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    The Art of War
    The Art of War
    The Art of War
    Audiobook (abridged)6 hours

    The Art of War

    Written by Stephen Coonts

    Narrated by Eric G. Dove

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    The Chinese dragon is flexing its muscles. As its military begins to prey on neighbors in the South China Sea, attacking fishing vessels and scheming to seize natural resources, the US goes on high alert. But a far more ominous danger lurks closer to home: a Chinese sleeper cell has planted a nuclear weapon in the harbor at Norfolk, Virginia, the biggest naval base on the planet. The target: a secret rendezvous of the Atlantic Fleet aircraft carriers and their battle groups. When the CIA director is assassinated and Jake Grafton is appointed to take his place, he gets wind of the conspiracy, but has no idea when or where the attack will occur. In the meantime, a series of assassinations, including an attempt on the life of the President, shake the country and deliberately mask a far more sinister objective. Can Jake Grafton and his right hand man, Tommy Carmellini, stop the plot to destroy the US Navy?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateFeb 2, 2016
    ISBN9781480516106
    The Art of War
    Author

    Stephen Coonts

    STEPHEN COONTS is the New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty novels that have been translated and published around the world. His books include The Disciple, The Assassin, and the Deep Black and Saucers series, among many other bestsellers. A former naval aviator and Vietnam combat veteran, he is a graduate of West Virginia University and the University of Colorado School of Law. He lives in Colorado.

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    Reviews for The Art of War

    4/5

    82 ratings56 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I give it a 5 because it's a classic that you can read in under an hour. One of the best books I have read. Simple, basic, and a great strategy foundation. I refer to it all the time. Great book from a historical standpoint, but certainly is a great asset in business.
    • 4/5
      Hmm, this book can really be used in company`s management, because some war strategies are quite similar to organization management. For example, need for clear and not doubtful commands, advice to put best soldiers (workers) on first line, importance of understanding ones own weaknesses and strengths etc.Overall, it`s boring literature if one don`t think how to use those advices in life.[more: rozmarins.blogspot.com]
    • 3/5
      Classic, brilliant techniques put so simply. Yet, naturally, reading this as a modern day civilian, I applied it to my modern day battles such as in business, relationships, Los Angeles traffic...the typical. As a naturally paranoid person, I feel it did me more harm than good. In addition, I prefer to (perhaps ignorantly) avoid seeing things as if they are wars. Some things will never change though because I will always act shy and giggle right before I slaughter my enemy.
    • 4/5
      My first "android" book :)
      3 days of boring lectures and you complete a whole book !!!!
      A Sun Tzu's masterpiece on competition in a battlefield.An obstinate struggle to survive,to fight with a person's best spirits and a anecdote of survival in tough times. The book talks about various moves of enemies and optimum strategic judgement according to opponent's strength and weakness.
      Main categories under which the comprehensive book is divided are: Laying plans, waging war, strategic attacks, energy, tactical dispositions, army on march, fire attacks and use of spies.
      A book one of its kind. Precise, short statements without any kind of obfuscation, a provident manifestation of a probable war like situation.Indeed, a complete war time reference manual.
    • 5/5
      Quite possibly the most influential book on military tactics of all time. I was incredibly surprised by its brevity. A must-read for any historian. 
    • 4/5
      It is a really old book, but still has much application to everyday life in modern times. The book is a little hard to read at times. However, the knowledge you get from reading it worth it. I recommend everyone read this title at least once in their lifetime.
    • 4/5
      It's amazing that this advice is still quite relevant 2500 years after the fact. Some of it, of course, isn't, but that'll happen. The historical allusions in Giles' translation/commentary are pretty useful, though occasionally it gets really deep into Chinese history and you forget who you are and what you're reading. What dynasty are we in again?
    • 4/5
      A classic! Well worth the read, and looking forward to reading again in the future.
    • 3/5
      The original book was interesting but the commentary portion of the book was insightful. I liked hearing perspective on Master Sun's work from other ancient military leaders.
    • 5/5
      Everyone should read this.

