Ninja ways live on in the real 'last of the ninjas', Hiroo Onoda, who held out in the Philippine jungle for 30 years. That re-emerged in World War Two as a little-known counterpart to Japanese militarism.

But that was not the end of the ninja ethos. In a journey to the heartland of the ninjas, he takes us from their origins over 1,000 years ago, through their heyday in the civil wars that ended with Japan's unification in 1600. In Ninja John Man goes in search of the truth. The support and the writer were professional and the paper was delivered 1 day sooner than I expected. It was the first time I didn’t have to ask for a revision. As a result, martial artists and story-tellers have turned them into fantasy creatures, from James Bond to Mutant Turtles. Spies, assassins, saboteurs, and secret agents, Ninja have become the subject of countless legends that continue to enthrall us in modern movies, video games, and comicsand their arts are still practiced in our time by dedicated acolytes who study the ancient techniques. Unlike Ninja: 1,000 Years Of The Shadow WarriorJohn Man other services, these guys do follow paper instructions. Could they fly? Make themselves invisible? Of course not.It was just that their skills gave them a magical aura.

In their secrecy, under-cover skills and determination to survive, they were the opposite of the overt, self destructive samurai. But once they were real, the medieval equivalent of the SAS- spies, saboteurs, assassins. The Ninjas today are the stuff of myth and legend in comics, film and electronic games.