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    Art of War: The Definitive Interpretation of Sun Tzu's Classic Book of Strategy
    Art of War: The Definitive Interpretation of Sun Tzu's Classic Book of Strategy
    Art of War: The Definitive Interpretation of Sun Tzu's Classic Book of Strategy
    Ebook125 pages1 hour

    Art of War: The Definitive Interpretation of Sun Tzu's Classic Book of Strategy

    By Stephen F. Kaufman

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    About this ebook

    Sun Tzu's The Art of War is still one of the world's most influential treatises on strategic thought. Applicable everywhere from the boardroom to the bedroom, from the playing field to the battlefield, its wisdom has never been more highly regarded.

    Now available in its complete form, including the Chinese characters and English text, this essential examination of the art of strategic thinking features extensive commentary and an insightful historical introduction written by Lionel Giles, its original translator.

    This new edition includes an all-new introduction by the scholar of ancient Chinese literature, John Minford.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTuttle Publishing
    Release dateApr 17, 2012
    ISBN9781462906260
    Art of War: The Definitive Interpretation of Sun Tzu's Classic Book of Strategy

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    Reviews for Art of War

    4/5

    3,477 ratings79 reviews

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    • 3/5

      Jan 11, 2025

      I honestly have no idea why this is always on the list of must-read books. You are basically reading the bullet points of someone's strategic plan to win a battle. Meh. At least it was only an hour and a half.
    • 1/5

      Jan 20, 2025

      Interesting if you are going to role play a general or ambitious warrior.
    • 4/5

      Oct 24, 2024

      Many of Sun Tzu's ideas are common-sense enough, but succinctly put here. It's a quick, easy read, so it's not hard to make the case that it's worth the time. But gliding through it effortlessly will make it difficult for the ideas to really stick. So I guess it's also easy to make the case for at least one re-read. I'll probably give it another go myself in the near future, but for now I'm happy with the bits and pieces I've gleaned. It certainly didn't change my life or anything, but then I didn't expect it to.
    • 3/5

      Oct 18, 2024

      Tempted to give it four stars because it is so much better than so much other Heinlein. But that's not worth much, actually. I did have to edit the blurb, however.
    • 1/5

      Jan 29, 2024

      Somewhat hilariously literal. I'm not sure why this is still used as such a popular business and strategy book. Praise for being extremely clear and concise, but criticism for stating the obvious while seeming to be willfully ignorant of external factors with advice along the lines of "Don't make any mistakes and you will win." WELL THANKS. NEVER WOULD'VE THOUGHT OF THAT MYSELF.
    • 4/5

      Jul 1, 2023

      Advice that I found interesting included:

      All warfare is based on deception, hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.

      There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare.

      The captured soldiers should be kindly treated. This is called using the conquered foe to augment one’s own strength.

      In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy’s country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good.

      It is the rule of war, if our forces are ten to the enemy’s one, to surround him; if five to one, to attack him; if twice as numerous to divide our army into two. If equally matched, we can offer battle; if slightly inferior in numbers, we can avoid the enemy; if quite unequal in every way, we can flee from him.

      You can be sure of succeeding in your attacks if you only attack places which are undefended.

      Now a soldier’s spirit is keenest in the morning; by noonday it has begun to flag; and in the evening, his mind is bent only on returning to camp.

      When there is dust rising in a high column, it is the sign of chariots advancing; when the dust is low, but spread over a wide area, it betokens the approach of infantry. When it branches out in different directions, it shows that parties have been sent to collect firewood. A few clouds of dust moving to and fro signify that the army is encamping.

      If those [of the enemy] who are sent to draw water begin by drinking themselves, the army is suffering from thirst.

      If birds gather on any spot, it is unoccupied.

      If fighting is sure to result in victory, then you must fight, even though the ruler forbid it; if fighting will not result in victory, then you must not fight even at the ruler’s bidding.

      No ruler should put troops into the field merely to gratify his own spleen; no general should fight a battle simply out of pique.

      Hostile armies may face each other for years, striving for the victory which is decided in a single day. This being so, to remain in ignorance of the enemy’s condition simply because one grudges the outlay of a hundred ounces of silver in honours and emoluments [i.e. for spies], is the height of inhumanity.
    • 4/5

      Feb 25, 2023

      What I most remember and best learned from this is, find ways not to go to war, find ways not to fight whenever possible.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 2/5

      Jan 7, 2023

      Vapid martial homilies.
    • 4/5

      Sep 11, 2021

      For my second reading I decided to try the audiobook version read by Aidan Gillen. His dynamics greatly improved my understanding and appreciation for the short work.
    • 4/5

      Jul 28, 2021

      Interesting read that applies to different situations in life. I will definitely purchase a hard copy so I can make notes of passages I love and found useful in everyday life and experiences.
    • 3/5

