The Art Of War

1. What is the book about as a whole?

The book is ancient Chinese wisdom that gives practical (albeit somewhat abstract) for war generals. It encompasses aspects such as war strategy, timing, terrains, general role.

2. What is being said in detail, and how?

The book is structured in 13 chapters and gives advice as said by the mythical "Master Sun" who seems to be loosely based on a historical figure.

Some of the chapter discuss similar themes and here are the most important ones:

- a war is most often won by tactics and strategy; a general's efforts must be mainly focused in the preparation before the battle - knowing the troops - having them trust the general and be motivated by the general is absolutely crucial - there's no cookie cutter strategy; each battle should be unpredictable for the enemy and he should be surprised - the effort in knowing the situations of the enemy is always worth it; what he's prepared for, what he's expecting... - the element of surprise is of utmost importance - terrains are somewhat predictable; a skilled general should try his best to surprise the enemy; for example by moving through difficult terrain or going deep into enemy territory instead of choosing to prepare on the the purported "advantageous" terrain. Don't ever put the army in a sitution without options to maneuver (back against the hill) - knowledge/intelligence is vital; a spy network is always worth it and especially double agents - war is extremely expensive and resource-draining; methods that don't involve raising an army and redirecting resources should be priority. If a war can't be avoided, speed is premium; avoid a prolonged war.

3. Is the book true, in whole or part?

It's hard to judge as I've never actually been in anything resembling a war. But the book has proven itself through time and is considered a classic. It verges on the theoretical side of things and offers little in context and practical examples. However, the theoretical framework seems sound.

4. What of it?

The advice is actually really sound in all situtations involving an adversary - for example in business. Speed is a great moat-builder in companies and being predictable in what you do is a sure way to fall behind as an adversary can take advantage. Knowing your own self; the strengths and limitations of yourself and people around you is a great in principle, albeit hard to take concrete action here.