The most admirable inventions would never have been known if common sense had not helped them to be produced, strengthening those who conceived them by the support of logic, which demonstrated to them the truth of their presumptions…. Would one not say that the Shogun, in writing these lines, foresaw the magnificent efforts which we are witnessing each day and that from the depths of time he caught a glimpse of these brave conquerors of the air and of space, whose great deeds, seeming at times the result of a crazy temerity, are in reality only homage rendered to common sense, which has permitted them to calculate the value of their initiative without mistake? -from Great Aspirations Was Yoritomo-Tashi really the venerable Shogun the publishers insist he was in their Announcement ? Or was Yoritomo-Tashi the pseudonym of a mysterious Mme. Blanchard ? Whether this 1916 classic of mental efficiency is the wisdom of an ancient Japanese philosopher-warrior or the solid advice of a sensible Frenchwoman, it is essential reading for anyone floundering on the modern civic battlefields of business, politics, or society at large. An excellent companion to The Art of War, and just as applicable today whether its guidance is a hundred or a thousand years old, this compact volume will help the adherent concentrate the mind, hone the perception, achieve calmness of spirit, and exercise self-control, all with the aim of cultivating a practical approach to success. YORITOMO-TASHI-or MME. BLANCHARD-also wrote Timidity: How to Overcome It and Influence: How to Exert It.