Stephen Turnbull is recognized as one of the world's foremost military historians of the medieval and early modern periods. He first rose to prominence as a result of his 1977 book, The Samurai: A Military History. Since then he has achieved an equal fame in writing about European military subjects and has had 30 books published. He has always tried to concentrate on the less familiar areas of military history, in particular such topics as Korea, Eastern Europe, the Baltic states, and the Teutonic Knights. Stephen is currently acting as Historical Advisor for the 2012 Universal Pictures movie The Forty-Seven Ronin starring Keanu Reeves.(LONGER VERSION if rquired?)Stephen Turnbull took his first degree at Cambridge University, and has two MAs (in Theology and Military History) from Leeds University. In 1996 he received a PhD from Leeds for his work on Japanese religious history. He travels extensively in Europe and the Far East and also runs a well-used picture library. His work has been recognized by the awarding of the Canon Prize of the British Association for Japanese Studies and a Japan Festival Literary Award. In 2008 he was appointed Visiting Professor of Japanese Studies at Akita International University in Japan. Stephen Turnbull currently divides his time between lecturing in Japanese Religion and History at Leeds University and freelance writing. Stephen is currently acting as Historical Advisor for the 2012 Universal Pictures movie The Forty-Seven Ronin starring Keanu Reeves.

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