Sun Tzu on the Art of War

By Lionel Giles and Active 6th Century B C Sunzi

"The Art of War" by Sun Tzu is a cornerstone of military strategy and ancient philosophy, offering timeless insights into warfare, leadership, and tactics. This edition, presented without translator's annotations, allows readers to engage directly with Sun Tzu's original text. A foundational work on military strategy, "The Art of War" explores the principles of effective leadership, emphasizing planning, deception, and discipline. Its teachings extend beyond the battlefield, influencing fields like business, negotiation, and conflict resolution. Discover the enduring wisdom of this classic text, a vital resource for understanding strategy and leadership from ancient times to the present day. A must-read for anyone interested in history, philosophy, and the art of strategic thinking.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.

This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.

Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1023156709
• ISBN13: 9781023156707
• Release Date: March 2025
• Publisher: Anson Street Press
• Length: 36 Pages
• Weight: 0.14 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

A few grains of truth in a lot of chaff.

Today, many of Sun Tzu's quotes are floating around mixed with Shakespeare and the Bible. And as with many of the quotes, they are out of context and misleading. The quoter usually thinks that repeating the word is some sort of magic. This volume at least tries to show the facts of Sun Tzu and not go overboard on popular cultural deviations as to how to apply them to other disciplines. There is an excellent index if you are looking for something specific. It is easy with hindsight and a closer look at the future to dismiss Sun Tzu as his practical tactical knowledge is of a time and place long gone. He spends a lot of time on the use of weapons and information gathering techniques of the time. This can be interesting in a historical context; otherwise, it is quite amusing. Oh yes, those grains of truth I mentioned, well, they may sound like clichés, but they are still viable. "Know your enemy and know yourself". Others are just practical sense and statistical outcomes that you learn in any military training. I could go through the list, but again, that is why you buy the book. Now, just as you decide that the book is outdated for any practical purposes today, we have artillery and now stealth and precision, the reminder that "no two wars are alike" and "it is the flexibility that makes a difference" is still true. Even in today's wars, there is a need for good intelligence and deception. We put a lot of time and energy into Psy-Ops. Sun Tzu shows the advantage of specialized units and crack troops. I have spent several years in the military and business and can say this book is a nice addition to history, otherwise of very little value to today's world for war or business or anything else that might come up.