A blessing for those curious of the ancient Chinese military context. A curse for naive edgelords who believe this is a effective guide on military strategy. I’m sorry but fighting with “ferocity of a lion” won’t make up for your lack of education.

I can now win any war.

Ok, I can't. But, I really enjoyed the book.

It's given me new ways of looking at difficulties I have in life such as work, money, personal growth, etc. Of course, a lot can be lost in translation but I found it direct and focused on the task which is winning.

The Art of Wart by Sun Tzu is a short but packed reading, a great practice to implement wisdom to one's life from 2500 years ago. The military tactics are outdated, as we invented firearms... Hence, 4 star.

One of the great classical works. Many believe that the subject of this work pertains only to war, sports, and business. Yet this work provides insight to relationships.

A poetic explanation of human behavior and war strategy. If you’re currently writing a novel and need a better understanding of how to describe battles or need ideas, this would be an excellent inspiration.

Klassiker, men veldig kort bok. Arkaisk språk og mange banaliteter, men noen gullkorn her og der.

Boka omhandler alle aspekteter rundt oldtidens krigføring: tankesett, disiplin, terreng, styrkeforhold og spionasje.

Editie van Lionel Giles gelezen. Saaie bende, rare vertaling ook, zo'n Victoriaanse Brit die denkt dat hij alles beter weet dan de Chinese commentators die destijds leefden.

Listened to the short audible book. Need to listen to full version and needs analysis.

Maybe it was the translator...maybe the material...maybe it's just a very old style of writing, but I struggled to finish this 'classic'. The general, Sun Tzu (aka Wu Tsu), outlines the rules of war in 13 easy steps....rules that could be, and have been, translated into the corporate world, a blueprint for success. Sun Pin's comments are clumsily interspersed with Wu's.
There are, more likely, 14 steps, if you include boredom (the General spoke: "After beheading the commanders of the drill teams, the general read his entire 13 points of the conduct of war to the assembly of troops....whereupon they collectively beheaded themselves."...so spoke Ssu-ma Ch'ien.
The points Sun Tzu raises are valid, mostly relating to common sense. I can actually understand that this short treatise could be used as an outline for success, but only if carried-out metaphorically.
I wonder if Alexander the Great read this? Or, better yet, was Homer actually Sun Tzu?

read it i know you like it.

孙子兵法 is generally badly translated. Even so because Sunzi is brilliant even a bad translation is worth reading. His esoteric/philosophic/geomantic views are likely incomprehensible and basically irrelevant but most translators can't make head or tails of them so they don't detract from the rest which is brilliant.

This is an important book for creatives as Pressfield shines a needed light on how resistance impacts us. It was an easy read and eye-opening book for me although it did get a bit repetitive.