25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
From A Combat Leader, February 6, 2009
This review is from: The Art of War -- Spirituality for Conflict: Annotated & Explained (Paperback)
I first became aware of Sun Tzu and the Art of War in 1967 while I was in Infantry Officer Candidate School at Ft. Benning, Georgia. We didn't have time for an in depth study of the text but we were made familiar with some of the relevant chapters.
In 1969 I served as an infantry platoon leader in the Mekong Delta with the 9th Infantry Division. One of the lessons I learned as a small unit combat leader was how to use the terrain to your best advantage in a night ambush operation. After a time it becomes second nature. Sun Tzu wrote about this tactic centuries ago. And in war it is just as fresh and new as the sun rise; true in Iraq, true in Afghanistan.
My war experience was forty years ago and now as an old man I recently had the opportunity revisit the text. Thomas Huynh's translations and annotations of the text lead me to a greater understanding of the wisdom contain therein.
My 90 year mother-in-law saw me reading The Art of War and asked to borrow it when I had finished reading. I immediately gave her the book and told her I had finished it and was just rereading a chapter. I asked her to keep the book and not worry about returning it ever. I then ordered another copy for myself.
A couple of weeks later I asked her if she'd read any of the book and she replied that she had read several chapters and then added, "It's called The Art of War but it seems to me that it's more about resolving conflicts than engaging in them." I thought to myself, "She got it." And as a mother of sixteen children she has some experience in conflict resolution I would expect.
As a person who has seen war I can tell you that it is horrible and that it should be the absolute and final resort in conflict resolution. The greatest leader avoids conflict and peace and harmony is the greatest victory personally and universally.
I highly recommend this translation and annotation by Thomas Huynh.
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not Just Another Translation, April 5, 2008
This review is from: The Art of War -- Spirituality for Conflict: Annotated & Explained (Paperback)
A wisdom text that has been in print for over two millennium hardly needs another review to establish its merit. What's new here is the annotated translation by Thomas Huynh and his colleagues [...]. By carefully studying each and every pictograph from the Chinese original, they've come as close to reconnecting the English reader with Sun Tzu's thoughts as can be achieved in a translation. For example, when choosing a single word in English to correspond with a key concept from the original, the translator gives the alternatives and explains the final choice.
But the work goes beyond simply providing the most accurate translation that language differences allow. The extensive explanations are presented on facing pages in step with the translation, as opposed to being buried in footnotes or endnotes, and provide the cultural and historical context required to understand the text. Without these explanations of the who, what and where that Sun Tzu is referring to, a reader without a deep background in the Chinese literature and history of the period would come away with a partial understanding at best.
While I didn't put together an army to invade a neighboring state after reading this book, I already used one of the key concepts in a critical business negotiation that resolved in my favor. I'd recommend this book both to first time readers of the Art of War and to serious students of looking for additional insight into their favorite wisdom text.
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Annotations and Explanations of this Classic Text!, April 29, 2008
This review is from: The Art of War -- Spirituality for Conflict: Annotated & Explained (Paperback)
With a shelf full of versions of "The Art of War" why purchase another one? This is a question one could ask of me. I have a dozen versions of "The Art of War," yet I purchased and read "The Art of War - Spirituality for Conflict" and am extremely glad that I did.
This version of "The Art of War" annotated and explained was annotated by Thomas Huynh and it is his translations with the editors at his website Sonshi. There is a foreword by Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO of salesforce and a preface by Thomas Cleary. It was Cleary's preface that helped me decide to purchase this version, since several of my versions were translated by Cleary, and I've enjoyed the numerous translations of his I've read over the years.
Huynh states that he wishes he would have had this translation when he first started studying Sun Tzu's words twenty years ago. After reading it, I agree that any student of Sun Tzu will benefit from "The Art of War - Spirituality for Conflict."
Besides the interesting foreword and preface, there is a good introduction that lays some basic history and information for those new to Sun Tzu and those that have studied various translations already. One impressive fact about this book is that it is the work of twenty years of study with over forty reputable scholars working on it.
I enjoyed how this edition addresses a spiritual approach to conflict through Sun Tzu's teachings. The book still contains the thirteen chapters that were written by Sun Tzu. They are laid out in a format that has the translated text on the right side page, with the commentary to the translated text on the left side page. If a person wanted to, they could read every right hand page and they would be reading the entire translated text of "The Art of War."
However, if you truly study "The Art of War" like I enjoy doing, you will not only read the translated text, you will savor the commentary and annotations as well as ponder the lessons beyond Huynh's guidance.
In the annotations, Huynh provides examples relating to the text from many sources. It is refreshing to see things from the Bible, Buddha, and Lao Tzu not contrasting each other, but illustrating points and guiding toward conflict resolution. The text also includes examples based on General Robert E. Lee, Fourth Geneva Convention, a sermon delivered by Martin Luther king Jr. at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in 1957, George Washington, Robert Gates to the U.S. Congress in 2007, Henry David Thoreau, mathematics professor and investment trader Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Yamamoto Tsunetomo's Hagakure, and many more. These examples and illustrations of lessons and principles help with the study and application of "The Art of War" to other areas than only military strategy.
This is important, because while many readers of this text will benefit in areas other than in the military. While I first studied "The Art of War" while in the U.S. Army, I study it now for different reasons. It is a text that not only can help the military person, but any person who deals with conflict. And we all face conflict!
Sun Tzu's teachings are effective in all conflict, not only war. This new translation, with the annotations and explanations will allow any reader, from those with no previous knowledge of "The Art of War" to those who have studied multiple volumes, to learn and apply Sun Tzu's sage advice. It is very insightful and will not only help with your understanding and application of the ancient text, but will provide you with guidance to prevent and resolve conflicts in your own life.
If you want to study conflict resolution through a book about war. This is the text for you. If you have never read "The Art of War," this is a good book to start your studies. It is clear, easy to read, and contains excellent annotations to apply the lessons to your life. If you are a student of "The Art of War," this is a must add to your collection. You will find it an informative and refreshing look at this classic manual. I am very happy that I decided to purchase yet another volume. Its practical and pragmatic guidance has broadened my understanding of "The Art of War," and more importantly has helped me bring these ancient lessons into my conflict resolution practice. Highly recommended!
Reviewed by Alain Burrese, J.D., author of Hard-Won Wisdom From The School of Hard Knocks.
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