Written by James Clavell in 1976.

Tells the story of an English sailor marooned in feudal Japan (circa 1600), separated from his crew, and trained in the ways of Japan by that region's daimyo. Absolutely epic, weighing in at more than 1000 pages. A great introduction into the complicated Japanese culture and politics of that era.

I got more out of reading Shogun than the entire "Introduction to Japanese Culture" class I took as an elective in college.