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The Art of War / The Prince / Manifesto of the Communist Party (The Great Currents of Thought.) (Volume 1)
The Art of War / The Prince / Manifesto of the Communist Party - The Great Currents of Thought. - Volume 1 Author:Sun Tzu, Nicolo Machiavelli, Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels This book contains three works that have influenced our modern society. Sun Tzu (also rendered as Sun Zi) was a Chinese general, military strategist, and philosopher who lived in the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. Sun Tzu is traditionally credited as the author of The Art of War, a widely influential work of military strategy that h... more »as affected both Western and Eastern philosophy. Aside from his legacy as the author of The Art of War, Sun Tzu is revered in Chinese and the Culture of Asia as a legendary historical figure. His birth name was Sun Wu, and he was known outside of his family by his courtesy name Changqing. The name Sun Tzu by which he is best known in the West is an honorific which means "Master Sun." The Art of War is an ancient Chinese military treatise dating from the 5th century BC. Attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu ("Master Sun", also spelled Sunzi) the text is composed of 13 chapters, each of which is devoted to one aspect of warfare. It is commonly thought of as a definitive work on military strategy and tactics. It was placed at the head of China's Seven Military Classics upon the collection's creation in 1080 by Emperor Shenzong of Song, and has long been the most influential strategy text in East Asia. It has had an influence on Eastern and Western military thinking, business tactics, legal strategy and beyond. The book was first translated into French in 1772 by the Jesuit Jean Joseph Marie Amiot and a partial translation into English was attempted by British officer Everard Ferguson Calthrop in 1905. The first annotated English translation was completed and published by Lionel Giles in 1910. Leaders such as Mao Zedong, General Vo Nguyen Giap, General Douglas MacArthur and leaders of Imperial Japan have drawn inspiration from the work. Niccolò Machiavelli , or more formally Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli, was an Italian Renaissance historian, politician, diplomat, philosopher, humanist, and writer. He has often been called the founder of modern political science. He was for many years a senior official in the Florentine Republic, with responsibilities in diplomatic and military affairs. He also wrote comedies, carnival songs, and poetry. His personal correspondence is renowned in the Italian language. He was secretary to the Second Chancery of the Republic of Florence from 1498 to 1512, when the Medici were out of power. He wrote his most renowned work The Prince (Il Principe) in 1513. "Machiavellianism" is a widely used negative term to characterize unscrupulous politicians of the sort Machiavelli described most famously in The Prince. Machiavelli described immoral behavior, such as dishonesty and killing innocents, as being normal and effective in politics. He even seemed to endorse it in some situations. The book itself gained notoriety when some readers claimed that the author was teaching evil, and providing "evil recommendations to tyrants to help them maintain their power." The term "Machiavellian" is often associated with political deceit, deviousness, and realpolitik. On the other hand, many commentators, such as Baruch Spinoza, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Denis Diderot, have argued that Machiavelli was actually a republican, even when writing The Prince, and his writings were an inspiration to Enlightenment proponents of modern democratic political philosophy. Karl Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. Born in Trier to a middle-class family, he later studied political economy and Hegelian philosophy. As an adult, Marx became stateless and spent much of his life in London, England, where he continued to develop his thought in collaboration with German thinker Friedrich Engels and published various works, the most well-known being the 1848 pamphlet The Communist Manifesto. His work has since influenced subsequent intellectual, economic, and political history.« less
Mitchell N. (MilesGrey) reviewed The Art of War / The Prince / Manifesto of the Communist Party (The Great Currents of Thought.) (Volume 1) on + 15 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
The Art of War by Sun Tzu is itself an elegantly simple text, filled with clear, but deep deep insights into the nature of reallity and humanity, worthy of reflection. The text as it appears in this book is expounded for the reader by 5 or 6 later writers who wanted to share their insights into the great general's meaning. Their comments are interspersed with the actual text. While Tzu's own words are picked out in bold type, reading the mixture is like herding long-tailed cats or stretching taffy, rewarding perhaps, but very sticky and wearisome. If you desire the insights of the great general prepare to work hard at picking them out and consider seeking a different edition.
Christie M. (crity2re) reviewed The Art of War / The Prince / Manifesto of the Communist Party (The Great Currents of Thought.) (Volume 1) on + 15 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I have not finished this book, but love what I have read so far. If you're the type of person who gets bored by long winded stories and would prefer the short of everything, this is for you! Basically the entire book is made up of lines - just an entire book of oneliners about the art of war, and many other corrilating topics.
M. W. (MeliTheBookWorm) reviewed The Art of War / The Prince / Manifesto of the Communist Party (The Great Currents of Thought.) (Volume 1) on + 50 more book reviews
Nathaniel W. (Ithelrand) reviewed The Art of War / The Prince / Manifesto of the Communist Party (The Great Currents of Thought.) (Volume 1) on + 9 more book reviews
Edited and with foreword by James Clavell (Tai-Pan, Shogun)
Translated by Lionel Giles
This is my second favorite translation of Sun Tzu's art of War, after the one by Thomas Cleary.
John W. (jrw) reviewed The Art of War / The Prince / Manifesto of the Communist Party (The Great Currents of Thought.) (Volume 1) on + 33 more book reviews
The Art of War is cited in popular media as something more than it actually is. It really is a very general war strategy guide, some of which is applicable to today, some not, and some translatable to other areas. An interesting part of the Art is doing the unpredictable to gain an upper hand until you become predictably unpredictable, at which time you perform the predictable to become unpredictable anew.
Gerhard O. (nccorthu) reviewed The Art of War / The Prince / Manifesto of the Communist Party (The Great Currents of Thought.) (Volume 1) on + 569 more book reviews
A classic on Strategy and Tactics. Many take it beyond warfare. This translation also gives a fine short history of Early China , The First Emperor and warring states periods.
krisann - reviewed The Art of War / The Prince / Manifesto of the Communist Party (The Great Currents of Thought.) (Volume 1) on + 76 more book reviews
A classic piece of Chinese Philosophy. Some highlights:
Supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance with out fighting.
If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.
Spies are the most important element in war, because upon them depends an army's ability to move.
All warfare is based on deception.
The general who wins a battle makes many calculations before the battle is fought.
There is no instance of a country having benefited from a prolonged war.
The clever combatant looks to the effect of combined energy, and does not require too much from individuals.
Nancy H. (hopplegirl) reviewed The Art of War / The Prince / Manifesto of the Communist Party (The Great Currents of Thought.) (Volume 1) on + 25 more book reviews
Julie B. - reviewed The Art of War / The Prince / Manifesto of the Communist Party (The Great Currents of Thought.) (Volume 1) on + 10 more book reviews
This has to be my favorite version of The Art of War. It is a nice hand-held hardback with beautiful sketches of dragons, warriors, and calligraphy, .
Donald B. reviewed The Art of War / The Prince / Manifesto of the Communist Party (The Great Currents of Thought.) (Volume 1) on + 2 more book reviews
As far as the information contained in this book, I would rate The Art of War as having five out of five stars.
As a person in the education field, I find that, on occasions, the classroom can become a battlefield. Sun Tzu offers some practical tips on taking the offensive against the antagonist, such as claiming the high ground, and using the strength of the antagonist against the antagonist.
A terse, summarily-written tome, may be lacking in proper syntax, but The Art of War offers practical tips on surviving, and overcoming, a hostile force.
Mitchell N. (MilesGrey) reviewed The Art of War / The Prince / Manifesto of the Communist Party (The Great Currents of Thought.) (Volume 1) on + 15 more book reviews 