      It tells you as much about motivation and human compunction than any other book Ive ever read. This should be required reading for teachers, businessmen, cops, everyone that every has to deal with a group of people in a possibly hostile setting.
    • 5/5
      Tactics and strategies that apply to everyday life. This book is excellent reading to make you think about how to deal with the day to day struggles of life. It helps you position you versus your opponent. Your opponent need not be any one person. It could be a corporation. It could be an establishment. It could be a situation you are facing. I was once told that what you get out of a book is the effort you put into a book. It is my hope that this book can help someone master how they deal with day to day life. Let me know what you think. By the way, how many Enron or Worldcomm employees do you think read this book?

      On another note, I would ask that you do not take this book literally. It is laced with allegory and a ton of symbolism. Please take its contents and apply them to your life for the good of all.
    • 5/5
      The version I have also has a second section for commentaries on all the passages. It's an incredibly useful and insightful book, and not necessarily just for literal war.
    • 4/5
      There was a lot of repetition in this book, but maybe it's to enforce some of the most important things to remember when conducting a war.

      I was surprised by how much from this ancient text seems applicable today. I guess that can be chalked up to the knowledge and foresight of Sun Tzu, as well as our sad inability to change our violent ways.

      One particular bit of text seemed particularly relevant:

      When the army engages in protracted campaigns the resources of the state will not suffice.

      Good advice.
    • 2/5
      Don't like this edition. The history is boring and confusing (chi, Ch'i, ch'i all mean different things) 1 star for the edition and history part.

