Customer Reviews

The Art of War CD Audiobook Unabridged: Complete and Unabridged with Bonus the Biography of Confucius

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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

If you have never read or heard this book you are missing out and will be at a competitive disadvantage if your opponent has read it.

I this version is very good because 1) It seems to be a pretty accurate and unchanged version of what Sun Tzu wrote ( if you have seen several versions you will see what is common and the ones that are out there - this one is good ).
2) The actual audiobook production is pretty good. It has great music and sound effects and the narration is pretty good with some humor in it.

The company that makes this audiobook makes two versions. I bought this one first and liked it enough to buy their Deluxe version (same text but much more comments and explanations) after it. This audiobook is definitely worth listening to I highly recommend it.

This is the most useful strategy audiobook I have ever heard, and it's easy to listen to.
It is NOT stiff and boring like so many others.
My CD played perfectly with very good narration, sound effects, and music. The company guarantees the audiobook and has a number to call if there are any problems, so I wonder if the guy who wrote the bad review can't read, has a bad CD player, or is a competitor of these guys. I totally recommend this audiobook, buy it you won't be sorry!

I don't think you should waste your money. The disc looks like a home burned CD-R and not a glass mastered disc. The narrator speaks too fast and the background has awful and cheesy sound effects. Several audio tracks stop dead in mid sentence. It's just not worth it.

The voices are ridiculous and the narrator pretending to speak like a Japanese is just stupid. Very disappointed.

Watch Out!!!!!!! I bought the CD and found that it wouldn't play in any CD player. Ditto for the so called "Bonus Material" I think this is some sort of scam so watch out.

This is a very condensed version of the actual book. The narration and sound effects are awful. I was sorry that I wasted my money.

The Warring States period Warring States Period 475-221 BCE is a history of constant warfare, of alliances and counter-alliances, and of treaties made and broken. The nature of warfare evolved during the period. During the Warring States period, political stability was impossible to gain by adventurous military action. With the advent of swelling ranks of soldiers, protracted sieges, and an ever increasing drain on state treasuries, warfare became a serious matter for study.

Thus, the opening remark of "The Art Of War" states--without exaggeration--war had become the most serious business of the state, the key to survival or ruin. The author of this and other pithy aphorisms on how to successfully fight a war was Sun Tzu. Sun Tzu scholars place his writing "The Art of War" in the Warring States Period, based on the descriptions of warfare in the text. The book has received great exposure in the west starting in the eighteenth century after being translated by a French missionary. It has been reported that Napoleon studied the text and effectively put many of its teachings to good use. For the past 2,000 years, it has been the most important military treatise in all of Asia, even known by name with the common people. Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese military figures have studied it and employed its concepts to good effect. This is especially evident in the military tactics of 20th century revolutionaries like Mao Zedong and Ho Chi Minh.

The book is comprised of 13 chapters. The thesis of Sun's work is one should employ an army after a thorough analysis mandated by careful planning and the formulation of an overall strategy before embarking on a campaign. Sun emphasizes rational self-control, influenced by Daoist teachings throughout the book.

Chap 1-Laying Plans
18. All warfare is based on deception. 19. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.

Chap 6-Weak Points And Strong
8. Hence that general is skillful in attack whose opponent does not know what to defend; and he is skillful in defense whose opponent does not know what to attack.

The best translation is the Samuel B. Griffith edition