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The Art of War
8Sun Tzu
Sun Tzu's fifth-century BC Chinese treatise — the most influential military text ever written, still read in every war college, business school, and corporate strategy manual.
GBM Assessment (Score: 8/10)
The Art of War is the most influential military treatise ever written, offering strategic and philosophical principles that have been applied far beyond the battlefield to the realms of business, politics, and diplomacy worldwide. Its emphasis on adaptability, deception, and understanding one's adversary has made it a timeless guide to competitive strategy.
Attributed to Sun Tzu and composed in Classical Chinese, The Art of War has been studied by military leaders throughout history; Napoleon allegedly studied its principles. In the modern era, it is applied at Harvard Business School and required reading at military academies around the world, and it remains one of the bestselling works on strategy in any field.
The Axial Age, c. 600-500 BC
Karl Jaspers's 'Axial Age': foundational thinkers emerge simultaneously across Eurasia. In Greece, Pre-Socratics invent philosophy; Sappho writes lyric poetry. In China, Confucius and Laozi lay civilization's foundations. In India, the Buddha teaches. Athens experiments with democracy under Cleisthenes (508 BC). The Persian Empire becomes the largest the world has seen. Rome expels its kings (509 BC).
Awards & Adaptations
Required at military academies. Bestselling business strategy.
Recommended Edition
Lionel Giles trans. (1910)
