The Art of War cover art

The Art of War

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The Art of War

By: Sun Tzu
Narrated by: Aidan Gillen
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About this listen

The 13 chapters of The Art of War, each devoted to one aspect of warfare, were compiled by the high-ranking Chinese military general, strategist, and philosopher Sun-Tzu. In spite of its battlefield specificity, The Art of War has found new life in the modern age with leaders in fields as wide and far-reaching as world politics, human psychology, and corporate strategy finding valuable insight in its timeworn words.

Aidan Gillen - who has learned a thing or two about strategy through his roles as skilled manipulator Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish (Game of Thrones) and ambitious politician Tommy Carcetti (The Wire) - brilliantly performs this ancient classic. His experience in portraying insightful and, at times, cunning characters makes him a natural fit for this ancient collection of battlefield epigrams whose influence has grown tremendously in the modern world.

Public Domain (P)2015 Audible Inc.
Asia Career Success Classics Eastern Law Leadership Management & Leadership Military Military Science Motivation & Self-Improvement Personal Development Philosophy World Business Thought-Provoking Warfare War Career Inspiring China Management Ancient History Business Strategy

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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?

I've never read the print version but have always wanted to. I'd still like a copy so I could go back and study certain tactics, but I understood everything in the audio version.

What other book might you compare The Art of War to, and why?

Bushido? Only because of the historic aspect and the fact that it teaches you a way of life & war.

What about Aidan Gillen’s performance did you like?

I couldn't think of anyone better to narrate than Aidan Gillen. As soon as I saw that he was the narrated I instantly bought it. He adds a level of cunning and guile that is required in a tactician and no other narrated could have pulled off.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

This isn't the sort of book you could turn into a film - a documentary though. Perhaps "War is barbaric, War is an art"?

Master of War

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There are different versions on Audible. This is a great version broken down into bite size chapters. Delivered in an easy to listen manner.

Nice little look into a recognised and established work

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Aidan Gillen does an excellent job of reading this book, and makes each chapter much more of an experience thanks to his skill.

I suspect that I may have harbored quite high expectations for the book itself, mainly because it's a huge cliche that intelligent people quote it in the media of our time. It is mainly just a list of concepts about ancient warfare, some of which carry over into modern life in the form of metaphor, but realistically, it won't make you a more insightful person...

Well Read, Didn't Live Up to the Hype

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Simple, Obvious, Underwhelming - especially for a book lauded for its strategic insight. Disappointingly it is truely just basic common sense.

Glaringly obvious

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First 6 chapters are great with some applicable philosophies but 7-13 are largely useless talk of ancient warefare you could easily just skip altogether. Still recommend for the gems in the first half and Aiden Gillens performance is spot on!

Worth it but only half

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