The Art of War
by Sun Tzu
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Read in May, 2007
This is a book that will weather all wars, times, empires, and leaders; it's teachings are universally applicable and never more pertinent than NOW.
One tragic insight it allows is that the Iraq war is doomed to \"misfortune,\" seeing how the tactics are opposite what Tzu espoused centuries ago..
Ways a leader can bring misfortune:
1. Commanding without knowledge of battlefield conditions.
2. Employing military principles with political interference.
3. Seeking terrain and si...more
One tragic insight it allows is that the Iraq war is doomed to \"misfortune,\" seeing how the tactics are opposite what Tzu espoused centuries ago..
Ways a leader can bring misfortune:
1. Commanding without knowledge of battlefield conditions.
2. Employing military principles with political interference.
3. Seeking terrain and si...more
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Read in April, 2007
recommends it for:
morons or tacticians
Evidently, it seems, for the last couple thousand years, EVERYONE has been using the same textbook on how to conduct a war. It also seems to be that nobody even knows for sure who wrote the book or when, but everyone uses it anyway. Included in this book are precious reminders that strategy helps you win, retreating helps you not die, if you outnumber the enemy 5 to 1, attacking would probably be a good idea, and also if you're a tiny country surrounded by powerful countries, it might be time to...more
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Read in June, 2008
Before I read this book I've heard alot about it. Many people refer to it as a "must read" and a classic of ancient chinese literature. Also it is often named as an example for very old strategies helpful in your modern daily life. The guy who wrote the foreword of the edition I read goes on. He mentions that if he was ruling, he would oblige every head of state in the world to read it. So I decided to read it as well.
...and got very confused, asking myself what in my modern daily ...more
...and got very confused, asking myself what in my modern daily ...more
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recommends it for:
Everyone
So many little wars must be waged daily. Works on the battlefield and the office.
CLASSICS:
"When the enemy is relaxed, make them toil. When full, starve them. When settled, make them move."
"In conflict, straightforward actions generally lead to engagement, surprising actions generally lead to victory."
"Thus those skilled in war subdue the enemy's army without battle .... They conquer by strategy."
"Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hu...more
CLASSICS:
"When the enemy is relaxed, make them toil. When full, starve them. When settled, make them move."
"In conflict, straightforward actions generally lead to engagement, surprising actions generally lead to victory."
"Thus those skilled in war subdue the enemy's army without battle .... They conquer by strategy."
"Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hu...more
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Read in January, 2008
"Generally, he who occupies the field of battle first and awaits his enemy is at ease; he who comes later to the scene and rushes into the fight is weary."
I have been reading this book off and on for a few days before going to sleep. Alec bought it at a thrift store spurred by its connection with Tony Soprano.
The thing that amazes me the most now is how distant I feel from the subject matter. I know I am supposed to apply the author's techniques for wartime behavior in everyday...more
I have been reading this book off and on for a few days before going to sleep. Alec bought it at a thrift store spurred by its connection with Tony Soprano.
The thing that amazes me the most now is how distant I feel from the subject matter. I know I am supposed to apply the author's techniques for wartime behavior in everyday...more
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I read this book via email. That's right, Daily Lit is a website that will email you a different part of a public domain book each day until you are done with it. A great way to basically force yourself to read a book a little bit each day. The emails were not long, and it only took about 2 minutes to read each segment in the morning. Definitely worth checking out, even if the selection is limited.
The Art of War is Sun Tzu's classic tre...more
The Art of War is Sun Tzu's classic tre...more
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Read in September, 2007
If you've ever picked up a self-help book where the author is repeatedly stating the obvious, then you've experienced the writing style of this book. The overall concepts could've been summarized in a short essay rather than a book. Its length is a testament to its antiquity, though the author has done a noble job of re-ordering and editing bits of the chapters to provide continuity and to delete repetition.
Oriental philosophy is often ripe with a kind of double-speak and this book is no e...more
Oriental philosophy is often ripe with a kind of double-speak and this book is no e...more
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Read in September, 1998
recommends it for:
Classics readers, philosophy and politics readers
The Art of War is one of the great classics of any language, and this is an admirable translation that I've enjoyed revisitng dozens of times since I first read it. It gives you a sense of the cutting edge of war centuries ago, cuts to basic human motivations. Further, Sun Tzu's advice can mostly be reapplied to the combative aspects of business meetings, arguments and conversations that we have every day. Supply, morale, high ground - it's all been re-adapted for use in virtually every p...more
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نویسنده این کتاب “سان تزو” ست، یک تئوریسین متعلق به چین باستان، که در اون زمان حرف هایی زده که علم مدیریت نوین رو وامدار خودش کرده.
کتاب ” هنر جنگ آوری ” دربردارنده کلیه آرای سان تزو در جنگ استراتژی های جنگی مشتمل بر ۱۳ فصل است. هنری کسینجر سیاستمدار آمریکایی اشاره می کند که ا...more
کتاب ” هنر جنگ آوری ” دربردارنده کلیه آرای سان تزو در جنگ استراتژی های جنگی مشتمل بر ۱۳ فصل است. هنری کسینجر سیاستمدار آمریکایی اشاره می کند که ا...more
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Read in May, 2008
The book Sun Tzu’s art of war is a very good and well written piece of ancient literature that is to this day considered a Chinese classic. The book was written hundreds of years ago but is used to this day by business men and by military officials around the world. It is looked at as being one of the best strategy books ever written.