      Jan 19, 2021

      I admit to reading this out of curiosity - why did Dr. Melfi recommend Tony Soprano read this and how did he then apply it. Interesting reading but as I already knew, I would make a lousy general.
    • 5/5

      Aug 3, 2020

      A wise warrior avoids the battle or something along these lines. The book is no literary wonder written simply as a series of bullet points. What makes it amazing is the fact that it was written before 2500 years & it is still relevant to our modern day. The set of rules outlined can be applied by any leader in any field.
      PS: of course the financial details associated with the armies can be safely discarded.
    • 3/5

      Feb 1, 2020

      “Move not unless you see an advantage, use not your troops unless there is something to be gained, fight not unless the position is critical.”

      I read The Art of War by Sun Tzu through an app called Serial Reader, which breaks up longer books, novellas and short stories into manageable pieces that a reader can read in 12 minutes a day. I love to use Serial Reader when I’m waiting for the bus, in the line at the post office, whenever I feel like I have a few moments, but not necessarily long enough to take out a book and find my place.

      I also really like Serial Reader because I tend to read things I wouldn’t otherwise read, but so far I’ve really enjoyed all the stories and novels that I’ve read.

      I found The Art of War to be surprisingly readable, considering it was written around the 5th century, BCE and has been translated countless times since then. It’s much more philosophical than I had anticipated, and in a way, deeply spiritual.

      Of course it’s dry. It is. It is an ancient military self-help book, none of it is relevant to me. There are lots of lists about the different kinds of ground an army might fight on, different types of weather, how to traverse it all.

      And yet I found it interesting.

      I appreciated that this translator (and, I suppose, author) warned against fighting at all. If you want to occupy a town, best to get the enemy to surrender to you painlessly, so that the town is in tact and nothing is destroyed. Sun Tzu really speaks to the desperation of war, how the last thing anyone wants to do in a war is fight, but if you have to fight, this is what you need to do.

      I’m glad I read this text. I often found myself reading it and wondering about all the people, leaders, warriors, stay-at-home mothers who’d read it before, who were reading it with me. What did they learn from it? How did they feel reading it? Was it more relevant to their lives than it was to mine?

      That, in and of itself, is a fascinating thing to think about, don’t you think?
    • 4/5

      Nov 29, 2019

      I have other versions of Sun Tzu's Art of War, and the first one I purchased in Italian was actually a new translation published by the Army publisher, as a Chinese officer part of an exchange programme saw that all the Italian versions at the time were actually... translations of translations

      I have also read the Sawyer edition, among others, but I picked up this one in a library as it was the only one I saw so far that, beside the translation, included also a rewriting in Chinese

      Interesting series of books, as they republished classics from Chinese history following the same approach- so, I was curious to see the differences (on the English side- my abilities in Chinese will be enough to read in Chinese... in few years- in modern Chinese)
    • 4/5

      Oct 22, 2019

      Defiantly some good tips in here. I can see why other countries armies are so well disciplined if they still use these tactics. Some of them could also work for dealing with people as well. Some handy things in here.

      It's easy to read, but he repeats things a lot, and some of the sentence are worded strangely. And then, some lines are written like poetry.

      It was a something different, and I'm glad I picked it up.
    • 4/5

      Mar 3, 2019

      I'm so glad I finally read this historic book. I found it very interesting and understand why it has been adapted to suit other fields -- notably management. And the version of the book I bought is beautiful in itself. Bound in traditional Chinese style, with each page folded in half and only printed on the outside. Hard to rate -- it is what it is as they say -- but I'm rating it highly because it has stood the test of time.
    • 5/5

      Dec 4, 2018

      An enduring classic, an absolute must-read for every business person and military mind the world over.
    • 3/5

      Aug 24, 2018

      What a curious book. I listened to a reading of it and so my reading could scarcely be called more than an overview. This short book is definitely one to be read contemplatively and over a long time.
    • 5/5

      Nov 21, 2017

      I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked up this book, to be honest. I just made a promise to myself I would read more classics and this was a short one to get in so I can reach my reading goal. However, I ended up really, really enjoying it. I'm not a soldier by any stretch of the imagination, but there is good, solid advice in this book that is still relevant thousands of years after it was written. It's worth a read for sure, and it's so short you can get through it quickly. I would recommend it. 5 out of 5 stars.
    • 5/5

      Nov 8, 2017

      I have read this several times in a variety of translations. This version is formatted like a poem and is a quick read. Interesting that Sun Tzu echoes many of the issues raised by Thucydides. I remember an Instructor Gunnery during my Regimental Officers Basic Course from the United States artillery beginning every lesson with: "Sun Tzu says...". And, "If a 155 round lands on a tank, the tank is toast". So much in such a short book and it was quite possibly written before Thucydides was born.
    • 5/5

