Art Of War
Art of War by Sun Tzu
Foreword by James Clavell
The Art of War was written five hundred years before the time of Christ. In this work, Chinese philosopher turned General Sun Tzu, lays out his grand strategy of waging war. Warfare truly is a form of art if practiced according to the precepts of Sun Tzu.
However the main power in this book is in its ideals and tactics on how to combat your enemy. While Sun-Tzu most likely thought of these in purely practical military terms, they can be applied to almost anything in life.
He stresses the importance of the decisions that are made before the battle.
"The general who wins a battle makes many calculations before the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand. ...it is by attention to this point that I can forsee who is likely to win or lose."
Next, the author discusses such topics as, tactics, energy, and maneuvering. Sun Tzu recognizes that in any conflict an army will have various strong points as well as various weak points.
The books says about five laws
These are: (1) The Moral Law; (2) Heaven; (3) Earth; (4) The Commander; (5) Method and discipline.
1) Moral Law: It caused people to be in complete accord with their Ruler.
2) Heaven signifies night & day, cold & heat, times and seasons.
3) Earth comprises distance, great and small; danger and security; the chances of life and death
4) Commander stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage and strictness.
5) Method and Discipline are to be understood the marshalling of the army in its proper subdivision, gradation of ranks in officers, and control of military expenditure.
These five heads should be familiar to every general (everyone who wishes to win): he who knows them will be victorious; he who knows them not will fail.
The Author also says that if you know yourself...
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