Sunzi Speaks: The Art of War

I've stood at attention in front of colonels for having my soldiers read this book on two occasions. And I'll accept the risk of being there again. Sun Tzu is the best known of the military classics and the most widely read, for good reason. He knew his stuff and wrote in terms of principles rather than specifics. This book is the starting point for a theoretical understanding of military science and conflict. This is the most accessible translation of Sun Tzu's Art of War availible. The text is contemporary english at roughly a seventh grade level, and the illustrations are brilliant. The illustrations both illuminate the concepts in the text and are lightly humorous. This worked to great advantage when I ordered soldiers who were somewhat suspicious of intellectual endeavors to read it. The most rewarding moment was when a mechanic overheard an exchange between senior officers, leaned over to me and quietly asked if what was going on was like a specific thing Sun Tzu was talking about. On the down side... The comic book format is misleading (as the translated text is serious) and will not inspire respect from intellectual snobs. The commentary by later authors that shows up in other translations is absent (maybe not a down side, the commentary can be distracting and confusing). Overall, well worth the investment, and most enjoyable.

I am a firm believer in pictures. If you have to paint or color by numbers, who cares! As long as you learn from it. Why spend weeks trying to interpret a someone else's interpretation? The problem with most translations is that they use huge words and do such literal translating that you need another book just to translate the translation. This book gets right to the point and you can CLEARLY see/understand what the lesson is. This is a great life planner and a great page turner. (You can even color in it if it helps);) I highly recommend this book for people who just wnat to get to the point and not have to spend weeks going over history lessons.

Just getting started on your desire to understand eastern philosophies? Have you stood at the bookstore for hours pouring over where to start and what to buy? Any of this authors books are a wonderful place to start. The reason? Because these books are all about the title subject in a nutshell, easy to read as a comic book, the story lines and illustrations are wonderful, and after you read this as well as all the other books by Tsai, you will have a great, well rounded start on your path and will know what you want to study more deeply!To add, when others ask you about your interest in eastern philosophy, you can get them started here as well, because these books are fun, consise, and you know they will enjoy them over and over again!

I am in a business where i must protect the jobs of hundreds of people. I must stay on edge, and understand what I think, management thinks and the workers...this book helped me understand how to plan strategy and attack. RECOMMENDED!!!

Traditionally, translations of Sun Tzu's Art of War have been very dry, and difficult to digest. Along comes "Zen Speaks"... Tsai Chih Chung has given us a version which is not only humourous, but can be readily understood by all those who care to read... He has delivered the best version of the ancient classic so far seen.