      Aug 18, 2017

      Bought at the Upstart Crow bookstore & coffee house in San Diego in 1997.
    • 3/5

      Jan 19, 2017

      I can totally see why all military leaders should read this. Quite genius if you're into that type of thing.
    • 2/5

      Jan 2, 2017

      During a sermon, the rabbi talked about this book and said that it was really a philosophy on how to live life. When I started reading it, I saw that it really is a book on how to wage war. Definitely not what I expected and definitely not a book I would ever want to read.
    • 3/5

      Aug 14, 2016

      Reading the book while watching the Olympics was interesting. I thought more about what Sun Tzu was saying in the context of sporting competition. A lot of the same principles apply, replacing an enemy in battle with an opponent in sport.

      I don't ever plan to go to war, but at least I know I can refer to this book for guidance should I ever feel like it.
    • 4/5

      Feb 1, 2016

      I read this and let my mind wander a little, but not too much. Invariably whatever I think about mixes with the words, and elegant, clear observations come out. It's like guided meditation.
    • 5/5

      Jan 10, 2016

      The version I have also has a second section for commentaries on all the passages. It's an incredibly useful and insightful book, and not necessarily just for literal war.
    • 3/5

      Dec 9, 2015

      Within “The Art of War” are three distinct though similar treatise written across over 2000 years and three different cultures that instruct the reader not only how to succeed in war but also politics and business.

      The opening treatise is the titular “Art of War”, Sun Tzu gives his readers a concise yet in-depth instruction into the how to achieve victory over one’s enemies. Though less than a hundred pages in length, it has to be read carefully to get the full meaning of what the author intends to convey. Yet when boiled down, the most important lesson is simply to be aware of one’s surroundings and other people’s intentions so as to continually be prepared for all situations.

      The middle treatise is Machiavelli’s “The Prince”, a how-to course in how to gain and maintain power. The pragmatic program that councils that everything one does must be solely down to maintain one’s, if in the process you must victimize a small minority of your population, so be it, but if some of your actions improve the lives of the majority of your citizens so much the better. Yet, while Machiavelli’s thoughtful approach to studying power politics is the beginning of political theory, “The Prince” is also cutting satire on the Medici who had taken over Florence ending Machiavelli’s civil career. The astute reader realizes that “The Prince” is more than it appears while also achieving its apparent main aim.

      The final treatise is Frederick the Great’s “Instructions to His Generals”, in which the celebrated Prussian monarch and military commander gave guidance to his general staff about how to fight war through his own failures and achievements. Unlike Machiavelli’s call for unity or Sun Tzu’s broad principles, Frederick main goal is for the betterment of Prussia and for detailed instructions on everything connected with a military campaign. This single-mindedness and painstaking approach is a lesson in and of itself to the reader to keep their focus on the here and now so as to achieve bigger things down the road, not dream of the far-off future while sacrificing the present.

      While distinct, the three treatise in this book are in fact are three different life experiences on the same thing, achieving success at whatever one attempts.
    • 3/5

      Dec 6, 2015

      Another translation (Ralph Sawyer) and lots of background history & hints of textual analysis - but fails to grab.
      Read July 2006
    • 5/5

      Jul 13, 2015

      Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" is a great book.
      This ancient classic was written over 2,500 years ago by the legendary Chinese general Sun Tzu, being a
      a timeless masterpiece of interaction of power and politics this book teaches many good lessons to anyone who will ever have to command a group of people, in the workplace, in school, or on the battlefield.
      The Art of War is an ageless book that teaches human nature and how to deal with difficult situations in life and business.
      The lessons learned in this book can be allied to relationship, friendship, career and make you a more complete person in general. I I recommend this book to be read by all those who wants to succeed in anything they do, It is not just about lessons in war but can be used and applied for everyday life.
      "The Art of War" is a must read.
    • 5/5

      Jul 6, 2015

      Everyone should read this.

      It tells you as much about motivation and human compunction than any other book Ive ever read. This should be required reading for teachers, businessmen, cops, everyone that every has to deal with a group of people in a possibly hostile setting.

    Book preview

    Art of War - Stephen F. Kaufman

    INTRODUCTION

    Sun Tzu lived approximately two thousand years ago—if in fact he lived at all. In those times, generally, works like The Art of War were passed along by word of mouth by enlightened people and in time the lessons became corrupted. Taught in Sun Tzu’s name, these lessons are fundamental for intelligent people who seek an understanding of conquest and the application of it, according to their own goals. In this work you will learn how people are to be treated and dealt with. The work was written for men in command and leaders of states. It is for the ambitious and strong spirited; do not seek morality lessons

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