The Art of War/The Art of Warfare by Sun Tzu

The Art of War/The Art of Warfare Reviews

• 
  Jon Nakapalau

  The classic book on warfare...the standard that all other books on warfare are measured against.
• 
  Charles Volchansky

  One of the great classical works. Many believe that the subject of this work pertains only to war, sports, and business. Yet this work provides insight to relationships.
• 
  Tarique Ejaz

  13 broad strategies succulent with generalized yet highly effective techniques. If you are at war and are uncertain as to what to do. Well, my friend, you need to take a lesson in the Art of War.
  
  It is not just a book of rules or a story book. It is rather a set of principles to guide one if he decides to go to war in any facet of life, be it personal, professional, academic, etc. Although I must agree that in a corporate setting, this book is nothing short of a gem.
  
  "If someone is being humble and polite to your inquisitions, understand that they are completely prepared and ready to attack."
  
  Simple philosophies stated serenely. However, given the age at which they were written, certain ideas are damn dead straight forward and hardly arouses any sense of rethinking for these concepts are generic.
  
  After all, the Art of War is just a lesson perceived and adapted varyingly by each who ascertains to delve into its secrets.
• 
  Grzegorz

  Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" seemed like more universal part of this book than Sun Pin's "The Art of Warfare". By more universal I mean the fact that bigger part of Sun Tzu work seems still up to date and proper to apply in many situations, not only military ones. Maybe because it was more "general", not as specific as Sun Pin's work?
  
  Although I felt like I need to pick parts that would be right for me and modern situations, it's not like it's universal book with universal wise words that will guide you through every problem in life and is always right, no matter what is the context of that problem. Some parts feel to me like clearly military thing, and to say more, ancient military thing, so they may be not even good when it comes to modern military.
  
  I mentioned that "The Art of War" seemed for me like a better source of wise words for nowadays reader, but I found few nice quotes in Sun Pin's work too, and I am glad that those two books were joined together and released like that, with comments.
  
  It's just how I feel about it.
• 
  Rian Nejar

  A succinct and clarifying translation of The Art of War, a work that has stood the test of time. As the author himself states, there are no 'pages of personal dribble or opinion' within; he does not ask one to snatch a pebble or call the reader 'grasshopper.' An enjoyable, easy to read book that is well worth the time spent for those in battle, for survival, or success.
  
• 
  Souvik Khamrui

  States general rules to be followed to win a warfare - nothing extraordinary.
• 
  Groot

  This is not a business book, btw, no matter what its placement in bookstores. It's about... the art of war.
• 
  Hanna

  Very good.
• 
  Jim

  Maybe it was the translator...maybe the material...maybe it's just a very old style of writing, but I struggled to finish this 'classic'. The general, Sun Tzu (aka Wu Tsu), outlines the rules of war in 13 easy steps....rules that could be, and have been, translated into the corporate world, a blueprint for success. Sun Pin's comments are clumsily interspersed with Wu's.
  There are, more likely, 14 steps, if you include boredom (the General spoke: "After beheading the commanders of the drill teams, the general read his entire 13 points of the conduct of war to the assembly of troops....whereupon they collectively beheaded themselves."...so spoke Ssu-ma Ch'ien.
  The points Sun Tzu raises are valid, mostly relating to common sense. I can actually understand that this short treatise could be used as an outline for success, but only if carried-out metaphorically.
  I wonder if Alexander the Great read this? Or, better yet, was Homer actually Sun Tzu?
• 
  Heather

  Read this for my book club. Actually listened to it on audiobook. It was interesting, but overly specific in some instances. I tended to get bogged down in the minutia. Overall some really good tips to vanquish my enemy and for staging my next attack.
• 
  Courtney Conant

  Great info but it just kind of ended...
• 
  Harkes

  Reading it... Too deep a book.
• 
  Mutturaj

  read it i know you like it.
• 
  Telai

  the transcriptions were confusing. i didn't like the footnotes
• 
  Adam Brown

  A must read for everyone
• 
  Charles M.

