The Art of War

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Summary: The classic handbook for military strategists
Review: The Art of War is a collection of essays dealing with strategy in warfare and is attributed to Sun Tzu who was a Chinese general around 500 B.C. His contributions are the earliest known treatises on the subject and have never been surpassed in comprehensiveness or depth of understanding. Sun Tzu's realism and moderation form a contrast to another well known military theorist, namely Karl Von Clausewitz who emphasized the logical ideal. World renowned author and military hero Sir Basil Henry Liddell-Hart, who is often lauded as the greatest military strategist of the century, provides a foreword where he outlines his praise for the essays' intrinsic value and foresight from 2500 years ago.
The translation begins with an introduction and biography of Sun Tzu and presents supporting information concerning the theory that Sun Tzu may not be the original author. The mysticism surrounding the controversy adds a secretive flavor to the text, common when scholars study ancient Chinese history. Before commencing with the strategic elements to winning, a background is provided which establishes the setting and status of each state, warfare tactics of the age along with the basis for war and how Sun Tzu would influence future Chinese leaders, notably Mao Zedong.
The Art of War was the first attempt to institute a standard for combat and warfare on the battle field. While created with an emphasis on military operations and combat settings, the concept has had farther reaching effect than planned. Since survival is the defining goal, Sun Tzu's ideals have evolved in nonmilitary facets of many oriental cultures which is shown most prominently in their business policies and negotiations. In this respect, Southeast Asian economies view business as war and therefore take trade and industry more serious than Western cultures.
The core of Sun Tzu's essays are his 13 characteristics necessary to winning conflicts. Each explains the significance to strategy and how the proper employment results in victory. One of the major aspects of winning according to Sun Tzu is controlling all phases of the war in conjunction with the ability to shift interactions to maintain the advantage. Tzu preaches the moral path as the way to victory instead of annihilation. Sun Tzu asserts that attacking the opposition leader's mind is more effective and less costly than overwhelming physical force.
The Art of War is difficult to read at points, a common occurrence when translating from language to language. This fact should not be a deterrence, given the significance of the subject matter and the applicability for today's world. The text incorporates notes to further explain the material covered and aides the reader with explanations for difficult translations from Chinese to English. Reference pages such as a list of abbreviations and brief biographies from Western commentators are included in the appendix. Works cited pages together with excerpts from Wu Chi, who had a major influence on Sun Tzu's military thought, further enhance the audience's knowledge base on the subject.
The piece reads like a how-to manual, providing step by step instructions. The Art of War is still widely read by world leaders and military commanders coupled with another well known strategy model, Machiavelli's Prince. Sun Tzu shares the comparable company of Von Clausewitz and Baron Antoine Henri Jomini as the top strategists of all time.


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Summary: GEORGE BUSH MUST HAVE READ THIS
Review: "The Art of War" is a book that any Wall Street dealmaker needs to read. It also is obvious that the true lessons of this book demonstrate precisely why George Bush was as right as rain when he went into Afghanistan and Iraq. Sun Tzu writes not about popularity but strength and victory. I would much rather America be strong and in control, winning the War on Terror as we are, than a crippled giant, which is the way many countries might like us - until our crippled condition makes it harder to defend them from obliteration as we have doner many times. I'll take respect over love in when it comes to geo-politics.

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Summary: A Masterpiece!!!
Review: I first learned about this book when I was reading selections from it in another book called A Collection of Wisdom (which, by the way, I highly recommend to anybody and everybody). I found the passages so outstanding that I soon became a full-fledged Art of War fan, reading anyhting and everything on it and even frequenting the internet Sun Tzu sites.

It is really amazing how this book is still applicable today, and not just to military operations, but to so many other aspects of life. Sun Tzu teaches in a straightforward style how to command an operation of utmost efficiency and effectiveness. Everything he recommends is only concerned with the best ends to the best means.

Rather than formulate rigid guidlines, Sun Tzu teaches us to base strategy on the infinite variety of circumstances and based on the foe we are facing. He teaches us to know ourselcves and whether we are in condition to attack, to know our enemies and know if they are in the condition to be atttacked, and to know the environmentla conditions in order to deermine whether fighting is practical. He advises us to have a balanced perspective based on defense and offense, the former protecting ourselves from defeat, and the latter making victory complete. He tells us to know the oppoenets weak spots and exploit them, and to avod where he is strong. And of course, he tells us to base warfare on deception, and to use direct methods and indirect methods in combination.

To use Sun Tzu's way, you must guard yourself, put on false appearances, and wait for the enemy to give you an opponent to make a mistake or leave himself open for atack. Then you must capitalize on it. He also says we shoudl bait opponents into vulnerbale spots. And we must use spies to gather information.

He also offers perspectives on picking the right people for the right jobs, and utilizing combined energy. Sun Tzu also tells us to be precise in out timing, and to avoid prolonged warfare, and know that the great aim is victory, and not lengthy campaigns.

