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Just read: Sun Tzu on the Art Of War, Translated/Edited by Lionel Giles
[project Gutenberg e-text]
A bit of a change, this.
A very old (500 BC +/- 5 years) book on how to wage war, which has been cited as an authority for centuries. This edition is the best that could be reconstructed in 1910, and includes notes on the historical provenance of a 2400-year-old work.
A surprisingly large fraction of it is still relevant today, particularly the the oft-quoted "All war is based on deception", which is primarily referring to deceiving the enemy about the disposition and movements of your forces, and forms the core of Sun Tzu's arguments.
Other notable points are that well-disciplined armies are quite capable of beating poorly-organised but otherwise superior forces; generals should aim to win quickly (as long campaigns will be a huge financial drain on their country) and that politicians/rulers should leave the warfare to their generals.
An interesting read, at least as much for the editorial comments (which actually form about 50-60% of the Project Gutenberg text) as the title work. This edition was published in 1910, so where a modern textbook would wheel out examples from WW2, the history quoted here is mostly from the (then recent) Boer war, with a few references to the Napoleonic era, the American Civil War, and British Colonial scraps in what is now Afghanistan/Pakistan/India.
It's notable that the author draws attention to Sun Tzu's focus on movement of armies and unwillingness to get into a war of attrition, especially as he was writing four years before WW1.
I admit that I got rather lost in the passages about Chinese history 600-400BC, since I lack the sort of background knowledge that the editor assumes. An educational read, nonetheless.
A bit of a change, this.
A very old (500 BC +/- 5 years) book on how to wage war, which has been cited as an authority for centuries. This edition is the best that could be reconstructed in 1910, and includes notes on the historical provenance of a 2400-year-old work.
A surprisingly large fraction of it is still relevant today, particularly the the oft-quoted "All war is based on deception", which is primarily referring to deceiving the enemy about the disposition and movements of your forces, and forms the core of Sun Tzu's arguments.
Other notable points are that well-disciplined armies are quite capable of beating poorly-organised but otherwise superior forces; generals should aim to win quickly (as long campaigns will be a huge financial drain on their country) and that politicians/rulers should leave the warfare to their generals.
An interesting read, at least as much for the editorial comments (which actually form about 50-60% of the Project Gutenberg text) as the title work. This edition was published in 1910, so where a modern textbook would wheel out examples from WW2, the history quoted here is mostly from the (then recent) Boer war, with a few references to the Napoleonic era, the American Civil War, and British Colonial scraps in what is now Afghanistan/Pakistan/India.
It's notable that the author draws attention to Sun Tzu's focus on movement of armies and unwillingness to get into a war of attrition, especially as he was writing four years before WW1.
I admit that I got rather lost in the passages about Chinese history 600-400BC, since I lack the sort of background knowledge that the editor assumes. An educational read, nonetheless.
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