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?
Stephen Coonts
As a naval aviator, Stephen Coonts flew combat missions during the Vietnam War. A former attorney and the author of eight New York Times bestselling novels,he resides with his wife and son in Maryland. He maintains a Web site at www.coonts.com.
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Reviews for The Art of War
91 ratings50 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My 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. - Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5To be honest, I was looking for a straightforward printing of the notes, not a re-hashing and review throughout the ages. This meant a lengthy pass-through of what others thought and believed,etc, etc. When I was finally able to decipher which was part of the book and which were the notes (as I was reading it on a digital device) it became obvious that a lot of the ideas of "war" were things already known to me. Whether it's due to our upbringing in the 20th century and exposure to the various media violences (movies, books, videos, etc) or not could be debated.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Classic, 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.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5This book counts as classic even for modern warfare and strategy games. My experience has been unsatisfying and boring - perhaps I didn't delve into deep implications of obvious sounding tactics.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Don'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. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Absolutely essential book to anyone's library. Can be read over and over again; it has a somewhat poetic style and it's an interesting insight, very inspirational.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A 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.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I heard a lot of people talking about "The Art of War." In business, during news commentary...everywhere. I find it funny, when reading it, to see something very simple. Descriptions of the appropriate duties of the army and generals are basic, and the "secrets" of successful conquering is good common sense. I suppose the reason it seems so enlightening is the lack of common sense in the huge majority of people. Saying that, this was a great opporunity to see some of the basis for business practices overseas and at home. There are many people who think about business as warefare. These tactics will be used, and should be understood. Because common sense is no longer common, and probably wasn't in ancient China, this is a great guide to dealing with conflict...if you want to win.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Love the notion that the greatest leader is one that defeats the challege before it is known that the challenge exists. Here we are obsessed with the hero leader who battles with the mighty demons and after much struggle wins. I see this in schools where the head turns around a failing school and is seen as a great leader. But all too often they miss the greater leadership of the head who intervenes with a timely word here, a school event there keeps the school on track, Much better to read the straight translations rather then the art of war for the board room which often miss the point
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It'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?
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A classic! Well worth the read, and looking forward to reading again in the future.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A subtle and fascinating philosophy on how to wage war. Knowledge of assured victory is key for Sun Tzu. At once it is esoteric and simple giving the reader the opportunity to find new angles and places to learn with each repeated reading. Intense and interesting. (Shambhala translation)
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fascinating. My particular copy (an audiobook) included modern comparisons between each chapter which was horribly annoying. The observations in the book maintain their usefulness to the present.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5No wonder the words in this book have such wide applications across a whole massive spectrum of professions to situations.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hmm, 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]
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It 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.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I 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.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The 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.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5How 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.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5New 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.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It'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.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Art 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.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Everyone 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. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Tactics 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. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A 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.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Very 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.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The oldest military treatise on war. This one is Tops! Translation by Lionel Giles and with original Chinese.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The 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.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Another translation (Ralph Sawyer) and lots of background history & hints of textual analysis - but fails to grab.Read July 2006
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5one 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