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The Illustrated Art of War
 
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The Illustrated Art of War [Hardcover]

Sun Tzu (Author), Samuel B. Griffith (Translator)
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)

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Book Description

October 15, 2005
With well over a million copies sold, Sun Tzu's The Art of War is a true masterpiece, a series of brilliant aphorisms that illuminate the planning and conduct of war. Now this classic work is available in an elegant illustrated edition, featuring seventy-five color and black-and-white images.
From perceptive descriptions of the nine varieties of terrain, to advice on how to gage an enemy's weaknesses and strengths, to suggestions on the employment of secret agents, here is timeless advice on combat and military strategy. Sun Tzu's writings are unsurpassed in depth of understanding, shedding light not only on battlefield maneuvers, but also on the relevant economic, political, and psychological factors that can shape the outcome of warfare. Equally important, the precepts outlined by Sun Tzu over two thousand years ago can be applied with great success outside the theater of war. Indeed, it is read avidly by corporate executives worldwide and has been touted in the movie Wall Street and the television series The Sopranos as the ultimate guide to strategy. Finally, this edition offers the definitive translation of Sun Tzu's text, by former U.S. Marine Brigadier General Samuel Griffith, who was also an authority of Mao Tse-Tung.
Remarkable for its clear organization, lucid prose, and the acuity of its intellectual and moral insights, The Art of War is the definitive study of combat. It is an essential book for military history buffs, and an ideal gift for anyone who is interested in tactics and strategy, whether on the battlefield or in the boardroom.

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author


The late Samuel B. Griffith was a Brigadier General and served during World War II with the United States Marines. He is the author of The Battle for Guadalcanal and the editor and translator of Mao Tse-Tung: "On Guerilla War."

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Oxford University Press (October 15, 2005)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 019518999X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0195189995
  • Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #37,242 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 32 people found the following review helpful
Factoids April 8, 2007
By dash-o
Format:Hardcover
Thought I provide some facts about this edition of The Art of War by Sun Tzu, translated by Samuel B. Griffith. The translation in this book is the same as the UNESCO edition (ISBN 0195015401,) but there are some differences in the contents.

Removes Appendix III. Sun Tzu in Western Languages
Removes Appendix IV. Brief Biographies of the Commentators
Removes the Maps
Adds seventy-five images
Pages are in a satin texture

In addition, this translation was done earlier than the findings from 1972, however, the analysis and commentary is top notch, so I would definitely recommend reading this and additional more up to date translation to complement.
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25 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
It has to be a little strange that we are still reading Sun Tzu's book. It's been at least 2,000 years since it was written (We don't know exactly when it was written, most guesses are from 100 to 600 BCE.) and we really don't know if Sun Tzu even existed (Some say it was written by a group of unknown Chinese philosophers.)

You would think that the situations in ancient China would be so different that they would have no lesson at all to our modern times. Yet it turns out that the book is still read. It is read by military men, by atheletes, and by corporate executives.

The way it is written, the philosophies it expouses seem to have timeless meaning and when we read the words we recognize some things about our own situations, our own lives. Perhaps like the Bible, there are universal truths that do not dimish with time.

This is a beautiful edition of the book. It has the S. B. Griffith translation, combined with some 75 illustrations (mostly color). The illustrations are photographs, paintings, or art objects from China that keep in the spirit of the book and remind us of another culture as well as of another time.
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28 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I do not recall the first time I read Sun Tzu's The Art of War but it must have been at least 35 years ago. Frankly, during that first reading, I saw no relevance of any of his various strategies to the business world. Nor did I have any interest whatsoever in a military career. What fascinated me then were Sun Tzu insights concerning the importance of deception: when small, seem great...and vice versa; when far away, seem near...and vice versa; when exhausted, seem robust...and vice versa. Etc. Of course, I failed to realize at that time that the Viet Cong, for example, effectively used many of the same strategies based on deception to defeat superior French and then US forces in what was then Indo-China. In fact, throughout preceding military history, there are countless other examples of warfare during which numerically inferior forces prevailed by exploiting advantages created by stealth, speed, hit-and-run attacks, etc.

