The Art of War Audio CD – Unabridged, February 12, 2008

It's to bad President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld didn't read this book. As I was reading it I noticed that frequently (*very* frequently, unfortunately) they did the exact opposite of what Sun Tzu would have advised.For one thing, Sun Tzu advised against fighting large-scale and protracted wars a long way from home, because the costs of *everything* increase. One's opponent can then use this against you by finding ways to drag out the war, ruin your economy, and by ruining your economy ruin your war effort.Jiu Jitsu is the Japanese art of using an attacker's energy against him rather than directly opposing it. A comparison could be made between bin Laden having to spend only a million or so dollars to blow up the World Trade Center, when estimates of the cost of the Iraq war are about 9 billion per month.That's almost a million times more costly, EACH AND EVERY MONTH! That means that for every dollar bin Laden spent, we spend a million just in one month. The war will be seven years long in March. Multiply that by 12 and you get 84 months; then, let's say the war lasts another 16 months beyond that; it will mean that bin Laden spent about a penny for each million dollars we spent.That's the very essence of Sun Tzu. Even Sun Tzu probably couldn't have imagined odds like that. If there was a Sun Tzu award, bin Laden would certainly be a good candidate for it.Don't get me wrong. He's one of the most heartless bastards who has ever walked the earth, but he's a smart, heartless bastard, at least when it comes to waging war on the cheap. I doubt even in his wildest dreams he ever imagined he could have exhausted the American war machine so effectively. And like the Energizer Bunny, the costs and the war keep going and going and going . . . with no end in sight.An equally good metaphor for how bin Laden tricked us is found in the story of the Tar Baby. Brer Rabbit tricks Brer Fox into punching and kicking the Tar Baby until his arms and legs are buried deep in tar and he's stuck. Now we're stuck in Iraq.Bin Laden tempted the U.S. to come after him with overwhelming force, and we took the bait. Sun Tzu would have probably advised retaliation that was lower key and sneaky but which would have the desired effect, not involving the high risk of betting our entire economy on the outcome---especially since the war front was so far from the U.S. He would have advised patience and cunning over an impulsively and hastily conceived large-scale counterattack.Either way, if the U.S. hadn't started the second war in Iraq, we would have probably fared much better in the long run. Iraq was a bridge too far. And now the expense is killing us. I know The Art of War is read by Western military strategists. I'd think it would be required reading at Westpoint. Nowman Schwatrzkopf certainly seems to have read it.After reading the Art of War, it's clear to me that the second Iraq War was a train wreck waiting to happen. Our country is collapsing under the weight of the astronomical costs of supporting such an enormous military undertaking so far from home, with no end in sight.The insurgents also act in ways that Sun Tzu would have recommended: harrying the opponent and keeping massive numbers of troops committed over a long period of time, wearing them and U.S. down gradually. Of course, the consequences destroyed their own country in the process. Sun Tzu wouldn't have recommended that. It has backfired on the insurgents. But it had pretty mush the desired effect against the American military, at least temporarily.The Iraqi insurgents have us stuck in a war of attrition a long way from home, where their costs are low and ours are astronomical. Not an enviable position for a commander to be in.

I've read several different versions of The Art of War, including but not limited to the free one from Project Gutenberg and a free one from Amazon. It's a snappy, quick read with excellent insights and it's one of the most famous books in the world. However, I never really connected to it because the commentary was always in the way and it was always really confusing, because there were many references to Chinese history which I did not understand. This version of The Art of War I bought for my negotiation class with Dr. Stephen Hayford. He uses The Art of War when teaching negotiation to MBA students in South Korea and his Korean students have told him that this is the most accessible, comprehensible version of The Art of War that they had read. Hayford says that the Koreans have to read this book from a young age - in some sort of father-to-son exchange of knowledge - but that his negotiation classes on The Art of War were the first time that they could see actionable insights.Hayford uses this book not only to teach strategy but also to teach leadership. It's very, very difficult to teach people how to be leaders, and Sun Tzu and Cleary do a really excellent job of showing which qualities are the most important.I wrote my thesis on the burgeoning China-America conflict, and I think that anybody who wants to understand the basis of Chinese strategy should read this book. I was talking to a guy from West Point last December about how you need to understand the Chinese way of looking at things.

I struggled reading the book in the beginning because I had to adjust to the writing style, everything was so confusing at first and I even considered asking for a refund. Luckily I didn't. I told myself I would get through it and I did!It was really a good book, but difficult. I can honestly and literally tell you that I marked maybe 6-10 words I didn't understand on every page and that was very frustrating and time consuming. It also made me tired from all the pushing, checking and resume the reading.However, the book was great, the only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because I rarely do give any books 5 stars, but the actual reason is because I found it way too hard to read for a non-native speaker and reader and I was hoping it to end in a more "fading" way, instead of the sudden stop - somehow. That was what I felt, but that's like a bagatelle.It just didn't make me "amazed", andThe very nice thing about this book is that even though you maybe in the end try to remember and recover what you've read it somehow doesn't appear at once, but then when you're in public or with other folks you suddenly remember various tasks from the book which you incorporate and use and comprehend. Almost like magic! :D The Feeling is great!4/5 :) Recommended for those who want to comprehend conflicts and understand how to adjust and process them carefully and peacefully :D

I started and was victorious in 3 seperate wars in the 3 years after reading this book. I only lost 301 men in total and 67 horses.Definately recommend reading this book if you feel like you might lose your kingdom to invaders. Just be aware that you might have to initiate several wars without being attacked first, not everybody in the Senate will support this strategy.The peace that came after the wars ended was well worth the hassle. We have a concert every Sunday in the square to celebrate our greatness.

I like the audio cd but there's a chapter missing from it. I ordered it twice and the same thing happened. Funny thing is that it the one chapter that speak about a certain African tribe. Had to listen to that part on YouTube. Other than that it's a good buy.

Knowledge is power

Great!

The product i recived was a little damanged but it was dilvered 2 days earlierQuality and size is according to prize and the book is really good not world changing but really helpful in building a character

It's pretty much as the description in the product overview which is precisely what I wanted; a decent translation with a bit of interpretation. Although the reader's voice is a bit dry.

Book is good, contents are excellent. More of tactics then strategy