The Art of War [Paperback]

 

 

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Many seem to think the only reason this book was written was for war strategy. The Ancients who wrote this thought more so of ways to enhance performance in general. That should not come as surprise to anyone slightly familiar with Oriental doctrines. A Mother could benefit from reading this book, then again a leader of a nuclear power as well. I strongly recommend another similar book titled SB 1 or God that speaks of the battle of Armageddon fighting the Chinese with modern strategy and weapons, also carries over to everyday tactics, By Karl Mark Maddox.

I read the book entitled, The Art of War by Sun Tzu. I feel that Sun Tzuï¿s purpose of writing this book is that of teaching war strategies. His emphasis was on not killing people, rather that of emerging victorious in the least amount of time. He was much more interested in confusion rather than massacre. Sun Tzu stresses that ï¿the warï¿ needs to be quickly won, he has been quoted to say, ï¿There has never been a protracted war from which a country has benefited.ï¿ I believe that even today, these strategies that Sun Tzu came up with, prove to be effective. Deception, not necessarily deceit, is one of the principal concepts in this novel. Sun Tzu had first hand experience in The Art of War; therefore his essays are provoking and believable. Sun Tzuï¿s theories on war can be applied to a great many things, such as business and sports. Sun Tzu accomplished his goal, that being to teach people his theories on war. He was, during his time, a very unique man, and during our time, he still is a very unique man. The original novel was written by Sun Tzu in about 400 B.C. There has been much deliberation about when Sun Tzu existed, or even if he existed. It is only an approximation to say he was around in 400 B.C. Due to the words he uses and his descriptions of the time period, scholars have reach an approximate time in which he lived. The translator of Sun Tzuï¿s essays makes this information readily available and understandable. It has then been translated many times. I read the version translated by, Samuel B. Griffith. Samuel B. Griffith did an obscene amount of research on this project. He includes an extensive bibliography as well as a recognition page. Some of his sources include; The Taiheiki. A Chronicle of Medieval Japan by Helen Craig, The Analects of Confucius by Arthur Waley, and The Development of Iron and Steel Technology in China by J. Needham. He also included an introduction to make the fourth century B.C. more understandable. Griffith explained to the unknowing person why Sun Tzuï¿s essays were written. That was extremely helpful due to the fact I had little knowledge of that time period. There were also numerous other things that helped to make the novel clearer such as; maps to show monopolies, paintings of Sun Tzu himself, and various Chinese symbols. One such painting was entitled Sun Tzu Drilling the Concubines of King Ho-Lu. This picture shows Sun Tzu trying to confuse his enemies through training women. I believe that this man was enthralled with this translation. You can feel that from his writing. His writing, though overwhelming at first, is easily understandable and rather entertaining. He provides many different views on the some subject. I really enjoyed reading this book. All of Griffithï¿s enthusiasm poured into his writing made it a quick, entertaining read. I must admit, during the first part of the book, I was rather bored. There was so much history that was going on while reading, I saw no point to the book being written. As I got farther into The Art of War I began to see things in a different light. The words began to mean something to me. I was able to relate some of the phrases into my own life. That changed everything for me. In my mind, and hopefully in everyone elseï¿s mind that has read this book, this was indeed a book that needed to be written. I think that it should be required reading to all those studying business. It may seem weird that a book written about war pertains to business; however, many strategies taken metaphorically can help a great many people. People in the navy, military, or the army should read this book as well. I think it is rather obvious why they should read it though. If you do not fit into any of these categories, you should still read the essays. If not for anything else it can teach you quite a bit about early Chinese culture. I think any person can take away something from this book. Whether it is to not be so blunt, not let others control you, or something simpler like having a plan and accomplishing it in the shortest amount of time. I advise everyone to at least attempt to read these essays by Sun Tzu. You will not regret it.

It is interesting to note that all of the readers see this as a text on war, and how to beat your enemies. The first part of the book should be a leson to all of the war-mongers out there, that is If You Go To War You Have Already Lost. The consequences to your own people and soldiers and even the land must be counted for years after the battle is done. Sun-Tzu explains this well, and proceeds to explain how to wage a war causing the minimum amount of damage and suffering.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Sun Tzu's Excellent Advice
I owned this book for many years and it gave me great strength when dealing
with adversarial situations. Read more

Published 16 months ago by Sidders

5.0 out of 5 stars The ageless art
One would intuitively think that any book on war written thousands of years ago would long-since be rendered obsolete by all the technological advances in warfare that have... Read more

Published on July 7 2004 by D. Roberts

5.0 out of 5 stars Good book
I love this book even though I haven't read it. I plan on reading it in a couple of hours.

Published on Mar 18 2004 by G. Bains

3.0 out of 5 stars Historically interesting, but...
...how successful have the Chinese really been at the art of war? Not very, quite the opposite actually (Vietnam handed them their asses on a platter). Read more

Published on Dec 10 2003

5.0 out of 5 stars An incredible translation of a most important work...
Indeed, I am heartened to read one reviewer lambasting the general critical acceptance of "The Art of War" as "flowery". Read more

Published on Dec 7 2003 by M. A Jenkins

5.0 out of 5 stars A true classic.
Sun Tzu's The Art of War is more than just a collection of common-sense adages. It is a comprehensive treatment of war and its relationship to society as a whole. Read more

Published on Sep 24 2003 by D. Brown

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and useful, to an extent
Without question, Sun Tzu's thirteen chapters on The Art of War are some the most definitive commentaries on waging armed conflict ever written, at least until Clausewitz came... Read more

Published on July 18 2003 by Brent Wigen

4.0 out of 5 stars Not an easy reading book.
Reading this book reminded me of reading Dante's Inferno. Really well known book that wasn't particularly easy to read. Read more

Published on July 3 2003 by C Lieu

1.0 out of 5 stars not worth the time
This book is very slow and tedious. I was very disappointed with it after hearing so much about the great Sun Tzu. Don't bother with it.

Published on Jun 5 2003

4.0 out of 5 stars A PRETTY GOOD BOOK TO READ
The Art of War can give you a good picture of what it was like back then. A lot of the things the Generals had said still hold true today for example in business and in athletics... Read more

Published on Jun 2 2003 by Jake Kline

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