Yes, we worked at Top Cow together for a short time on different titles.

inlägg gjort av fionagh vid 1:45 am (EST) Jul 5, 2008

I had not heard. Thank you for passing the news along. A sad loss to us all.

Best regards,
Fiona

inlägg gjort av fionagh vid 8:31 pm (EST) Jul 4, 2008

Hi there Sonshi!

Yes, in fact we have more than one copy. My partner is a fourth degree black belt in Okinawan Shorin-Ryu karate as well as a successful executive, so we both brought a copy to the marriage...I really haven't catalogued even half of the books in our home at this point. Must rectify, if only there were more time!

inlägg gjort av michaelagrey vid 12:18 pm (EST) Jun 27, 2008

"How fascinating you're into both religion and martial arts. Not that both can't coexist but it's certainly not common."

Hi Thomas,

I don't know that I would agree with this. There is a long history, in both the East and West, that connects religion to martial arts. Look at, for instance, Shaolin Temple, the Japanese Buddhist and Shinto sohei (and the fascination with Zen the Samurai had after the beginning of the Edo period), and of course the Church militant (Knights Hospitlar, Templar, etc.). In modern settings one might find this connection to be a little more obfuscated. For instance in WTF tae kwon do you don't see a whole lot of it in any obvious way, but part of the pledge or oath (its been quite some time, sorry) is based on the Buddhist eight-fold path. Uncomfortable bedfellows today perhaps, but bedfellows never-the-less.

peace
-Jeffrey

inlägg gjort av nuadu vid 11:29 am (EST) Jun 7, 2008

Thanks for the comment Sonshi! It's one of my favorites. Try reading Vom Krieg (On War) von Clauswisc. It's the European "Art of War." Also look into a book called Scipio Africanus:Greater than Napoleon. You'll like them. Both are in my "library" if you want more information about them. Be good, bro.

Nelson

inlägg gjort av nvgomez vid 5:24 pm (EST) Jun 3, 2008

thanks!! and it is even cooler that i have a few different versions of the Art of War....my fave book!!!

inlägg gjort av szferris vid 6:03 pm (EST) May 9, 2008

Thank you for your comment. My white cat's name is Yseult. She has one blue eye and one amber eye. Her name is variously translated as "the fair (or white) one" or "magic eyes." Any or all would be appropriate. She also, like her namesake, loves too much.

inlägg gjort av marfita vid 7:37 pm (EST) May 5, 2008

I first read the Art of War while looking at Eastern Philosophy in general a number of years ago. Though my first exposure was with the Tao of Pooh and Te of Piglet. My version of the the Art of War is Sunzi Speaks • The Art of War if one of a few book I have of "____" Speaks.
I find that the fashion industry is one of contradictions; extremely frivolous yet can tell the world more about us in a matter of seconds than anything else. I appreciate that eastern philosophy allows for contradiction.

inlägg gjort av trina vid 5:46 pm (EST) May 5, 2008

I worked in my college library for a couple of years and found it that way. I have always been interested in Eastern thought, religion, and history and it was a natural for me.

inlägg gjort av pshaw vid 7:28 am (EST) Apr 30, 2008

Thank you for your comment. I have the Machiavelli edition of "The Art of War." But, I am interested in the Sun Tzu version as well, perhaps as time permits, I will read your book. At the very least, I will check out your website.

inlägg gjort av krobbie67 vid 11:51 pm (EST) Apr 26, 2008

You'll have to read the book and find out for yourself :-)

inlägg gjort av guyfs vid 4:51 pm (EST) Apr 26, 2008

My primary interest in Sun Tzu is for the strategic value, especially when used in business. However, I do have a pretty decent interest in history.

inlägg gjort av speljamr vid 4:23 pm (EST) Apr 25, 2008

Howdy Sonshi,

It is thebigbeluga responding to your missive. How can a beluga be a nerd? Well it's probably just a fluke. How can War be Art? In particular, how can the Art of War be Spiritual? The Big Beluga defines spirituality as the transcendent emotion we experience upon realizing that we are all part of a greater whole. What is less spiritual, uplifting and transcendent than War? It is merely the ultimate means by which one group of people impose their will on another. I am sure that you will agree that China, during the period of the Warring States, probably experienced more War, and of greater intensity, than any culture before or since. I believe that some of the largest land battles ever fought were during that period. These people knew war;I do find this writing instructive, but "spiritual" is a stretch.

If you look at my list of books you will see that I have in fact read The Art of War. There are also a number of other history books related to battles, strategy, etc. My conclusion? I believe it was Patton who said, "get there the fastest with the mostest". After that, if you have great strategy and great preparation and great logistics, then it will all come down to luck.

Do you know what The Big Beluga thinks would be a good war book? Rather than having books that study generals and battles and blah, blah, blah. What if we studied the episodes in history where all the conditions and politics and everything else were right for a really bloody conflict and yet peace broke out. That would be artful. Humans have a penchant for war, so anytime it doesn't happen when it could is actually rather interesting. Spiritual, even.

inlägg gjort av thebigbeluga vid 7:07 pm (EST) Apr 24, 2008

Thank you for your reply. I am interested in Ancient China and have (as you can see) a fair collection of materials on it in English. To my regret, I cannot read Chinese beyond a handful of characters, so I cannot do real scholarship in that area. I might be interested in your book, but my budget for book buying is limited, so I may have to wait and see if I can obtain it through a library.

inlägg gjort av antiquary vid 3:02 pm (EST) Apr 24, 2008

Hi Sonshi,

Thanks for you comment - yes, Sun Tzu is definitely from my love of history. It is funny, it appears that I love cooking, and yet I never cook really! I seem to have quite a few cooking books in my collection which is rather odd, as it isn't really any great passion of mine. History, reading, science - now THAT is far more interesting.

