The Art of War
Ratings462
Average rating3.7
Would probably be more interesting if I was preparing for actual war. As a piece of historic literature, it was interesting.
Well worth reading if what you do requires any sort of creativity. It's more of a kick-in-the-pants kind of book more than anything, but Mr. Pressfield does offer suggestions on how to do this kind of work, mostly in the form of avoiding Resistance, otherwise known as (writers') “block”. If you're waffling back and forth about whether or not to read this book, you might as well, it's incredibly quick—3 hours by my watch.
I don’t know what to say. I guess I’ll be ready if I ever fight a war 🤣🤷🏾♂️. At least I’ve read it.
Not bad but after being in the military. I see where the present day military's took some ideas and methods from.
Was surprised how detailed-oriented and tactical this was, where one might have expected this to be much more of wartime strategy laid out as a metaphor that can be broadly applicable to regular hurdles in our lives. This instead gets granular to the level of describing how to set up meticulously planned border attacks around identified targets and how to weaken generals by making them spread their forces, or even how to capture and repurpose munitions. There are a few applicable takeaways that someone could mine for - including when and how to strategize, design, then execute a plan to win a (proverbial) battle... maybe even stretched to connect to how to handle certain everyday personal or professional conflict.
Another very important book i believe everyone should read, wether you believe in the importance of war or not, at least to understand the strategy of armies, empires and resistance. Good thing about the edition i have is that it also included The Sayings of Wutzu, however my edition's introduction makes it clear that this book is intended for CEOs and businesses which i find insanely sociopathic.
Simple and clear war guidelines. Not sure why it became a business guide.
4.0 ★
i was kinda bored and came across this book in audio form, and here we are. this was great, i'm glad i learned more about war. found it quite amusing that for sun tzu there were only 5 types of everything, and he's right
A small and exceptional book. By far an easy read given the amount of footnotes Jonathan Clements leaves explaining certain passages.
I particularly enjoyed the last chapter by Jonathan himself about Master Sun and if he really exists.
I do hope that one day some archeologist finds a more complete text of this book with the author.
Till then this book is a must read.
I read this book before when I was 14 during my school's attempt to get us to read more. There was a copy of this book in my house so I decided to read it. Back then I didn't care much for reading and as a result I didn't get a whole lot this book particularly.
Fast forward many years later I'm reading it again but in the same way I didn't get a whole lot from it. The translation I used was really good and it was great that it included various other writers to add on what Sun Tzu is saying or to even simplify what he said. But ultimately I feel like this book will have limited impact in my life going forward. There are some interesting aspects to take away but overall it is not that astonishing as something like Marcus Aurelius' Meditations - of course philosopy and military theory are very different and the application of military theory is very limited to the military. Perhaps I'll enjoy this book more as I engage further in military theory reading if I ever do engage in it further.
It's a classic, I know. But I didn't find it very enjoyable. The fact that every chapter starts with “Sun Tzu says” surely didn't help. Like we get it, the guy wrote the manual, stop with the repetition already.
It's a short book, with each chapter focusing on a different aspect of warfare, and providing wisdom on strategy, tactics, and leadership. The main point is that using deception is what achieves victory.
Outside of select few fields, I think we've grown past this as humanity. I hope, at least. We should be aiming for collaboration, not war.
Å gi denne boken raring gir ikke helt mening, men det er en bisarr lektyre med krigen i Ukraina i bakhodet, og tankevekkende å se hvor kalkulert menneskelig ondskap er i estetisk utforming. Krig er ikke en kunstform, og det fins intet edelt i krigens vesen - bare i kampen for å forsvare det som er ens eget. Imidlertid kommer det mye god lærdom ut av krig om hvordan håndtere mennesker; holde de tett til deg og holde de på avstand. Fælt å si, men fascinerende lesning.
this book is always labelled as “you need to read this once in your lifetime!!” so i did and it's ok? It's just telling you how war works. Idk how to rate it so i won't but idk.. it's nothing special to me unless i'm missing the point of the book
Interesting if you are going to role play a general or ambitious warrior.
What I like most about this book is how relevant the strategies are despite being written thousands of years ago and how it promotes attack mode as the last resort of defence.
Some Interesting concepts by Sun Tzu which can be used in the modern world too where it's more about wit's war. In The last chapters (where the literal warfare tactics were discussed ), I was surprised that Sun Tzu had adviced to treat the fellow soldiers with consideration.
Listened to this book because it's narrated by THE Littlefinger. I will still need to read the book visually to retain the information, though. This kind of book is something you'll ultimately have to read at your own pace rather than being read to.
The translation I read was a bit odd, but I appreciated the tactical lessons that Tzu wrote. I kept this tiny book in my OCP top pocket during my time at Lackland Air Force Base so I could have something to study when I was away from my phone in a waiting area.
"Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt."
Rereading The Art of War for the third time makes me rediscover why I love this book so much. This military treatise by Sun Tzu is strangely applicable to so many other areas of life. It can be read as a guide to self-realization, to success, and to triumph. Sun Tzu's military advice on how to advance and retreat in the face of an enemy is brilliant, yet its reliance on ancient philosophical principles makes it an enlightening read in the same respect as the [b:The Daodejing of Laozi|2691694|The Daodejing of Laozi|Lao Tzu|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1267028689l/2691694.SY75.jpg|100074] or [b:The Analects|27297|The Analects|Confucius|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1309201523l/27297.SY75.jpg|3320969]. The Art of War is truly a masterpiece that I keep returning to when in need of guidance.
I've been buying different versions and editions of the Art of War and also Naked Lunch for the last 30 years - totally different and unconnected. But they do share one thing - each edition makes you think about the core ideas.
The vagueness, the ambiguity, which are not; but actually self evident truths to an expert. Not me.
They require reading and re-reading.
Giles interpolation of Chinese commentators and both Chinese and Western examples greatly aid in clarifying, expanding, and even sometimes challenging Sun Tzu's assessment of the Art of War, to the great benefit of the reader.
It's a book of battle tactics. There are some bits relevant to modern day life - most of it is common sense. And all of it can be gathered from better books anyways.
