kodenkan" perspective (a Ju Jitsu school that considered itself a variant of Judo, with more self defense orientation). It appears designed as an inexpensive but thorough booklet of the differences, the rank systems, and some discussion of other martial styles.