Reviews
The Art of War is a poetic and potent treatise on military strategy still in use in war colleges around the world. Yet its principles transcend warfare and have practical applications to all conflicts and crises we face in our lives--in our workplaces, our families, even within ourselves., A 2,500-year-old text called The Art of War may strike some as an unlikely source of advice for today's business leaders, but Thomas Huynh, EMBA'04, believes that there are valuable lessons to be learned from Sun Tzu's masterpiece. Huynh has recently penned a new translation of the work, titled The Art of War: Spirituality for Conflict , with the hope that it will bring the Chinese general's message to a wider audience. Although the ancient document sounds as though it might glorify war, Huynh says it's actually a treatise on peace, offering practical strategies for circumventing and diffusing conflict, whether on the battlefield, in the boardroom or at home. It is required reading for officers in the United States Marine Corps, as well as students at a number of B-schools, because of its innovative, still-relevant strategy for overcoming conflict. Marc Benioff, Chairman and CEO of Salesforce.com, who wrote the foreword to Huynh's book, uses its classic principles to manage his company in an often hostile, highly competitive technology industry. The text itself is a lesson in economy: 13 short chapters comprise The Art of War , but each is full of important lessons that teach the reader how to avoid conflict and resolve inevitable hostile situations using self-control, intelligence, courage and benevolence. Huynh's annotations alongside the translation offer practical application of Sun Tzu's philosophy. Huynh enjoys a career in finance as Group Controller for Skyline Steel in Georgia, but has been dedicated to the study of Sun Tzu's masterwork since he encountered the text as a teenager. In 1999 he launched Sonshi.com to provide Web space for authors, scholars and readers to gather and share information about Sun Tzu's timeless approach to conflict resolution. Says Huynh, "Conflict is part of life, but it is our response to the disagreement that has the greatest effect on our inner peace and personal happiness.", "Instructs us in patience, flexibility, resolve, discernment, skillful means, compassion--powerfully effective [strategies] in all our relationships, business and spiritual life. Heartily recommended to all leaders and to anyone seeking peace, deep understanding and reconciliation." --Lama Surya Das, author, Awakening the Buddha Within "Practical and pragmatic guidance with brilliant insights into the text. Provides clear evidence, and a robust example, that Sun Tzu's wisdom lineage lives on today." --James Gimian, publisher, Shambhala Sun, director, Denma Translation Group, The Art of War: The Denma Translation "A masterpiece.... Gives readers practical insight into the highly relevant work of Sun Tzu as it relates to peace, conflict resolution and personal growth. Clear guidance from an ancient philosopher and warrior." --Angie Morgan and Courtney Lynch, former captains, U.S. Marine Corps, and authors, Leading from the Front "Engaging commentaries and clear explanations.... Captures the essence of Sun Tzu's teachings and demonstrates how [this] ancient wisdom can be applied in the modern world to achieve powerful results." --Derek Lin, author, Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, Thomas Huynh, a regular reader of this blog and founder of Sonshi.com, has just come out with a new book: The Art of War -- Spirituality for Conflict . A lot of leaders have found Sun Tzu's Art of War to be instructive in the world of business. Among the principles, written up 2,500 years ago: prevent conflicts before they arise; resolve them when they do; act with courage, intelligence and benevolence in conflict situations; convert potential enemies into friends and control your emotions before they control you. The book contains a foreword by Marc Benioff of salesforce.com, who credits Larry Ellison of Oracle Corp . with introducing him to the Chinese military classic. In Benioff's view, the goal of the text was to "teach a disadvantaged person or persons how to shift the balance of power ... how David can topple Goliath." Huynh, who came to the U.S. as a political refugee and now has a site that's the leading resource on Tzu's philosophy, has come up with some insightful commentary to accompany the text. Check it out., "Instructs us in patience, flexibility, resolve, discernment, skillful means, compassion--powerfully effective [strategies] in all our relationships, business and spiritual life. Heartily recommended to all leaders and to anyone seeking peace, deep understanding and reconciliation." --Lama Surya Das, author, Awakening the Buddha Within "Practical and pragmatic guidance with brilliant insights into the text. Provides clear evidence, and a robust example, that Sun Tzu's wisdom lineage lives on today." --James Gimian, publisher, Shambhala Sun, director, Denma Translation Group, The Art of War: The Denma Translation "A masterpiece.... Gives readers practical insight into the highly relevant work of Sun Tzu as it relates to peace, conflict resolution and personal growth. Clear guidance from an ancient philosopher and warrior." --Angie Morgan & Courtney Lynch, former captains, U.S. Marine Corps, and authors, Leading from the Front "Engaging commentaries and clear explanations.... Captures the essence of Sun Tzu's teachings and demonstrates how [this] ancient wisdom can be applied in the modern world to achieve powerful results." --Derek Lin, author, Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, The Art of War is a poetic and potent treatise on military strategy still in use in war colleges around the world. Yet its principles transcend warfare and have practical applications to all conflicts and crises we face in our lives-- in our workplaces, our families, even within ourselves., Thomas Huynh, a regular reader of this blog and founder of Sonshi.com, has just come out with a new book: The Art of War--Spirituality for Conflict . A lot of leaders have found Sun Tzu's Art of War to be instructive in the world of business. Among the principles, written up 2,500 years ago: prevent conflicts before they arise; resolve them when they do; act with courage, intelligence and benevolence in conflict situations; convert potential enemies into friends and control your emotions before they control you. The book contains a foreword by Marc Benioff of salesforce.com, who credits Larry Ellison of Oracle Corp . with introducing him to the Chinese military classic. In Benioff's view, the goal of the text was to "teach a disadvantaged person or persons how to shift the balance of power ... how David can topple Goliath." Huynh, who came to the U.S. as a political refugee and now has a site that's the leading resource on Tzu's philosophy, has come up with some insightful commentary to accompany the text. Check it out. THE, "Instructs us in patience, flexibility, resolve, discernment, skillful means, compassion-powerfully effective [strategies] in all our relationships, business and spiritual life. Heartily recommended to all leaders and to anyone seeking peace, deep understanding and reconciliation." -Lama Surya Das, author, Awakening the Buddha Within "Practical and pragmatic guidance with brilliant insights into the text. Provides clear evidence, and a robust example, that Sun Tzu's wisdom lineage lives on today." -James Gimian, publisher, Shambhala Sun, director, Denma Translation Group, The Art of War: The Denma Translation "A masterpiece.... Gives readers practical insight into the highly relevant work of Sun Tzu as it relates to peace, conflict resolution and personal growth. Clear guidance from an ancient philosopher and warrior." -Angie Morgan & Courtney Lynch, former captains, U.S. Marine Corps, and authors, Leading from the Front "Engaging commentaries and clear explanations.... Captures the essence of Sun Tzu's teachings and demonstrates how [this] ancient wisdom can be applied in the modern world to achieve powerful results." -Derek Lin, author, Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, In Japan and China, certain kinds of athletic and military practices are absolutely continuous with self-knowledge and spiritual awareness. No rediscovered classic has enjoyed greater currency than Sun Tzu's Art of War , which has been repackaged as a kind of ancient business manual. Skylight Paths has restored Sun's place among spiritual classics of the East with this fresh, new, annotated translation of a timely and perennially popular classic for a nonscholarly audience.
