The Art of War by Sun Tzu Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Art of War
Book Review: College gold mine
Summary: 5 Stars
I been in college for 3 years now and have avoided reading the art of war for some time now. now thought that i am moveing to my policitial studies major i am finding that all the tatics and theroies that Sun Tzu propesed have even more relaiance than it did 2000 years ago. Makes you think if Clition can read or not when it comes to forgien policy. In short Tzu states violiance is the last step to any conflict first anf formost you should use spies and inteliance. THe application of force by the us is frightening and can be counter production mabe all those west point and navel ad. should open this book and learn from a master just my two centsBook Review: Comments on Samuel B. Griffith(intro) version
Summary: 4 Stars
I won't talk about how good Sun Tzu is, as you probably already know. Instead, I'll share my opinion on how good this translation is.---------
1. Is the translation consistent with the Original?
I have not read the entire book in details to assess all the chapters. However, as the first sample page clearly shown, "Therefore appraise it in terms of the five fundamental factors and make comparisons of the seven elements later named.", the translator has indeed taken some liberty in translating Sun Tzu Art of War. "xiao zhi yi ji" indeed refers to the seven estimate (ji) later, but nowhere in the original text was "seven" mentioned. This sounds picky, but from this example you can tell that the tranlation focus more on the meaning rather than maintaining direct translation.
2. Elegance of the translation?
Sun Tzu is actually a great Chinese literary work, it uses antithesis, rhythm, and other techiques to convey meanings. As indicated above, this translation focus more on meaning, you do not get a feeling of what the original text is like. Of course this is not a major problem for most people, as they read Sun Tzu for the content only. In sum, it's readable but rather plain.
3. Format of the book?
This version contains some commentary of Chinese scholars, the format goes something like this: several Sun Tzu's sentences-> commentary-> footnotes-> repeat. That might be helpful to some people, as the scholars expand and help explaining on Sun Tzu's text. However it's kind of annoying if you just want to read Sun Tzu without the bothersome additional interpretion. I suggest you to see Amazon.com's sample page to determine whether you like the format or not.
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Overall, the translation seems to be ok. I do not agree on all of the interpretation from this book, but there are no major mistakes.
Book Review: DEEP
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a must read for anyone interested in the military or business. The book is philisophical and informing on how crucial strategy is in war and in life. It must be read slowly and maybe even reread (especially if you think that war has nothing to do with strategy Billy Ray) to get the full understanding of everything in it. The introduction was lengthy but once you are past that it gets very interesting. It also gives good references to similar works.Book Review: Enjoyable
Summary: 4 Stars
His writing, though overwhelming at first, is easily understandable and rather entertaining. He provides many different views on the some subject. I really enjoyed reading this book.Book Review: Essential Handbook
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm in the construction business and (like many other professions I'm sure) I run into confrontational situations daily. "The Art of War" addresses every one of those situations and gives recommendations concerning the best ways to prepare yourself and make out with the best outcome for you. Never get in another test of wills without knowing how it will end. Sure it takes a little intellect to transfer these writing into applications for corporate America. But the truths contained in this book are timeless.