I read this book because I love to read books with history behind them and when I read this book I was over whelmed at how detailed the book was when it exp...more
I read this book because I love to read books with history behind them and when I read this book I was over whelmed at how detailed the book was when it exp...more
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Read in July, 2002
Slightly overrated I have to say. The philosophy is in fact very basic, but because it is so basic, it is also so easy to grasp and utilise in the variety of military strategies which this Chinese philosopher recommends. It does its job best to provide philosophy as a plane for practical application, rather than most of Western philosophy which only makes simple things harder to understand, and for that reason, I recommend this book. However, like any philosophy which focuses too much on self...more
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In the truly Taoist approach that should not come as a surprise from Sun Tze, this book is a discussion of both war and peace. First, of the methods of waging war, of engaging in conflicts both on a small and large scale, but also as a discussion of when it is appropriate to break the peace and when it is not.
Sun Tze is very clear that the purpose of war is to defeat your opponent, to shatter his army in a way that prevents him from returning to the field in the forseeable future. But, tha...more
Sun Tze is very clear that the purpose of war is to defeat your opponent, to shatter his army in a way that prevents him from returning to the field in the forseeable future. But, tha...more
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Read in July, 2007
Didn't read this version... actually, listening to a free audiobook via podcast (it's public domain).
Anyway, being a medievalist I fully recognize the glimmers of modern-day applicability in texts still being published albeit hundreds/thousands of years old. As I was listening to it last night, in particular, I noticed things that our own government would be wise to heed (esp. part 2) - primarily because they are doing just the opposite. The book is full of examples of wisdom that are not o...more
Anyway, being a medievalist I fully recognize the glimmers of modern-day applicability in texts still being published albeit hundreds/thousands of years old. As I was listening to it last night, in particular, I noticed things that our own government would be wise to heed (esp. part 2) - primarily because they are doing just the opposite. The book is full of examples of wisdom that are not o...more
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Read in September, 2007
recommends it for:
Everyone except those listed above
My books is not this version, its the comic version by someone whom I've forgotten. It is an enjoyable read, and its interesting to see how this book was and can be immplemented in real life. However, it does have its shortcomings in how technology had advanced and some of these concepts are now obsolete, but this was written some 2,500 years ago, so I guess that is excusable. For example, archers can be changed into the normal infantry, and strategies can be adapted.
This is surprisingly al...more
This is surprisingly al...more
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Read in December, 2007
recommends it for:
Genies and Phalanxes
Short and sweet. I really like the emphasis placed on non-violence by Sun Tzu. Of course it must be acknowledged that avoiding all conflict is not possible. But, so poignantly stated by Sun Tzu, "to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting."
A cogent point is also made about pride. Over and over Sun Tzu warns against fighting when it is not needed. Fighting just to prove a point is...more
A cogent point is also made about pride. Over and over Sun Tzu warns against fighting when it is not needed. Fighting just to prove a point is...more
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Read in January, 2005
Before Sun Tzu, tactical warfare was a heavily studied but infantile concept.
Traditional strategists exploited the enemies weaknesses as a means to victory- an important, but incomplete focus. Sun Tzu builds on this idea by teaching how the wise leader begins their conquest by first mastering themselves, their emotions and acknowledging warfare as a struggle against both foreign and internal opposition.
Applicable even today for the average person, uses can be found in the mini-battl...more
Traditional strategists exploited the enemies weaknesses as a means to victory- an important, but incomplete focus. Sun Tzu builds on this idea by teaching how the wise leader begins their conquest by first mastering themselves, their emotions and acknowledging warfare as a struggle against both foreign and internal opposition.
Applicable even today for the average person, uses can be found in the mini-battl...more
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Read in September, 2007
recommends it for:
Sinologists, history buffs, and those interested in strategy and ancient warfare
Status: Still wading through the Introduction
With one-third of the book focused on introducing the main material (covering the historical, socio-political context and orienting the readers toward primary concepts), the book is more suited to those interested in history, ancient warfare and Sinology. Readers looking for direct explanations of how to apply Sun Tzu's Art of War to modern life as strategy might have to look elsewhere.
Ra...more
With one-third of the book focused on introducing the main material (covering the historical, socio-political context and orienting the readers toward primary concepts), the book is more suited to those interested in history, ancient warfare and Sinology. Readers looking for direct explanations of how to apply Sun Tzu's Art of War to modern life as strategy might have to look elsewhere.
Ra...more
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Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
friends
One of the classics of the ancient world, it also speaks volumes in our own modern world.
This particular version had a long-winded history lesson as it's introduction, which was much longer than Sun Tzu's book itself. It was somewhat interesting, but not all that necessary. The actual book can be somewhat vague (we don't need to fight the way ancient Chinese warriors did), but it is easily open to the reader's own interpretation to apply to situations in their own lives. I highly recommend r...more
This particular version had a long-winded history lesson as it's introduction, which was much longer than Sun Tzu's book itself. It was somewhat interesting, but not all that necessary. The actual book can be somewhat vague (we don't need to fight the way ancient Chinese warriors did), but it is easily open to the reader's own interpretation to apply to situations in their own lives. I highly recommend r...more
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recommends it for:
Stewie Griffin
I don't plan on taking over the world, and I doubt Sun Tzu wrote this as a treatise for would-be super-villains, but any armchair despot would be hard pressed to not have this book in thier bathroom next to their toilet (where we all read and you know it). I would rank this book much higher than Machievelli's <i>Prince<i/> only because there is a much higher sense of honor inherent in Tzu's principles. Much of what is taught in this book can be applied to more than mere boardr...more
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Read in September, 2007
I recently re-read this book for the second time and I really enjoyed it. My favorite aspect of this book is that it is applicable to so much more than war. Most directly, I am thinking about how both Coach Bobby Bowden and Coach Steven Orr Spurrier are both disciples. (Don’t turn the ball over, be deceptive, be prepared, stay organized, etc.) Most of the principles set forth in this book have universal application and should be periodically consulted by more than just those fighting the c...more
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