The Art of War

The Art of War
by Sun Tzu

The Art of War
List Price: $11.95
Our Price: $3.54
You Save: $8.41 (70%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


(Click here)
Buy this book at online book store in your country
Canada | UK | Germany | France

Book Summary Information

Author: Sun Tzu
Foreword: B. H. Liddell Hart
Translator: Samuel B. Griffith
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1971-09-15
ISBN: 0195014766
Number of pages: 224
Publisher: Oxford University Press

Book Reviews of The Art of War

Book Review: Art of war
Summary: 5 Stars

Great book, I want to buy the full version. Has good principals to follow. I think our military should read it too. They might get something done.

Overall 5 starts +++

Summary of The Art of War

Like Machiavelli's The Prince and the Japanese Book of Five Rings, Sun Tzu's The Art of War is as timely for business people today as it was for military strategists in ancient China. Written in China more than 2,000 years ago, Sun Tzu's classic The Art of War is the first known study of the planning and conduct of military operations. These terse, aphoristic essays are unsurpassed in comprehensiveness and depth of understanding, examining not only battlefield maneuvers, but also relevant economic, political, and psychological factors. Indeed, the precepts outlined by Sun Tzu regularly applied outside the realm of military theory. It is read avidly by Japanese businessmen and was touted in the movie Wall Street as the corporate raider's bible.
Providing a much-needed translation of this classic, Samuel Griffith has made this powerful and unique work even more relevant to the modern world. Including an explanatory introduction and selected commentaries on the work, this edition makes Sun Tzu's timeless classic perfectly accessible to modern readers.
The Art of War is the Swiss army knife of military theory--pop out a different tool for any situation. Folded into this small package are compact views on resourcefulness, momentum, cunning, the profit motive, flexibility, integrity, secrecy, speed, positioning, surprise, deception, manipulation, responsibility, and practicality. Thomas Cleary's translation keeps the package tight, with crisp language and short sections. Commentaries from the Chinese tradition trail Sun-tzu's words, elaborating and picking up on puzzling lines. Take the solitary passage: "Do not eat food for their soldiers." Elsewhere, Sun-tzu has told us to plunder the enemy's stores, but now we're not supposed to eat the food? The Tang dynasty commentator Du Mu solves the puzzle nicely, "If the enemy suddenly abandons their food supplies, they should be tested first before eating, lest they be poisoned." Most passages, however, are the pinnacle of succinct clarity: "Lure them in with the prospect of gain, take them by confusion" or "Invincibility is in oneself, vulnerability is in the opponent." Sun-tzu's maxims are widely applicable beyond the military because they speak directly to the exigencies of survival. Your new tools will serve you well, but don't flaunt them. Remember Sun-tzu's advice: "Though effective, appear to be ineffective." --Brian Bruya

General Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Non-fiction books and Language books
The Case for Christ (Pack of 6) ImageThe Case for Christ (Pack of 6)
by Lee Strobel
Zondervan; Published: 1998-09-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $19.43
Price in other shops: $25.94
The Koran (Bantam Classic) ImageThe Koran (Bantam Classic)
Bantam Classics; Published: 2004-08-31; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.95
Price in other shops: $6.99
Teach Yourself Beginner's Latin ImageTeach Yourself Beginner's Latin
by George Sharpley
McGraw-Hill; Published: 2003-12-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.87
Price in other shops: $11.95
Diccionario Italiano-Espanol/Spagnol-Italiano Dizionario ImageDiccionario Italiano-Espanol/ Spagnol-Italiano Dizionario
by Vertice Everest
Everest Publishing; Published: 2004-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $53.99
Merriam-Webster's Japanese-English Dictionary ImageMerriam-Webster's Japanese-English Dictionary
Merriam Webster Mass Market; Published: 1996-08; Paperback; Book
Price in other shops: $6.99
German (Eyewitness Travel Packs) ImageGerman (Eyewitness Travel Packs)
Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd; Published: 2003-06-03; Paperback; Book
Latin for All Occasions ImageLatin for All Occasions
by Henry Beard
Gotham; Published: 2004-08-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.60
Price in other shops: $12.50
The Oxford History of Medieval Europe ImageThe Oxford History of Medieval Europe
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2002-03-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.00
Price in other shops: $18.95
On Guerrilla Warfare ImageOn Guerrilla Warfare
by Mao Tse-tung, Samuel B Griffith
www.bnpublishing.com; Published: 2007-11-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.17
Price in other shops: $6.75
Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai ImageHagakure: The Book of the Samurai
by Yamamoto Tsunetomo
Kodansha International; Published: 2002-08-30; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $11.24
Price in other shops: $19.95
Similar Books and other products
Bushido: The Way of the Samurai (Square One Classics) ImageBushido: The Way of the Samurai (Square One Classics)
by Tsunetomo Yamamoto
Square One Publishers; Published: 2001-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.33
Price in other shops: $9.95
The 48 Laws of Power ImageThe 48 Laws of Power
by Robert Greene
Viking Adult; Published: 1998-08-31; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $54.29
Strategy: Second Revised Edition (Meridian) ImageStrategy: Second Revised Edition (Meridian)
by B. H. Liddell Hart
Plume; Published: 1991-03-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.55
Price in other shops: $18.00
The Wealth of Nations (Bantam Classics) ImageThe Wealth of Nations (Bantam Classics)
by Adam Smith
Bantam Classics; Published: 2003-03-04; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.55
Price in other shops: $7.95
Plato: Republic ImagePlato: Republic
by Plato, G. M. A. Grube, C. D. C. Reeve
Hackett Publishing Company; Published: 1992-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.00
Price in other shops: $9.95
Book of Five Rings: The Classic Guide to Strategy ImageBook of Five Rings: The Classic Guide to Strategy
by Miyamoto Musashi
Gramercy; Published: 1988-05-28; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.00
Price in other shops: $9.99
On War (Oxford World's Classics) ImageOn War (Oxford World's Classics)
by Carl von Clausewitz
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2007-03-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.76
Price in other shops: $12.95
The Communist Manifesto (Penguin Classics) ImageThe Communist Manifesto (Penguin Classics)
by Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels
Penguin Classics; Published: 2002-08-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.77
Price in other shops: $8.00
The Book of Five Rings ImageThe Book of Five Rings
by Miyamoto Musashi
Shambhala; Published: 2005-01-11; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.91
Price in other shops: $6.99
The Prince (Bantam Classics) ImageThe Prince (Bantam Classics)
by Niccolo Machiavelli
Bantam Classics; Published: 1984-09-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.03
Price in other shops: $4.50
Book store. Illustrated catalog of books on different categories