The Arty of War
"The commentary
and essays included will help the reader appreciate that this work has endured, not simply
as a manual for the conduct of warfare but because of the depth of the principles on which
it is based and their applicability to everyday life." - Library Journal
A' core of this ancient
strategy manual is the understanding that conflict is an inescapable part of human life.
Since, as Sun Tzu teaches, aggression and response in kind can lead only to destruction,
we must learn to work with conflict in a more profound and effective way. Crucial to this
strategic vision is knowledge especially self-knowledge and a view of the whole that seeks
to bring conflicting views around to a larger perspective. This new and unusually faithful
translation carefully preserves the enigmatic quality of the original allowing us to
discover innumerable insights in its lines millennia after this oral tradition was first
set down. Line-by-line commentary and three extensive essays reveal the broader
implications of Sun Tzu's teachings and how they can be applied to everyday circumstances.
The Denma Translation Group
is led by Kidder Smith and James Gimian. Smith directs the Asian Studies Department at
Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. Gimian is publisher of the Shambhala Sun magazine and
a publishing consultant. The other members of the group have worked professionally in the
writing, editing, and publishing fields.
250 pages