The Art of War

“There’s not a dated maxim or vague prescription in it.” — Newsweek Although the chariots have gone and the weapons have changed, this ancient master holds his own, since he deals with fundamentals —with the influence of politics and human nature on military operations. He shows in a striking way how unchanging these principles are. Regarded as the world’s oldest military treatise , this compact hardcover volume has instructed officers and tacticians for more than 2,000 years . From its origins in China, The Art of War traveled the world to inform the strategies of Napoleon and World War II generals. More recently , it has taken on a new life as a guide to competing successfully in business, law, politics, and sports. All of The Art of War’s concepts retain their value to modern readers, from the prudence of circumventing a strong opponent and taking advantage of a weak one to the wisdom of preparedness and flexibility. Other topics include strategy, tactics, maneuvering, communications, the treatment of soldiers, and the worth of well-trained officers. Includes an introduction and brief history of Chinese Warfare written by Brig. Gen. Thomas R. Phillips of the U.S. Army, for the 1944 edition. Study Sun Tzu’s five factors of planning, five essentials for victory, and the six ways of courting defeat. Learn to classify the six types of terrain and the nine varieties of ground warfare. Prepare for five ways to attack with fire and anticipate possible developments. Discover the “divine manipulation of the threads” and examine the five classes of spies. This Ixia Press edition, first published in 2019, is an unabridged republication of the edition originally published in 1944 by The Military Service Publishing Company, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The English translation of the text was made by Lionel Giles, M. A., Department of Oriental Books and Manuscripts in the British Museum, and first published in 1910 by Luzac & Co., London. History enthusiasts, devotees of Chinese philosophy, business leaders, and anyone intrigued by competition and rivalry, and leadership and power, will appreciate this elegant edition of the classic work. Shop Dover books for history’s most famous battles! Affordable titles offer brilliant treatises on the evolution of guns and swords, military theory, warfare in the Middle Ages, and much more.