4 stars
| In all honestly, I never realized how short this book was. I was looking for an audiobook that was under two hours to listen to while driving and stumbled across this book on some list on the internet. It seems like one of those well-known books everyone should read so I figured it would be worth checking out from the library. I was actually surprised by how well this book has aged and can still be applied to modern day life, but I suppose that’s what makes it such a well-known book that has lasted for so long. Yes, a lot of the specifics are out of date, but the majority of the general principles are applicable not only to warfare, but to any conflict, hierarchy, and power relationship. One of the most fascinating sections for me was the sort of psychology of leadership. Sun Tzu lays out ways to establish good relationships and get people to follow orders and instructions. This section especially seemed applicable to modern life even in the context parenting and teaching. Basically, people aren’t going to listen to you if they don’t like you. Seems obvious but I’m sure we’ve all met people who could learn a thing or two from that. Much of the information seems like common sense today, but I think one of the main reasons for that is that its teachings are so prevalent in TV, movies, and books. They seem obvious to us, because we have seem they play our over and over again in media, but I still think there is good information in it that can be learned from. Interesting read despite my initial hesitation. The translation was simple and easy to understand. Goodreads |