The Art of War is the work of a fifth-century B.C. heir to the knowledge amassed by a clan of experts on arms and fighting, and is widely recognized as one of the most useful books ever written on leading with wisdom. Sun Tzu’s terse but probing aphorisms come down to us through the millennia as a practical guide to achieving success by coming to a deeper understanding of the nature of conflict. The Art of War is an essential tool for modern corporate warriors battling to gain the advantage in the boardroom and for anyone looking for advice on how to win the upper hand in confrontations and competitions. Lionel Giles’s famed 1910 translation, laced with commentary from the most illustrious names in Chinese military and historical literature, is here brought up to date for today’s readers. Excerpts from the works of Western writers and thinkers, both ancient and modern—generals, poets, political leaders, and other canny observers—expand on points made by the master. This new edition offers the text of The Art of War both with and without annotation, making it more accessible to aspiring leaders and students of war than ever before. Sun Tzu’s incisive blueprint for battlefield strategy is as relevant to today’s combatants in business, politics, and everyday life as it once was to the warlords of ancient China. Introduction and Notes by Dallas Galvin "War is a howling, baying jackal. Or is it the animating storm? Suicidal madness or the purifying fire? An imperialist travesty? Or the glorious explosion of a virile nation made manifest upon the planet? In all recorded history, this debate is recent, as is the idea of peace to describe an active state happier than a mere interregnum between fisticuffs. Astounding as it may seem, war has consistently won the debate." –from the Introduction by Dallas Galvin A writer and journalist specializing in international affairs and the arts, Dallas Galvin has reported on military affairs in Latin America and Asia and produced documentaries for the NATO Alliance. Sun Tzu is thought to have lived in the fifth century b.c., at roughly the same time as Confucius. His teachings are most likely a combination of his clan’s ideas and his own, as well as concepts associated with early Taoism. On the basis of his growing reputation, Sun Tzu entered the service of Ho Lu, king of the state of Wu, as a traveling adviser for hire. His military stratagems intrigued the king, and Sun Tzu eventually became general of the king’s army. Employing psychology, deceit, strategic power, and diplomacy as the fundamental arts of combat, Sun Tzu defeated numerous opponents and created a systematic treatise on war. Military history offers dramatic testimony of Sun Tzu’s wisdom—specifically, the adoption of his methods by the leaders of history’s great armies, and the failure of those who disregarded them.