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Summary: Who has the best translation?
Review: From what I've heard it's one of the best books ever written... However, which translator did the best job in preserving the meaning? Can the biggest Sun Tzu fan please compare and contrast the different versions? Many thanks
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Summary: Whose book are we reading
Review: I must admit that there are pearls of wisdom scattered throughout this book, it seems that you must wade through depths of Samuel Griffiths' editorial comments to reach them. While Griffith seems very knowledgable, I had a hard time sorting out Sun Tzu's views and Griffith' opinions on them. Much time was spent on how Tzu's works affected other military and cultural leaders of history. While this was interesting reading, I thought I was buying The Art of War, by Sun Tzu, whan actually, I was buying a book written about the book.
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Summary: Great book
Review: You can use this book to learn strategy to deal with everyday situations in life. It is really intresting and very helpful.
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Summary: If you are in business, politics or military.....Buy it.
Review: The Art of War is about military strategy and tactics. The book was written centuries ago and its principles still apply, not only to the military field, but also to others such as business, sports, laws, politics, projects, etc.This book explain everything you have to know about competing...and competing smartly in a very pragmatic way .....from spying and signals, to war campaigns and resources administration. It is inevitable to transpose all the concepts you go learning to contemporary real life situations. The book was written thinking about war.....but within the modern competitive environment in wich we live, understanding this book really makes sense, specially for business purposes. This book is like Maquivelo would have written about war and not politics. I've heard of some versions written applying its concepts to several fields, but have not read them. I wanted to go straight to the original.....which is not hard to read. I really recommend this book, specially if you are in military, business or politics.
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Summary: "The Art of War" for those interested in war!
Review: I would like to put my two cents down for Colonel Griffith's translation and BH Lidell's forward, because, after all, "The Art of War" is really about military conflict. Many other translations exist, emphasizing the book's applications to business, politics, as a guide to life. While its lessons can be generalized to other fields of human enterprise, Sun Tzu was specifically talking about military struggle. In the case of this version, the writers are uniquely qualified to expound on Sun Tzu's rather terse text. Col. Griffith served with the U.S. Marines, and BH Lidell Hart was one of the most distinguished military historians of the 20th century. I feel these experiences give them insight into the text which other translators simply do not have. Regardless of one's knowledge of Chinese literature or Asian philosophy, in translating a military text it helps if you know something about military history.
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Summary: Genius of simplicity
Review: Genius of simplicity was Sun Tzu's great achievement in writing this, probably the greatest treatise on war strategy ever penned. For anybody who has ever inflicted the mind-numbingly dull Clausewitz on himself this is an invigorating blast of fresh air. Just thirteen chapters covering just about every essential thing you may need to know about war, strategy and tactics in such simple terms you slap your forehead in such disgust that you didn't think of them sooner. A comparison to Clausewitz is easy, Clausewitz tells you how to gear a state so that one army can crush another. Sun Tzu advises that the enemies army is one of the last targets you should have in mind and if you can win without fighting in the first place then so much the better. Clausewitz doesn't consider the alternatives at all. I agree with one previous reviewer, we shouldn't let our officers pass out if they can't quote this verbatim. Read this along with Musashi to understand strategy at all levels.
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Summary: The definitive guide to warfare.
Review: This book is simply legendary. Why? Something legendary is something that lasts forever. Now, The Art Of War was written by Sun Tzu in about 500BC, and guess, it's still applicable today. The book is divided into thirteen chapters, each explaining every topic on warfare, from laying plans to tactical dispositions and the use of spies. The foreword by James Clavell is very sharp and strong, appropriate to this book. You pretend that a book written in 500BC has many diffucult and not-still-in-use words, but it hasn't! It is so clear that seems simply too easy to understand. Many of the great generals of all time have read it, including the Chinese warriors, the Japanese shoguns, Julius Caesar and Napolean Bonaparte. If I was prime minister I would have made this book obligatory for students of all military warfare with an exam passmark of 95%, because simply, if you know it, you'll win. This is a great book from a great philosopher and it's well worth reading.
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Summary: The definitive guide to warfare
Review: This book was read by thousands of generals for ages. Examples are the Japanese shoguns,the Chinese warriors,Napoleon and many others. This book written by Sun Tzu in 500BC has got everything on warfare, from spies to how take advantage of the weather and the land relief. Basically, this is a MUST for who wants to know about warfare. So,come on......buy it!!!
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Summary: One of the greatest books of all time
Review: Sun Tzu present war as philosophical mindset. In his book, he gives rules and paradigms to follow to successfully outwit your enemy. The true beauty of this book is despite its technicality, guidelines and martial intent, it teaches the reader self control, discipline, and peace of mind. Despite its age, the wisdom still holds today, "Know your enemy, and know yourself and you will win 1000 battles before you lose even one". Its a shame most of us don't read Chinese because we will never know how this or any other version holds up to the original text.
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Summary: Rules No one follows
Review: This book is studied throughout the world in various languages, but it appears to have little to no effect on the way warfare is conducted. If our greatest Military leaders have been introduced to these precepts in War College, then why do they insist on permitting the unadulterated slaughter of our young soldiers in battle by using such inane tactics as the frontal assault? From the Civil War forward this insane tactic has dominated Military annuals. WHY? Sun Tzu would not approve of such waste. Any one interested in the Art of Warfare cannot deny that this book is the best. SunTzu's insights border on genius. Considering the historical time frame he was coming from, I would say his teaching is down right astounding. Read the book and find out for yourself. You will never look at the Art of Warfare the same again.
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