The Art of War

By: Tzu, Sun

One of the oldest collections of military wisdom, Sun Tzu's The Art of War 's collection of maxims and proverbs stands up as an effective philosophy of life. The Art of War is the oldest and most influential military strategy text in existence. Ancient Chinese general, military strategist, and philosopher, Sun Tzu's, teachings on how to successfully respond to and handle situations of conflict lives on as a must-read for for today's business leaders, politicians, and anyone heading into heated situations. Whether you approach this reading for its historical significance, or choose to apply this knowledge toward achieving success in your own life , this collection of mantras and proverbs is certain to leave you enlightened. This original translation by Lionel Giles of The British Museum in 1910 comes elegantly designed in a clothbound edition, and features an elastic closure. Modern expert, Michael Evans, provides a new introduction in this newly produced edition.

• Format: Flexibound
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1631063294
• ISBN13: 9781631063299
• Release Date: March 2017
• Publisher: Race Point Publishing
• Length: 268 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.7" x 7.6"

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 Now, just as you decide that the book is outdated for any practical purposes today, we have artillery and now stealth and precision, the reminder that "no two wars are alike" and "it is the flexibility that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.