      The actual Art of War is good. 3 stars.
    • 5/5
      A great translation. That was meant to be funny since I don't read Chinese and can't possibly really know how good his translation is. However, this is a great book and belongs right next to your other war strategy greats.
    • 4/5
      New to Sun-Tzu, I found invaluable Ames' commentary on the historical times and the 1970s/1980s discovery of a hitherto unknown version of the classic text and related texts.
    • 4/5
      It's worth reading just to say you have and because so many other books and films refer to it. I first read it in hopes of using it in corporate life but that's not always easy:Camp in high places, facing the sun. Do not climb heights in order to fight. So much for mountain warfare.
    • 3/5
      3 stars“All warfare is based on deception.”“The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.”Born in the fifth century B.C., Sun Wu (Sun Tzu was an honorary title) wrote the quintessential rulebook for warfare, known today as Art of War. While the often quoted lines of Sun Tzu are as lyrical as poetry, it was written 2,500 years ago with the singular purpose of codifying the essential requirements for generals and soldiers to be victorious on the battlefield. Even today, his treatise on war is studied by not just military officers, but business leaders and politicians as a roadmap to victory.While most of us have heard of Art of War and have no doubt read many of the catchy anecdotes that populate Sun Tzu’s writing, I dare say very few people have actually read the work from start to finish. While the version I read was about 300 pages, less than 50 pages make up the actual translated writings of Sun Tzu. That text is preceded by a rather informative historical overview of the life of Sun Wu – of which only a few documented facts are known. More importantly, the introduction does a good job of establishing the climate that Sun Tzu lived in within what we now know as China. Frankly, I found this to be the best and most informative part of the text.Sun Tzu’s actual text is written as a series of individual statements that appear to have been cobbled together. I’m unsure if this is the result of how the work was translated or if the original text was pieced together from scattered writings, but it gives the writing a disjointed feel. However, I can accept this limitation given that it was written as a technical document more than two millennia ago in a different language. From a content perspective, there are many well-known phrases that ring true today. But while the general philosophies are what we remember, the lion’s share of his text details very specific situations and strategies for warfare of that era. The remainder of the book – more than half of it in fact – is a detailed breakdown of individual passages from Sun Tzu’s text, expanded upon and placed into the context of more modern battles throughout history. This was the most problematic portion of the book because in a lot of cases it was a very tenuous leap to connect the specific tactics of some of the cited battles to the specific situations Sun Tzu wrote about. Sun Tzu’s text is just ambiguous enough that almost anything can be read into some of the passages. It was more wishful thinking than established doctrine that associated some of the examples to his writing. And while Art of War may include many philosophical musings that are usable today, most of Sun Tzu’s writing about specific military tactics– while educational from a historical perspective – are wildly obsolete in the modern world. As a fascinating historical document that illustrates the thinking and strategy of an era where little has survived the ravages of time, Art of War is an invaluable resource. But as a current day treatise on the conduct of war and competitive strategy, it is really lacks concrete value. Anecdotes aside, I’m pretty sure that no modern standing army or corporate think-tank is sending its best and brightest into the trenches with nothing but Sun Tzu’s writing even though some believe Art of War is the end-all, be-all of strategic thought. It would be a little like arguing before the Supreme Court with no other legal education outside of reading a lot of John Grisham novels. I think Art of War is a valuable work, but it has achieved a sort of cult following in certain circles that outstrips its actual contribution to strategy. The authors of this translation have gone overboard in assigning value to his teaching – value that can’t really be substantiated. Is it an important historical document? Absolutely. Is it the cornerstone of all of the strategic thought that exists today? Not hardly. While Sun Tzu was in fact a brilliant strategist and philosopher, Art of War wasn’t even translated into a western language until 1772 (French) and 1905 (English). I’m pretty sure most of these strategies had been discovered and utilized by western armies long before then. Perhaps the most important thing that is lost in the supplementation of Art of War is Sun Tzu’s primary motivation for writing his treatise. While his text is held up as the guide to war, this translation does hit on a key philosophy – it was peace that Sun Tzu was most interested in. He wanted his countrymen to be able to protect themselves and allow for the citizens to live in peace, not war. All you have to read for proof of that is what I think is the most important sentence he wrote:“There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare.”Amen to that.
    • 3/5
      Art of War itself is pretty cool - aside from the fact that I feel like a dork reading it because most of the people who read Art of War are nineteen-year-old fantasy roleplayers who collect nunchuks - but the version I read, Lionel Giles' 1910 translation, is chock full of typos. That kinda gets on my nerves.
    • 3/5
      Very fundamental axioms of strategies put forward by an ancient Chinese general. Influential even today not only in military matters but in the business world as well.
    • 5/5
      A great translation. That was meant to be funny since I don't read Chinese and can't possibly really know how good his translation is. However, this is a great book and belongs right next to your other war strategy greats.
    • 4/5
