The Art of War cover art

The Art of War

The Strategy of Sun Tzu

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The Art of War

By: Sun Tzu
Narrated by: Jennifer Elkin
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About this listen

The timeless original text; required listening for anyone interested in strategy. This is a work of subtlety and paradox that shows the way to a clean and aesthetic triumph. Sun Tzu insisted that a skilled warrior observes, calculates, outwits, and outmaneuvers an adversary, and in doing so averts the destruction of battle.

Includes a soundtrack entitled "The Mysterious Sound of Wind in the Bamboo", a 43-minute 14-track collection of Zen-inspired Japanese music by the Matsu Take Ensemble.

Public Domain (P)2012 Trout Lake Media Eastern Military Personal Development Personal Success Philosophy

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All stars
Most relevant  

Would you consider the audio edition of The Art of War to be better than the print version?

In as much as it's an easy way of getting through it, yes. Although it's a very short book, I was getting bogged down in the details in the translation that I read; now that I've been through the whole text once, I will find it very easy to study properly.

If you’ve listened to books by Sun Tzu before, how does this one compare?

Er, Sun Tzu isn't known for being a prolific author. He *literally* wrote the book on war; he didn't need to do a follow up to establish himself.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Jennifer Elkin?

I wouldn't be put off, but I wouldn't seek her out either.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Surprisingly yes. It's a very short book.

Any additional comments?

This was a difficult book to grade. It's an undisputed classic - and no way would I give three stars to such a historically important work. It would be like giving a C+ to Newton's laws of motion or Darwin's Origin of Species.However, I am critical of the way it is presented. I chose this edition because it is much longer than most of the other versions of Sun Tzu, and so I thought there might be some commentary. Instead, roughly half the "book" is taken up with Chinese music. Now it may well be the case that the music has a direct relevance to Sun Tzu and his times, but as there is no spoken explanation for its presence, and frankly it isn't very appealing to the ear of a Westerner who just wants to learn a bit of history, it has no obvious reason for being there.So three stars for "story" as that only takes up half of the time I paid for, and a star knocked off the overall because I didn't get the commentary I hoped for.I might buy another edition and compare it with this.

What were they thinking?

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This book is ok, but why are there 12 chapters of pan piped at the end of the book?

Classic strategy book

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Whilst the music is nice, I didn't expect almost an hour of it. Aside from that, the content is rather "list based" as many early writings are, but the narrator does a good job.

Half the book is music

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It was quite frank and without much allegory or metaphor. A nice listen and insightful but I could of done without nearly an hour of music at the end, it felt like shameless padding to the length to make it seem more worth a buy. The narrator was good but the language is very short and precise, I don’t know what I imagined, perhaps more eastern wisdom but it was more focused on the basics of winning a war or battle

Very instructional

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I do recommend to get the paper book. At least it’ll be much quicker to read. The 30 minutes of flute music was unnecessary.

There’s no need for 30 minutes of flute music

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What disappointed you about The Art of War?

the wind pipes, this story is about an hour long, the rest is pipe music.

What could Sun Tzu have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

its no reflection on Sun Tzu,

this isn't an audio book it's a pamphlet

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... But for the remaining 12 chapters, all you listen to is traditional Chinese music! IMO, there was really no need to include it.

Brilliant for the First 13 Chapters...

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The Art of War by Sun Tzu:

Iconic war text
Half of run time music fill
False advertising

The Art of War

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If this book wasn’t for you, who do you think might enjoy it more?

People who enjoy abstractions, pretend war play and have some time to kill. This is as serious answer as I can bring myself to provide, flower power images come to mind.

Would you ever listen to anything by Sun Tzu again?

No

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Narrator was OK

What character would you cut from The Art of War?

There are no characters in this book (is this a metaphysical question?)

Any additional comments?

Don't buy this book - it requires serious help for comprehension. Rather purchase a commented version or one that ventures interpretations such as The Art of War for Women.

About as useful as a fortune cookie

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Interesting book if you’re into war strategy but complete con as an audiobook as the last 40+ minutes are all panpipe music so you really don’t get a lot of book for your audible credit.

Don’t waste an audible credit on this

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