Customer Reviews
A good translation - By: R. Court, 11 Oct 2008 
The translatorin this book was Lionel Giles, I have his translation of this,in a more extensive version. The translation I have is most amusing because Lionel Giles enters into discussion of the commentaries & also enters into a critique of the other contemporary (circa 1908) & prior translations. Lionel Giles is bitchy & vituperative about the other European translators (particularly one unfortunate Captain Calthrop), which is most entertaining to read. The Art of War itself is a short book, & Giles' translation is probably as good as we are going to get, so if the book itself is all you need, get this. If you want information & entertainment, purchase a longer version of the Giles translation, it is both enlightening & hugely entertaining.
A small book with a large content !!! - By: Jay, 03 Sep 2007 
Sun Tzu on the Art of War, an ancient Chinese treatise on military strategy, is now required reading at military, business, & law schoolsin the United States & around the world. Possibly no bookin history better describes how to win conflictsin any profession. Those who must succeedin highly competitive environments frequently use Sun Tzu's philosophies as the cornerstone of their ways.
A small book with a large content !!!
Massively overrated - By: Mr. D. J. Read, 07 Jun 2007 
I have heard some rave reviews about this book. People seem to think it is eminantly relevant today. Others claim all officersin the forces should be made to read it. These are frankly bizarre claims.
All there is to this book is a series of anecdotes on how to marshall, motivate etc an ancient army. Truly, I cannot see how anyonein this day & age can find anything here to influence their lifein any way. There comes a time, when even the greatest writers cease to have any impact, I would venture to say that Sun Tzu ceased to be relevant since the advent of modern warfare.
Many of the techniques he claims, though they may have workedin ancient times, are simply not practical. For instance, you can't execute peoplein this day & age, whether they be enemy, spies, or even traitors. Modern legislation and, indeed, modern sensibilities render this nothing more than a quaint insight into a time long lost to us.
interesting... - By: Christopher Morgan, 05 Nov 2006 I am on a business & management course at university & have read many books on management & business (I mean alot). I bought this book based on its status as a book that has achieved mythological statusin todays world and, wanted to see what the fuss was about.
And to be honest I was very interested by many of the things that are said. Having read as many business & management books as I have I can say that this book is higly relevant to todays modern management systems. Many of his lines sum up whole chapters of books I have read.
The difficulty isin finding where it fits, Ive read it through twice now & have discovered many more points that are still very valid & applicablein todays world.
One of the more obvious ones is: One of the five factors from which victory can be known, 'One whos upper & lower ranks have the same desires will be victorious'. This is a very brief way of speaking on a term some might know as 'Shared Vision', Senge anyone?
This is just the most obvious & there are many more take my word for it you have to be able to read between the lines though & understand some of what he saysin a modern day context, as with other reviewers there are parts of it such as terrain tactics which may not be of use. The overall book however has many valid points & i'd recommend it to anyone, the business professional or just someone interestedin the book for itself.
A Small Package Containing A Lot Of Wisdom - By: Stegman, 29 Jul 2006 I don't have much to say, just read it with an open mind, incredible ! Dont't expect a big packagein your post, the book measures approx. 7 x 8 cm's.