What we have in this volume is Samuel B. Griffith's superb translation of Sun Tzu's The Art of War, accompanied by elegant illustrations and supplemented by informative background material which includes biographies of Sun Tzu (in Griffith's preface) and various commentators (in Appendix II). Also, and equally important, background information which establishes a frame-of-reference within which to gain a better understanding of the age during which Sun Tzu lived. I also appreciate the reader-friendly lay-out which juxtaposes primary text with pleasing illustrations and complementary sources.

As I recently read The Illustrated Art of War, I was again reminded of statistics which Michael Gerber provides in E-Myth Mastery: "Of the 1 million U.S. small businesses started this year [2005], more than 80% of them will be out of business within 5 years and 96% will have closed their doors before their 10th birthday." These are indeed chilling statistics. I wonder how many small companies which fail could have survived, if not prospered, had their owners/CEOs read and then effectively applied the strategies which Sun Tzu recommends.

Most (if not all) of those strategies are also relevant to much larger organizations. Consider what Jack Welch once said during one of GE's annual meetings when explaining why he admires small companies: "For one, they communicate better. Without the din and prattle of bureaucracy, people listen as well as talk; and since there are fewer of them they generally know and understand each other. Second, small companies move faster. They know the penalties for hesitation in the marketplace. Third, in small companies, with fewer layers and less camouflage, the leaders show up very clearly on the screen. Their performance and its impact are clear to everyone. And, finally, smaller companies waste less. They spend less time in endless reviews and approvals and politics and paper drills. They have fewer people; therefore they can only do the important things. Their people are free to direct their energy and attention toward the marketplace rather than fighting bureaucracy." Of course, there are other editions of The Art of War (including one also featuring the Griffith translation) but I prefer this one for reasons previously indicated.

In recent years, there has been a number of excellent books which also examine many of the same strategies within a business context, notably Paul Flowers' Underdog Advertising, Jason Jennings' Less Is More and Think Big, Act Small as well as Robert Tomasko's Bigger Isn't Always Better: The New Mindset for Real Business Growth, Bo Burlingham's Small Giants: Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big, Gerald Michaelson's Sun Tzu: The Art of War For Managers, and Mark McNeilly's Sun Tzu and the Art of Business.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Understand Warfare
This is only the most significant work ever on the subject of war. "The Art of War" is more insightful than Clausewitz's "On War" as well as more concise, straightforward, and... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Troy A. Lettieri
Profound and insightful reading matter...But book came w/ a broken...
A lifelong keeper of books to have in your library... Strategic and insightful look at competition and strategies. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Q
"There has never been a protracted war from which a country has...
Ah, the wisdom of the ancients! Latter-day politicians: please read this book, and learn.

Sun Tzu's eternally relevant Chinese classic `The Art of War' has never been... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Dr. Trang
materially excellent, physically flawed
This certainly is a cleanly translated version of Sun Wu's (Sun "Tzu" is but a nickname) "Soldier's Doctrine" (literal meaning of the characters commonly translated as "Art of... Read more
Published on September 1, 2009 by Bruce D. Wilner
A complete compilation
Well what is there to say its a great book its exactly what youd expect and at 20$ its an excellent addition to any bookshelf
Published on June 5, 2009 by Timothy C. Rundle
Caveat Emptor
For some reason Amazon cannot get Sunzi right. The link to the audio edition of the Griffith translation is to a different translator's work. Read more
Published on March 27, 2009 by D. Henderson
Great edition for gift giving
This edition makes for a terrific gift for the college graduate. The illustrations and photos add visual interest; the text layout makes for "easy" reading. Read more
Published on July 10, 2007 by S Hahn
If only GW Bush had read it first.
This is a classic work on what works and doesn't work it war. It is from the 3rd century BC and cuts through the BS of modern war science. Read more
Published on July 3, 2007 by James Doane
eager for audiobook of this
As a Chinese, I can say that author grasp the essence of Art of war and the English is beautiful.

I see adiobook on this topic. What no one for this version? Read more
Published on April 11, 2007 by L. Jin
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strongly recommend to create audiobook 0 Apr 20, 2007
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