The Art Of War

The first book in The Art of War Special Edition Series is the classic treatise on military strategy and managing conflict, The Art of War by Sun Tzu (with linked table of contents), which presents this timeless classic in three complete translations The first translation contains the complete thirteen chapters of Sun Tzu’s masterpiece alone. This presentation avoids the objection that commentary tends to clutter and obscure the clarity of thought of the ancient military genius. The second translation by Lionel Giles includes his extensive introduction and the fully annotated text with explanatory notes and critical commentary. His Introduction includes an historical account of Sun Tzu’s work, evaluations by and of early Chinese commentators, an essay examining the traditional Chinese attitudes toward war and a bibliography that details Giles’ source materials. The text in this section includes critical commentary and notes by both the Chinese historians as well as by Giles himself. Part 3 presents The Art of War in Chinese characters, including all 13 chapters. Lionel Giles, as the Keeper of the Department of Oriental printed Books and Manuscripts of the British Museum, was uniquely qualified to translate and explain this great classic Chinese work to Western readers. First published in 1910, Giles’ translation is widely considered to be the definitive English version.