      This audio book had Joe Montenga narrating the text.It was pretty cool to have the Simpsons's Fat Tony quoting a 500 BC Chinese War Scholar.(The analysis of the text was a real snooze-fest!)
    • 5/5
      The oldest military treatise on war. This one is Tops! Translation by Lionel Giles and with original Chinese.
    • 3/5
      How ironic that the copy I found in my apartment should have a foreword by James Clavell, author of "Shogun;" my Mum is forever mixing up China and Japan herself, and often remarks about the former when in fact I lived in the latter.The book, meanwhile, is an interesting couple of hours' read, but without a more thorough guide I don't see how I could use Sun Tzu's ideas to conquer Wall Street, as some have proposed.
    • 3/5
      Another translation (Ralph Sawyer) and lots of background history & hints of textual analysis - but fails to grab.Read July 2006
    • 4/5
      I read ‘The Art of War’, not because I wanted to know about warfare, or even the typically extrapolated purpose of business and politics, but because I’ve been looking for the source of a 6 character Chinese phrase that I’ve known since I was a kid. I think I found it. The 6 characters are:People Philosophy (or Principle)Earth Philosophy (or Principle)Heaven Philosophy (or Principle)Earth is commonly extrapolated to also mean the environment, your physical surroundings, and/or the situation you’re in.Heaven is commonly extrapolated to also mean the weather, fate, and other elements you can’t control but only can work around.While ‘The Art of War’ goes into strategies of planning/waging/winning a war, the commoners (i.e. the adults around me when I was growing up) used these six characters to explain the simple considerations in life, being cognizant of the people and the things around you. In the case of ‘Heaven’, life happens. You can’t get what you want. You can’t have everything you want. And it simply wasn’t meant to be. A hard lesson for a kid… and for an adult.The edition I read is a Collins Classic with a crisp, simple translation and a good intro. I would have liked a version with side by side Chinese and English text, but ah well. In 13 Chapters, with numbered lines between 14 to 68 for each chapter, this was an easy read. As alluded to above, one can extract many layers of meanings from the simple text. Quotes:Ch 1, Line 22 – Perhaps this is the modern day equivalent of pressing someone’s buttons.“If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant.”Ch 2, Line 19 – I read this as results driven, in business terms.“In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns.”Ch 3, Line 18 – People Philosophy. Replace enemy with anyone else, this might work for understanding the probabilities of a relationship, friendship, etc.“Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”Ch 4, Line 10 – This was very humbling.“To lift an autumn hair is no sign of great strength; to see the sun and moon is no sign of sharp sight; to hear the noise of thunder is no sign of a quick ear.”Ch 5, Lines 1 and 2 – This made me think about growing a team or an organization and managing them or taking on bigger challenges. “Sun Tzu said: The control of a large force is the same principle as the control of a few men: it is merely a question of dividing up their numbers.”“Fighting with a large army under your command is nowise different fighting with a small one: it is merely a question of instituting signs and signals.”Ch 6, Line 9 – One of the primary strategies in this book is deception. I’m guessing it is applauded for business and politics! Too brutal for my taste.“O divine art of subtlety and secrecy! Through you we learn to be invisible, through you inaudible; and hence we can hold the enemy’s fate in our hands.Ch 7, Line 13 – Earth Philosophy. In the most literal sense for battle.“We are not fit to lead an army on the march unless we are familiar with the face of the country – its mountains and forests, its pitfalls and precipices, its marshes and swamps.”Ch 9, Line 35 – This made me think of office gossip, and the negativity associated with it.“The sight of men whispering together in small knots or speaking subdued tones points to disaffection amongst the rank and file.”Ch 10, Line 24, 25 – My business translation: A leader that is not after title for himself/herself, but simply cares, and gives a damn, for the work and for his/her team.“The general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom.”“Regarding your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look upon them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death.”Ch 10, Line 31 – I believe this is the one line that envelopes the 6 characters, even though I hope to never mark anyone as my enemy.“Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt; if you know Heaven and know Earth, you may make your victory complete.”
    • 3/5
      Inspiration comes from many places and The Art of War is one of those books mentioned frequently in my circles. It's one of those books I've been meaning to get to for years and, while I am not sorry that I finally got to it, its usefulness to me is limited.Most of the non-strategic advice is good leadership advice. Things such as being a leader means setting the standard for how the work should be done, including getting one's hands dirty with the lowliest tasks. I've read plenty of stuff about leadership, and setting the example, that there really wasn't anything new for me here.Since I'm not interested in military strategies, the rest was dry.From a strictly historic perspective, I can understand the importance of this treatise. But as an outstanding example of leadership and strategy in the 21st century? I'm not seeing it.
    • 5/5
      one of the best books I've ever read; just be careful of the translator. There are some really horrendous editions out there. ALWAYS buy the one translated by "CLEARLY" he is very profound in eastern philosophy and tradition
    • 3/5
      All the guff about it being the greatest management text in history is of course utter nonsense, but it's an interesting read. I preferred and would recommend the Hagakure if you're after samurai warrior philosophy.
    • 3/5
      A little book full off great thoughts and advice for life. I read it every year.