Anyone else here read Sun Tzu?

[simonov jr]

This man and his book, The Art of War, have literally changed my life. If you want to go from a checker player to a chess player, there is NO substitute. I HIGHLY recommend it. I read and RE-read it, trying to absorb the lessons. Anyone who hasn't read it, this guy was absolutely the final word on conflict management. Comments?

 

[TexasVet]

Years ago my boss had everyone in our office read it for "corporate management skills". Need less to say I learned much more than that. My copy is nearly worn out.

 

[blades67]

There are three books I think everyone should read before they retire:

• The Art of War
• I Ching (The Book of Changes)
• The Book of Five Rings

These are powerful, mind altering, life changing books. If you read these books and don't look at life differently, you are just damaged goods.

 

[ajaxinacan]

"The Art of War" is still on the required reading list for Marine Sergeants and above. I read it years ago while in the Corps.

May I also recommend "On War" by Carl vonClausewitz. It is similar in nature, but written from a decidedly Western standpoint.

 

[Apple a Day]

I am rather fond of it, myself

 

[hube1236]

Another suprisingly good read is The Prince as it adds some statemanship into the military folds of the AOW. It is like the soft voice part of the big stick duo. Not too hard a read either.

 

[RWK]

FWIW, both "The Art of War" and "On War" were extensively used at DoD's top senior service schools (The National War College and The Industrial College of the Armed Forces, both located at Fort McNair in Washington, DC) when I attended fifteen years ago.

 

[Borf]

Should also toss in the Hagekure - is not quite in the same league, but still worth while.

 

[4V50 Gary]

I read in 4th grade and it still remains one of the best treatises on military strategy. The preeminent 20th Century military commentator, Liddell Hart, thought highly of the work.

 

[C.R.Sam]

All of the above, plus let's toss in Mao Tse Tungs little red book.

Sam

 

[Stephen Ewing]

Might I suggest adding The Influence of Seapower on History, 1660-1783. Mahan's book on naval strategy is brilliant in its own right, and the weird part is that if you replace "ship" with "airplane" he's got airpower figured out better than Douhet, Trenchard, Mitchell, Harris, etc. Besides, like Clausewitz, it makes sense to Westerners, and at no point does he mention holding the sword with a grip like water.

Steve

 

[Lance Gothic]

Brothers & Sisters of Tactics,

"Tao: The Watercourse Way" by Alan R. Watts.

"Giap" by Giap.

"The Art of War" is an excellent foundation.

Learn the game of GO as well. (www.usgo.org)

Regards,
Lance Gothic
Shibumi

 

[Christopher II]

Thanks for the suggestions, all.

Over the past three years I've read The Art of War, the Go Rin No Sho (two different translations, and it did make a signifigant difference,) The Hagakure, and The Prince. I still study them from time to time, and I learn something new every time I pick one up.

- Chris

 

[PJR]

I have read every translation I could find. For beginners, the adaptation by James Clavell is a good start and Hart's is the one I reference most often. When confronted in business with a strategic challenge I begin to read the Art of War and the answer becomes apparent.

"To win without fighting is best"

 

[twoblink]

They asked in 1993, 500 CEO's to list the 5 most influential books... (In order)

1) Bible
2) Atlas Shrugged
3) Art of War
4) The Prince
5) Think and Grow Rich

I thought these were all required reading to move yourself out of the catagory of "moron" to "thinking being"... No??



Simonov, definitely read "The Prince" though. Also, if you really liked "Art of War" that much, try "Victory Secrets of Atilla the Hun" and anything by Wess Roberts.

Albert.

 

[TekChef]

Ahh yes..the Art of War!!!
I first read it when I was younger, and I now have a nice copy of it that I read over and over.
I play a asian board game called Go, and it demonstrates many of the ideas and thoughts in the book..espc. the chapter on nine grounds.

It's often quite amusing as all the new books on mangement, etc all say everything that the Art of War says.

I can't suggest these books enough:

The Art of War
A Book of Nine Rings
I Ching
Tao Te Ching

 

[Seeker]

I read and re-read:

The Art of War
A Book of Five Rings
The I Ching
and
Lao Tzu

 

[croyance]

No Orwell on anybody's list? Unusual for such a libertatian bunch.

 

[Shawn Dodson]

For anyone whos' interested in Sun Tzu and Clausewitz, I suggest the book: 'The Mind of War: John Boyd and American Security". The first half of the book is a biography of John Boyd's life. The second half of the book explains his theories: OODA Loop (also known as Boyd's cycle), Destruction and Creation, Patterns of Conflict, The Strategic Game of ? and ?, and his Discourse on Winning and Losing. The second half of the book can be a difficult read (Boyd's theses are based on the Second Law of Thermodynamics, Kurt Godel's Incompleteness Theorem and Werner Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principal), but it is well worth the effort to understand the material.

In my opinion, Boyd's 'OODA Loop' is about the closest thing to 'The Force' that I've ever encountered. The OODA Loop is deceptively simple, yet very comprehensive in scope. Boyd is the American equivalent of military strategist Sun Tzu.

 

[clem]

One more book missing from the list

There is another book missing from the list presented, "Star Ship Troopers". No joke, read the book, the movie is okay, but there are a lot of principals talked about in the book."Star Ship Troopers"