The Book of War: Includes The Art of War by Sun Tzu & On War by Karl von Clausewitz: Sun-tzu The Art of Warfare & Karl von Clausewitz On War (Modern Library War) - Softcover

Sun Tzu; Von Clausewitz, Carl

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0375754776 ISBN 13: 9780375754777

Verlag: Modern Library, 2000

Inhaltsangabe

Two classic works of military strategy that shaped the way we think about warfare: The Art of War by Sun Tzu and On War by Karl von Clausewitz, together in one volume
 
“Civilization might have been spared much of the damage suffered in the world wars . . . if the influence of Clausewitz’s On War had been blended with and balanced by a knowledge of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War.”—B. H. Liddel Hart

For two thousand years, Sun Tzu’s The Art of War has been the indispensable volume of warcraft. Although his work is the first known analysis of war and warfare, Sun Tzu struck upon a thoroughly modern concept: “The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.” 
 
Karl von Clausewitz, the canny military theorist who famously declared that war is a continuation of politics by other means, also claims paternity of the notion “total war.” On War is the magnum opus of the era of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic wars.

Now these two great minds come together in a single volume that also features an introduction by esteemed military writer Ralph Peters and the Modern Library War Series introduction by Caleb Carr, New York Times bestselling author of The Alienist.
 
(The cover and text refer to The Art of War as The Art of Warfare, an alternate translation of the title.)

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Sun Tzu lived in China in the fourth century B.C., serving as a court minister during the “Warring States” period. He delivered his pronouncements about war over the course of his career, but his words were recorded by other hands.

Karl Von Clausewitz (1780-1831) was a Prussian soldier who fought in the Moscow campaigns of 1812 and 1813. He spent over a dozen years writing On War, dying before his book saw publication in 1832.

Ralph Peters is a retired army officer and the author of a noted book on strategy, Fighting for the Future: Will American Triumph? He is also the author of the novels The Devil's Garden and Traitor.

Von der hinteren Coverseite

Civilization might have been spared much of the damage suffered in the world wars this century if the influence of Clausewitz's "On War had been blended with and balanced by a knowledge of Sun-tzu's "The Art of Warfare. --B.H. Liddel Hart
For two thousand years, Sun-tzu's The Art of Warfare was the indispensable volume of warcraft. Although his work is the first known analysis of war and warfare, Sun-tzu struck upon a thoroughly modern concept: "The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting." Karl von Clausewitz, the canny military theorist who famously declared that war is a continuation of politics by other means, also claims paternity of the notion "total war." His is the magnum opus of the era of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic vars.
Now these two great military minds are made to share the same tent, metaphorically speaking, in The Book of War. What a bivouac it is, and what a conversation into the night.
Military writer Ralph Peters has written a new Introduction for this Modern Library edition.

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THE SEEKER AND THE SAGE

Ralph Peters

This book allies humankind's two most powerful works on warfare. Distant in time, space, and culture, Karl von Clausewitz and Sun-tzu offer dueling visions, with the Prussian appalled by fantasies of bloodless war and the Chinese crying that bloodless victory is the acme of generalship, and with Clausewitz anxious to increase military effectiveness, while Sun-tzu pleads, cleverly, for military restraint. Such discord assures their relevance to our time.

There is also plentiful agreement between Clausewitz's On War and Sun-tzu's The Art of Warfare, from their mutual vilification of heads of state who attempt to micro-manage distant battles to their similar emphasis on the key role of the commander. In the end-and I speak as a soldier, after decades of consideration--these two books complete each other, like a perfect couple formed of opposites. Between them, the two texts cover myriad aspects of the human experience of war-as well as reflecting the temperaments of their divergent civilizations. Clausewitz, the Western man, sought the grail of knowledge and found the pursuit endless, bottomless, and obsessive, while the Eastern sage who wrote down the sayings attributed to Sun-tzu polished what he knew until it shone. Each attained the universal, transcending personality and the particularity of experience. In the study of warfare, they have no peers, and these works remain the brightest lanterns we have to light our darkest endeavor.

The Western text embraces war's necessity, while the Eastern one despairs of its inevitability, but they are united by the recognition that the human remains at the heart of each combat encounter and every campaign. Each holds a flank in our approach to war: Clausewitz is the apostle of the relentless will, convinced there is no substitute for victory, while Sun-tzu seems a closet pacifist, wary of victory's hollowness. The first sought to sharpen the sword, the second to restrain it. The Prussian saw the power of the armed mass, while the Chinese pitied the suffering of the common man. Sun-tzu believed that the outcome of a campaign was predictable, but Clausewitz insisted that, although the odds can be improved, risk is inherent in warfare. This debate across millennia continues today, and placing these two works together highlights the strengths and weaknesses-and the inestimable value--of each book.

Each must be read. No cram notes will do, and summaries badly serve their genius. Clausewitz appears difficult, only to yield a hard, thrilling clarity; while Sun-tzu, a quick swallow, takes a lifetime to digest. One text is long, the other appealingly short. Both are inexhaustible.

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Modern Library
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0375754776
• ISBN 13: 9780375754777
• Einband: Tapa blanda
• Sprache: Englisch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 1024
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar