However in my understanding of the text there are much wider applications of the wisdom shared by Sun Tzu, namely patience and the value of self reflection. The book seemingly offers very generalised advice to military leaders (no pun intended). I had heard of the Art of War and always wanted to read it, as any book that was written more than 2000 years ago and still holds reverence must be worth reading (or listening). I wasn’t sure what to expect when I bought this audiobook. This is a very good recording, and it would be a shame to overlook it because of a misunderstanding. I mention this because at least a couple of the commenters here have come to the wrong conclusions about what this audio book is, and a lot of people have taken their word for it, judging by the approval ratings.

'Sun Tzu' appears to be an imaginary authority, inspired by a military expert named Sun Bin, rather than the actual author, so it's pretty logical. The Book of Ecclesiastes does it, too, for example, and so does the Chuang Tzu. As for the text speaking of Master Sun saying various things, that's not an uncommon device. For example, Lionel Giles' translation is 25 pages long and just under 11,000 words. A translation of the text itself will be no more than 80 pages, often in the form of verse or bullet points, though a given edition might be longer because it contains additional material, such as an introduction and some of the classical commentary. It was written down on scrolls around 500 BC. No, The Art of War is just pithy, and was never intended to be a book. People sometimes assume that because The Art of War is short, and it mentions Sun Tzu in the text, a given edition is an abridgment or a summary. The actual book The Art of War, not a commentaryĮxcellent reading by Aidan Quinn, and a nice translation by an uncredited translator.

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