The Art Of War In The Western World

The magnum opus of one of America's most respected military historians, The Art of War in the Western World has earned its place as the standard work on how the three major operational components of war--tactics, logistics, and strategy--have evolved and changed over time. This monumental work encompasses 2,500 years of military history, from infantry combat in ancient Greece through the dissolution of the Roman Empire to the Thirty Years' War and from the Napoleonic campaigns through World War II, which Jones sees as the culmination of modern warfare, to the Israeli-Egyptian War of 1973.

Authoritative and concise, Warfare in the Western World concentrates on selected campaigns and battles, showing how political and military leaders in the West have used armies to wage war effectively over the last four centuries. The text moves through the centuries, discussing how operational developments and technological improvements eventually led to the concept of total war, first approached in the American Civil War and culminating in the twentieth century's two world wars.

This is the world's first complete English translation of the art of war and the most accurate English translation in the world. In 1772, "The Art of War" was translated into French by missionaries, and a book of military theory that had influenced China for more than two thousand years was officially introduced into the Western world. In 1910, Lionel Giles translated the first English version of "The Art of War". Until today, there are as many as twenty or thirty English translation versions. Among them, the one that best conveys the original meaning of "The Art of War" belongs to the version translated by Samuel B. Griffith in 1963. However, even with this version, the true meaning of the "The Art of War" that it can convey is actually only about 50%. To find out how inaccurate these old English versions are, please refer to: https://ethanyet.blogspot.com/2020/04/those-words-that-sun-tzu-never-said.html

As the People's Republic's seemingly inexorable rise to economic and military power continues, never has the need for a better grasp of Chinese strategic thought by the West been more acute. In Deciphering Sun Tzu, Derek Yuen seeks to reclaim for the reader the hidden contours and lost Chinese and Taoist contexts of Sun Tzu's renowned treatise The Art of War, a literary classic and arguably one of the most influential books ever written. He also explains its historical, philosophical, strategic, and cross-cultural significance. His comprehensive analysis of Sun Tzu, based on a close reading of the Chinese sources, also reconstructs the philosophy, Taoist methodology and worldview that effectively form the cornerstones of Chinese strategic thinking, which are arguably as relevant today as at any moment in history. Yuen's innovative reading and analysis of Sun Tzu within and from a Chinese context is a new way of approaching the strategic master's main concepts, which he compares with those of Clausewitz, Liddell-Hart and other Western strategists. Deciphering Sun Tzu offers illuminating analysis and contextualization of The Art of War in a manner that has long been sought by Western readers and opens new means of getting to grips with Chinese strategic thought.

It would be hard to overstate the impact of Sun Tzu's The Art of War on military thought. Beyond its impact in Asia, the work has been required reading in translation for US military personnel since the Cold War. Sun Tzu has been interpreted as arguing for 'Indirect Strategy' in contrast to 'Direct Strategy,' the latter idea stemming from Ancient Greece. This is a product of twentieth-century Western thinking, specifically that of Liddell Hart, who influenced Samuel B. Griffith's 1963 translation of Sun Tzu. The credibility of Griffith's translation was enhanced by his combat experience in the Pacific during World War II, and his translation of Mao Zedong's On Guerrilla War. This reading of Sun Tzu is, however, very different from Chinese interpretations. Western strategic thinkers have used Sun Tzu as a foil or facilitator for their own thinking, inadvertently engaging the Western military tradition and propagating misleading generalizations about Chinese warfare.

The Art of War is a beautifully illustrated retelling of one of Chinese literature's most celebrated and influential books.

This is the world's first complete English translation of "The Art of War" and the most accurate English translation in the world. In 1772, "The Art of War" was translated into French by missionaries, and a book of military theory that had influenced China for more than two thousand years was officially introduced into the Western world. In 1910, Lionel Giles translated the first English version of "The Art of War". Until today, there are as many as twenty or thirty English translation versions. Among them, the one that best conveys the original meaning of "The Art of War" belongs to the version translated by Samuel B. Griffith in 1963. However, even with this version, the true meaning of the "The Art of War" that it can convey is actually only about 50%.