The Art of War
"Thomas Cleary's
translation of Sun Tzu's z.ooo-year-old The Art of War makes -immediately relevant one of
the greatest Chinese classical texts. There's not a dated maxim or vague prescription in
it. 'To win without fighting is best,' Sun Tzu said, For him, war was coeval with lire.
Absorb this book, and you can throw out all those contemporary books about management
leadership." Newsweek
Complied more than two
thousand years ago by a mysterious warrior-philosopher, The Art of War is still perhaps
the most prestigious and influential book of strategy in the world today, as eagerly
studied in Asia by modern politicians and executives as it has been by military leaders
since ancient times. As a study of the anatomy of organizations in conflict, The Art of
War applies to competition and conflict in general, on every level from the interpersonal
to the international. Its aim is invincibility, victory without battle, and unassailable
strength through understanding of the physics, politics, and psychology of conflict.
This translation presents the
classic from the point of view of its background in the great spiritual tradition of
Taoism, the origin of psychology, science, and technology in East Asia and the source of
the insights into human nature that underlie this most revered of handbooks for success.
Translated from a standard collection of commentaries on Sun Tzu's text by eleven
interpreters, the work has been edited by Thomas Cleary to bring out the meaning of the
principles of strategy. In addition, the translator provides an extensive introduction
discussing the content and background of the book.
Thomas Cleary, who holds a
Ph.D. in East Asian Languages and Civilizations from Harvard University, is the translator
of numerous works in Buddhist, Taoist, and 1 Chinp studies. A companion volume to The Art
of War is his translation Mastering the Art of War by Zhuge Liang and Liu Ji, also in
Shambhala Dragon Editions.
170 pages