Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
informative
Pretty good. The commentary is kind of annoying sometimes, but the wisdom is great.
You can still apply his principles of warfare and frameworks for predicting victory or defeat to contemporary conflicts. Furthermore, his ideas can also be applied in your everyday life, not just the battlefield. Decent read
You can still apply his principles of warfare and frameworks for predicting victory or defeat to contemporary conflicts. Furthermore, his ideas can also be applied in your everyday life, not just the battlefield. Decent read
Its a great book. Crazy to think his principals are still very applicable to today. Especially that his concepts exceed the boundries of war. Its almost 'The Art of Strategy'.
“So it is said:
Know the enemy,
Know yourself,
And victory
Is never in doubt,
Not in a hundred battles.” — The Art of War by Sun-Tzu
It a wonderful book. Of course, it’s a piece of literature that’s survived 2,500 years and people still quote it, so if I were to trash it I wouldn’t count anyway. But its great, whether taken literally (if you’re a soldier/general etc) or if taken metaphorically. The latter is the way I read it, of course. I’ve been going through some things and honestly, The Art of War is better than any self-help book. If only because I’d read this and there’s no chance in hell you’d catch me with a self-help book.
Anyway, find yourself a copy, read it, pass it around.
Know the enemy,
Know yourself,
And victory
Is never in doubt,
Not in a hundred battles.” — The Art of War by Sun-Tzu
It a wonderful book. Of course, it’s a piece of literature that’s survived 2,500 years and people still quote it, so if I were to trash it I wouldn’t count anyway. But its great, whether taken literally (if you’re a soldier/general etc) or if taken metaphorically. The latter is the way I read it, of course. I’ve been going through some things and honestly, The Art of War is better than any self-help book. If only because I’d read this and there’s no chance in hell you’d catch me with a self-help book.
Anyway, find yourself a copy, read it, pass it around.
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Fine. Read it because I've had this Epic Rap Battle of History stuck in my head all weekend as an earworm.
Like Seneca, the astounding thing is how relevant this stuff feels - even for (a) a person who is not a general engaging in war and (b) a person living 1,500 years later. Sun Tzu's advice is more practical than philosophical; the TL;DR is know yourself, know your enemy, know the land/circumstances, and then be smart about probabilities. He makes several comments about the impediments of ego or how destructive (and easily manipulable) heightened emotions can be - some of these felt directly applicable to Trumpism and anti-Trumpism.
I especially enjoyed his tips on judging what's happening in the enemy camp ("know your enemy") by the nature, speed and dispersement of their smoke - e.g. smoke rising fast in a column is charioteers approaching; smoke rising slow and wide is infantry; little spurts of random smoke is encampment, etc.
Like Seneca, the astounding thing is how relevant this stuff feels - even for (a) a person who is not a general engaging in war and (b) a person living 1,500 years later. Sun Tzu's advice is more practical than philosophical; the TL;DR is know yourself, know your enemy, know the land/circumstances, and then be smart about probabilities. He makes several comments about the impediments of ego or how destructive (and easily manipulable) heightened emotions can be - some of these felt directly applicable to Trumpism and anti-Trumpism.
I especially enjoyed his tips on judging what's happening in the enemy camp ("know your enemy") by the nature, speed and dispersement of their smoke - e.g. smoke rising fast in a column is charioteers approaching; smoke rising slow and wide is infantry; little spurts of random smoke is encampment, etc.
slow-paced
After hearing the below song numerous times, and knowing the lyrics were taken directly from The Art of War, I decided it was about time to read it. My first question was where to get my copy and then I remembered Project Gutenberg; low and behold they had this wonderful 1910 translation.
Firstly I'd say that this version is not the quick read that other may be as there is a lot of annotations, history, and examples of where the "arts" were used, both historically and more contemporary, such as Wellington, Napoleon, and various generals in WW1 & WW2.
For me, this really adds to the reading experience as you get a much clearer understanding of what Sun Tzu was getting at.
Art of Conflict by VNV Nation
The art of war is of vital importance to the state
It is a matter of life and death
A road either to safety, or to ruin.
Divide and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence.
Supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemies' resistance without having to fight.
If you know the enemy and know yourself your victory will not stand in doubt.
If you know heaven, and you know earth, you may make your victory.
If you know the enemy and you know yourself, you need not fear the results of 100 battles,
If you know yourself, but not the enemy, for every victory gained, you will also suffer defeat.
If you know not of the enemy, nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.
Treat your soldiers as your beloved children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys.
To defeat your enemy, you must pretend inferiority, and encourage your enemies arrogance.
Making no mistakes is what establishes the certainty of victory.
For it means conquering an enemy that is already defeated.
There is no instance of a nation benefiting from prolonged warfare.
Firstly I'd say that this version is not the quick read that other may be as there is a lot of annotations, history, and examples of where the "arts" were used, both historically and more contemporary, such as Wellington, Napoleon, and various generals in WW1 & WW2.
For me, this really adds to the reading experience as you get a much clearer understanding of what Sun Tzu was getting at.
Art of Conflict by VNV Nation
The art of war is of vital importance to the state
It is a matter of life and death
A road either to safety, or to ruin.
Divide and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence.
Supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemies' resistance without having to fight.
If you know the enemy and know yourself your victory will not stand in doubt.
If you know heaven, and you know earth, you may make your victory.
If you know the enemy and you know yourself, you need not fear the results of 100 battles,
If you know yourself, but not the enemy, for every victory gained, you will also suffer defeat.
If you know not of the enemy, nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.
Treat your soldiers as your beloved children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys.
To defeat your enemy, you must pretend inferiority, and encourage your enemies arrogance.
Making no mistakes is what establishes the certainty of victory.
For it means conquering an enemy that is already defeated.
There is no instance of a nation benefiting from prolonged warfare.
informative
reflective
fast-paced