The Art of War

By Sun Tzu

Book Overview

The Art of War is an ancient Chinese military treatise dating from the 5th century BC. Attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu ("Master Sun", also spelled Sunzi) the text is composed of 13 chapters, each of which is devoted to one aspect of warfare. It is commonly thought of as a definitive work on military strategy and tactics. It was placed at the head of China's Seven Military Classics upon the collection's creation in 1080 by Emperor Shenzong of Song, and has long been the most influential strategy text in East Asia. It has had an influence on Eastern and Western military thinking, business tactics, legal strategy and beyond.

This edition is the unaltered, uncommented text as written by Sun Tzu in the translation of Lionel Giles, first published in 1910.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1545211957
• ISBN13: 9781545211953
• Release Date: April 2017
• Publisher: Greyhound Press
• Length: 40 Pages
• Weight: 0.63 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 6.0" x 9.0"

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 Now, just as you decide that the book is outdated for any practical purposes today, we have artillery and now stealth and precision, the reminder that "no two wars are alike" and "it is the flexibility that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

Amazing

Amazing book well written.

Sun Tzu knows what's good

There's a lot of history and other stories that make up the majority of the book, which was good for me but maybe not for everyone. Even if you never see battle with your own eyes, this can give you some good life advice.

Everyone should know about Sun Tzu...

I take a star off because, frankly, alot of the geography/history is a bit too arcane for the Western reader. But it's a great book nonetheless.