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Summary: History and strategy
Review: This is a very compeling book containing the secrets to warfar or competition. Useful knowledge in all walks of life and a very interesting read.
Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant
Review: I have to say that this is a wonderful source for military tactics and how to wage a war. Sun Tzu is indeed very perceptive and intelligent, and he does an excellent job of simplifying the concept of war and breaking it down for the average person to enjoy. Even today it is relivant and intresting, and it is very thought provoking.Throught history, China is an exception to all nations inthat it managed to stay together and perserve itself throught thousands of years and stay in the same shape despite conquoring and the world around them. No wonder they managed this with brilliant people like Sun Tzu around . And for those who did not like it becuase it was just about war tactics and was a little dry, well, what were you expecting? This is called "the Art of War". Take note of the word "war" in the title. That must mean it is about war! It does not take a genius to figure that out.
Rating:
Summary: Worth the price!
Review: I'd pair this book with the Tao Te Ching, and the I Ching. A book, written well over 5000 years ago, which is still applicable today. Insights that can be used in many facets of life including home and business. A must read for all you people who want to get ahead!
Rating:
Summary: A valuable read
Review: I read this book as part of a summer internship that I had, and I read it, along with The Book of the Five Rings and Machiavelli's The Prince, with the goal of parallelling its age-old principles to modern business. It is a good book, at some points very military-specific, but all in all a book that anyone could walk away from having benefited from the read. Its maxims can, with an open mind, be applied to almost any walk of life, though especially to the business world. It emphasises loyalty, determination, and most importantly foresight and analysis as keys to success in life.
I give it a 4. Its not necessary to get through life. A lot of what it says is obvious. It is a good book to recommend to anyone because you cant go wrong with it and you look well read. I certainly recommend it over the Book of the Five Rings.
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Summary: Art of Marketing War
Review: This book will definitely help in the feild of marketing. Much like war marketing deal with strategy and positioning. There i much to learn from this book. A definite must read.
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Summary: Old World Strategies For New World Bussiness
Review: I was looking forward to reading this book so much that I fell asleep while trying to read the first 90 pages of Sino history during the time of Sun Tzu. That is the only reason I gave it a four, instead of five stars. The author has openly not taken into account that very few of us have a fraction of his knowledge of these interesting events. I understand these to be of great importance to the reader but the author needed to simplfy it a bit. Some people have criticised this book because they were not able see how these passages correspond to modern day business relationships. It is up to the reader to interpret this for himself. One of my favorites is the following quote from page 128-129, passage 19-20 19. And therefore the general who is advancing does not seek personal fame, and in withdrawing is not concerned with avoiding punishment, but whose only purpose is to protect people and promote the best interests of his sovereign, is the precious jewel of the state. My translation: A boss must not have fear of his superior and make decisions that are in the best interests of the people he manages which sometime clash with those of highly political senior management. 20. Because such a general regards his men as infants they will march with him into the deepest valleys. He treats them as his own beloved sons and they will die with him. Tu Mu... During the Warring States when Wu Ch'i was a general he took the same food and wore the same clothes as the lowliest of his troops. On his bed there was no mat; on the march he did not mount his horse; he himself carried his reserve rations. He shared exhaustion and bitter toil with his troops. My translation: Bosses who spend time helping their employees solve problems, pitching in a hand with anybody in the team who is behind a project deadline etc. Employees who witness such actions are willing to spend any amount of overtime to help a team reach a goal. The boss can depend on their subordinates when push comes to shove. This book also unlocks the secrets to the Sino and Japanese business mentality. This book is a great read for any business person
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Summary: Unquestionably great
Review: I have read and reread this book too many times to count since I first got my hands on a copy years ago and added it to the few books that I never travel without. For people with the patience, insight, and intelligence to grasp the lessons inside, The Art of War offers more wisdom than the words alone suggest. Though simply written and far more general than specific, the suggestions and comments made by the author cut to the heart of conflict. Application, however, is up to the reader... So your mileage on this text may vary.
Rating: 
Summary: Art of war falls short of expectations
Review: The Art of War is a timeless classic written by a Chinese expert on war. Its principles can be applied to a wide variety of subjects and can be interpreted in a vast array of contexts. However, as musc as the book is praised and "hyped" it really fell short of my expectations. It is not a "Bible" of life, ie. rules to live by for success, but rather a collection of Chinese proverbs that are loosely organized and somewhat difficult to relate to at times. Moreover, most editions have prefaces and other "additions" by the person who translated the text, so in reality Sun Su's work was about 70 pages in my edition. I would not recommend buying the book, rent it at the local library instead and save it for a rainy day. For a great motivational book, I would recommend The Fountainhead by Aynn Rand.
Rating: 
Summary: zzzzz
Review: Man, after all the kudos my old, dumb crowd from high school had foisted on this book, to finally read it and see what they were crowing about...turned out to be nothing but namedrop, I guess, because its a bore and a half. This edition is 200 pages long, however, the actual text is onnly about 90. But it doesn't matter if you skip the prefaces and appendices, you'll still be reading very dry, dated, technical military tactics. Do not, do not buy this if you are expecting philosophy, martial arts wisdom, or business strategy. They just say that so you'll buy it. One thing was revealing; Sun Tzu's accomplishments and history, like Socrates and Jesus, may be apocryphal, merely an authority figure to refer to who had undeniable wisdom.
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Summary: The Timeless Beauty of War
Review: War is ugly, dirty, brutal, wasteful and expensive. That is the reality of it. Let's not pretend otherwise. Having said that, the ancient Chinese master strips away all the familiar trappings of war - the warriors, weapons, forts and tactics - to reveal the essence of conflict and how to win. His lessons are as valid here and now as they were in an empire a long time ago and far, far away. It simply does not matter how you are fighting, what you are fighting over nor even why you are fighting. If you are forced into conflict with another, the lessons in this book will guarantee victory. Brute strength, overwhelming force, super weapons, holding the high ground, none of these are required for victory. All that is needed is a leader who can understand and apply the principles of warfare. Essentially it boils down to three ideas.
1. Know yourself.
2. Know your enemy.
3. Only fight when you can win. Do this, and you will win competitions, elections, games. Anything that involves conflict. Even wars. Sun Tzu's elegant language lays bare the principles of warfare, illustrating his lessons with examples from Ancient China. It is a thought-provoking, colourful and valuable book.
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