Take care

Nancy

inlägg gjort av tigertwo vid 12:29 pm (EST) Apr 24, 2008

Oh, yes--several times, and I have several translations, although not all are listed here yet.

inlägg gjort av fidelio vid 9:26 am (EST) Apr 24, 2008

Hi Sonshi,

How are you?

To answer your question, I am a big horror novel (and movie) fan but that is not the only thing I read. I try to read other genres although it is sometimes difficult, since my TBR Pile in Horror is so big as it is.

I first came across THE ART OF WAR when I was actively participating in Kung Fu quite a few years ago now. I practiced Hung Gar for about 15 years. I just happened to be going through the book store to buy some theory books on martial arts, when I saw it. It seemed really interesting so I picked it up.

I came across the book again when I was at University Of Waterloo. When I was getting my BA in Economics, I took some philosophy courses out of interest and because it fulfilled some of the credit requirements. It just so happens that the books was part of the curriculum for that course.

inlägg gjort av Huge_Horror_Fan vid 10:55 am (EST) Apr 23, 2008

Oh, dear, you're asking me to go back 30 years or so. I want to say it was when I was reading on ancient Greek and Roman military tactics as an undergraduate (classical studies major), and someone suggested I try comparing Sun Tzu with them. I want to say all we had to work with in English then that was available with any ease was the old Giles translation.

inlägg gjort av fidelio vid 10:53 am (EST) Apr 23, 2008

I began reading the book "Art of War" durig an introspective youth and have read it mainly to gain insight into dealing with others as well as myself. Additionally I did a comparitive to Machiavelli's "Prince" and some of his "Art of War" a lesser known piece of his. Culturally the topic of how populations prosecute their wars as well as how they think of them philosophically is intriguing.

inlägg gjort av calbookman vid 10:32 am (EST) Apr 23, 2008

Hello, there. Yes, I am a great believer in applying military principles to investment. Though it is probably more accurateto say that I believe strategy is strategy no matter what the situation, and it just so happens that most of the best books on strategy deal with military matters. I refer to Clausewitz in my Multi Asset Class book, for example.

For a pure military book I must commend in particular Barrie Pitt's book(s) on the desert generals "The Crucible of War" which I must have re-read about six times.

inlägg gjort av guyfs vid 2:34 am (EST) Apr 23, 2008

In fact, I hadn't heard of your new book. I'll have to check it out! I'd love to add more Art of War-related books to my library, so if you have any other suggestions, I'd love to hear them. Thanks!

inlägg gjort av saturnine13 vid 4:43 pm (EST) Apr 22, 2008

Thomas,
Thank you for stopping by! Yes I am very interested in history and military history. As an experimental physicist by training and a manager by profession I've found the study of military history not only very interesting but also an excellent guide to management....what works.,...what doesn't...and why...truly great stuff that most professional managers seem to ignore...even those in the military!

As far as ABQ being "gods country"...well...not sure I'd go that far....it gets nicer as you go north!

Regards,
Rich

inlägg gjort av rtalcott vid 9:49 am (EST) Apr 22, 2008

Hello Thomas! Nice to meet you. I've been visiting your website sonshi.com for years, it's one of my favorites.

I actually first read The Art of War because of video games! I like to play video games that focus on strategy and tactics, and about ten years ago I decided to read The Art of War to become a "master of strategy." Since then I've become fascinated by the abstract precepts of strategy and their application to life outside of war.

inlägg gjort av saturnine13 vid 12:11 am (EST) Apr 22, 2008

Indeed, I work for Oracle. Don't know Benihoff personally, but I remember him ;)

inlägg gjort av hal.hildebrand vid 11:48 pm (EST) Apr 21, 2008

Hello Thomas, I see that you have only one book! I do hope you will share the rest of your library with all of us. The Art of War is an oddity in my collection, but an instructive read nonetheless. Best wishes from Portugal. Gerald

inlägg gjort av botanica vid 11:27 pm (EST) Apr 21, 2008

"By the way, have you ever written a story/plot/scene based on The Art of War before? Just curious."

Indeed, I based the short story Luring the Tiger Out of the Mountains on the principle of that name. It's the example of: never fight the enemy on his own ground.

I wrote it for an anthology edited by Lou Anders (he's also on LibraryThing) entitled Outside the Box. It won an honorable mention in the Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy volume by Gardner Dozois at some point. And it is one of my most favorite short stories that I ever had the pleasure to write.

Many of my short stories and a lot of the scenes of warfare in my novels are either influenced by The Art of War, or ancient advice from the Hagakure, or the Sword of No Sword, or The Book of Five Rings; or often based on actual historical moments, such as King Louis crossing the river at the head of his army in The Crown Rose. He was the first French monarch to be so bold. Those moments are not only perfect textbook examples, but they hold such dramatic potential for narratives.

Some of my other stories based around martial stratagems and martial anecdotes can be found in my personal library at http://www.fionaavery.com/library/index.... The Hall of the Spring Wind and The Bandit, The Tea Master, The Samurai and Aesthetics. However, Luring the Tiger Out of the Mountains is still probably my favorite story of the three.

Thanks for asking!

Best regards,
Fiona

inlägg gjort av fionagh vid 7:57 pm (EST) Apr 21, 2008