  This classic not only teaches one the maneuvers of warfare, but of life!!! Recently rated one of top 10 tough reads or books one does not truthfully tell whether he/she read it!
• 
  April23

  Cleverness has never been seen associated with long delays.
• 
  Fernando

  This is a good manual. I feel like I can open any page and find wisdom that I can apply to any situation. That said, its hard to read and extremely boring.
• 
  A.A. Rubin

  A difficult one to review because of the nature of this edition. Sun Tzu is excellent as always, and the translation is readable a clear.
  
  Sun Pin, whom I was looking forward to reading for the first time, did not impress me as much, which is a shame because the edition markets itself as “complete” because it includes Sun Pin. It is a decent book, but pales in comparison to his more famous ancestor.
  
  The scholarship is excellent, and the intro is informative, but the commentary, which is extensive, trended a bit too much toward application in the corporate world for my taste. I wish the editor stuck more to historical notes rather than bring everything back to corporate politics and 20th century warfare. The text has many interpretations, and should speak for itself.
  
  Still Sun Tzu is excellent, the index of strategic concepts is helpful, and it’s a well-put together book.
• 
  Rodion Raskolnikov

  A blessing for those curious of the ancient Chinese military context. A curse for naive edgelords who believe this is a effective guide on military strategy. I’m sorry but fighting with “ferocity of a lion” won’t make up for your lack of education.
• 
  Vahn

  Seminal work not just on warfare but any competitive endeavour. Sun Tzu's classic treatise is less a field manual and more of a work of philosophy applied to the military context. The principles contained in "The Art of War" have proven timeless, useful across a number of contexts including business and sport.
  
  The Art of War is to be consumed in an analytical, conceptual manner rather than as one would with a typical fiction novel. The Art of War is also designed to be carried and referred back to, rather than skimmed once and never touched again. Although the language is rather archaic (depending on translated edition used) each principle can be applied by analogous reasoning to modern situations.
  
  Pros:
  
  - Valuable work across time and space, applicable to any competitive situation between individuals and groups regardless of context.
  - Eastern, rather than a Western, approach to philosophy. Surprisingly, the work has become even more popular in the West than the East. Fills gaps in Western thought including collective action, deception, subversion and harmony at all levels of command.
  - Covers the importance of warfare as an extension of political action, serving as a timely reminder that violence is not an option to be taken lightly due to significant economic cost.
  
  Cons:
  
  - Archaic language requires a well-translated edition and some pause/independent research to understand the work.
  - Difficult to apply a number of lessons from "The Art of War" to Western problems due to cultural differences, such as the need for transparency and decentralized command structures.
  - The work lacks techniques to deal with negotiation and diplomacy inside and outside any group, simply focusing on winning the immediate fight. Interesting oversight, given the emphasis on political motivations and economic costs associated with war.
  
  Rating: 10/10
• 
  JSH Placie

  I first read this book back in elementary school because I hoped it would make me better at Romance of the Three Kingdoms for the NES. It did.
  
  Look, I know that there's a million douche bags who have waxed rhapsodic about how this is still a great thing to read if you want to win at business or at sports or whatever. But they aren't wrong. Not only is this a great work on strategy, but it's a definitive text on leadership.
  
  There are definitely parts that have little if any relevance to the modern reader. There's a whole chapter on how to use fire as a weapon (though that did help in Romance of the Tree Kingdoms. I think the game designers read the same book). But I've even used his leadership advice in parenting. If you are thinking "what kind of asshole raises his kids in accordance with the Art of War?" keep in mind that Sun Tsu was all about fairness and consistency in leadership, and parent is a leadership position.
  
  Personally, I think Sun Tsu was also surprisingly compassionate. I don't think he really liked war. I think that he lived in a time when war was pretty unavoidable so he just figured he might as well get good at it. That is if he even was just one person. Some scholars think that he's a mythical amalgam of several real generals. If so than my thesis goes all to shit.
• 
  Todd

  Excellent edition of two standard historical works. This edition contains Sun Tzu's, The Art of War and Sun Pin's, Military Methods. Both works have commentary at the end of each chapter, Chronologies for both Dynasties, and a very well written Introduction giving the reader a nice historical context of both works, extant manuscript issues, etc.
• 
  Lucas Carmo

  Of course it is a must read, but it is logically overrated as "bible of strategy". It is interesting to see how the ideas of more than 2,000 years suits to contemporary standards, but we can not assimilate that the business world have leaders formed by the ideas and contradictions of Sun Tzu.