I have read abut a dozen translations, all of them pretty good. Honestly, my favorite is the old school Lionel Giles translation. Also check out the book A Collection of Wisdom by Rodney Ohebsion, which although it does not contain the complete text, it contains most of best parts, and in what I think is the best translation of all.




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Summary: Most profound of all military thinkers, there are no better
Review: In the case of Sun Tzu, smaller is better. Other translations are packed with the commentary of people trying to explain what Sun Tzu meant. It is far better to study Sun Tzu and think for yourself first, then see what others had to say. Try not to overanalyze too soon or you will miss the simple yet profound insight of this most brilliant of military thinkers.

In it are the thinking of Hart's indirect approach, Lind's maneuver warfare, and Forrest's lightening raid and surprise. Do not underestimate the military insight in this small book.

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Summary: Cool...
Review: It is common knowledge that you cannot become a great warrior without mastering this work. There is combat in all aspects of life - from work to family and even when playing games. Its true that winning isnt everything, but of course losing is nothing. I read this because I want to be a trial lawyer and thought it would be fun to try to draw analogies between Sun-Tzu advice on the battlefield and that of the courtroom. It was surprisingly easy to do so. The snippets of wisdom can easily apply to other situations - much the same as how a horoscope can apply to any and all Capricorn's or Leo's. The general wording allows the reading to twist the advice to fit into their own life situation. I'm not sure that the reader truly learns any strategies they would not already know - but I found that reading this book puts the reader in a state of mind for combat and that in itself can be the path to victory.



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Summary: George Bush Read This Book?
Review: Its funny that someone here mentioned George Bush pertaining to this book because one of the first passages I read reminded me of his speech from the aircraft carrier when he claimed a very premature victory. The book very strongly warns against the foolishness of assuming victory too soon and recommends a strategy of allowing a more powerful adversary to assume victory while waiting to attack later when they are distracted and less strong. After reading that i thought - Ha! Bush would have been well-suited to have read this book.

Overall though I have to admit that I didn't love the book. So many ppl recommended the book to me that I was truly hoping it was going to be a favorite but i was frankly board throughout most of what I found to be extremely obvious observations. Perhaps I'll give it anothe try and try to soak up more of the subtle details at a later time when I have more patience.

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Summary: Classic Chinese Strategy Guide Applicable To Coaches!
Review: Many of you might be thinking, "Why in the world would I need an ancient Chinese Military Classic on my bookshelf?"

When a friend of mine suggested that I purchase this book, I asked myself that exact question. None-the-less I purchased the book and almost 100 pages later (because the entire book is just about 100 pages) I understood exactly why he had suggested it.

This treatise has applications reaching far beyond battle field ethics and strategy. For me, replacing the word "enemy" with "opponent" converts the book into a strategical synopsis for the field of sport. Sun Tzu lays out the ways and means to manage teams of people in straight forward simple language. This application reaches into politics, business, sport, and any managerial position.

I highly recommend this short, but critical read to anyone in a position of people management. This book will make you think about the strategies that you use in the command posts of your life.

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Summary: How to run a war or Business
Review: Sun Tzu "The Art of War" was excellent. This book is a great book on strategy. Whether you command a nations army, war games or a moderen business. If the reader uses some of these war tactics and strategies in the modern world, they may find it easy to relate. Thus it is easy to relate to this book. Even rivals in sports and entertainment can be outwitted by the wisdom in this book. It also adds examples of some actions, which show how these sayings and writings apply to the real world.

So no matter what you were looking for in this book, whether it be business, sports, war games, or actual wars, you can be sure to learn more on how to best deal with the situation through the strategies in this book.

The book is timeless....and should be required reading for all persons.

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Summary: TAOW - A true engagement of strategies, stardom & skills
Review: The true object of all war is peace & its requires supreme excellence of knowledge to dismantle enemies resistance without fighting, wiz-a-wig all kinds of intelligence, discipline, deviations - multi-dimensional factors dictate the matter of life, death and the road to , says Shiladitya 'Sunny' Ghosh in a book review of "The Art of War" edited and fore worded by James Clavell.

Very little seems to have changed since last 2,500 years when Sun Tzu, the great Chinese Philosopher wrote "The Art of War" with respect to philosophies of fighting wars. They are still driven by the law of Moral, Commander, Earth, Heaven and Methods of the Majesties commission. But what might have transformed lies in conditions & present resources of war.

Thirteen chapters of must enforceable laws & a foreword on the author Sun Tzu covers the entire spectrum of waging wars. From waging wars to the use of spies, intermingled brilliantly with tactics out of history this book has served as the stratagem guide to Napoleon & the Soviet political-military hierarchy, where it is obligatory bible for soldiers studying the art of war.

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Summary: nothing new for those of us with experience
Review: This book is a 101 guide to being a good military strategist, if you already have spent allot of time researching Military Science such as I have then I wouldnt bother reading it because allot of it you will already know, but if you are a beginner in Military Science then I would recommend this as a first read, however I wouldnt purchase it because the book is so old it can be downloaded free of the internet.