The Art of War
Sun Tzu wrote that speed, surprise, and deception were the primary essentials of the attack
Zedong Mao • Mao Tse-Tung On Guerrilla Warfare
In the eleventh century, once again convinced that: she could use her great strength to usher in an era of peace, China turned to diplomacy and did so brilliantly. She discovered that it cost far less to pacify her enemies with tribute than it did to maintain an elephantine army, so she paid her enemies off. To keep these hulking powers from her th
... See moreHoward Bloom • The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the Forces of History
No one can anticipate everything that might happen. Sensing possibilities, though, is better than having no sense at all of what to expect. Sun Tzu seeks sense—even common sense—by tethering principles, which are few, to practices, which are many. He fits the mix to the moment, as if setting sound levels on a synthesizer, or color combinations on a
... See moreJohn Lewis Gaddis • On Grand Strategy
WANG CHEN, paraphrasing Suntzu Pingfa (2.1), says, “To raise an army of a hundred thousand requires the daily expenditure of a thousand ounces of gold. And an army of a hundred thousand means a million refugees on the road. Also, nothing results in greater droughts, plagues, or famines than the scourge of warfare. A good general wins only when he h
... See moreRed Pine • Lao-tzu's Taoteching
The wise warrior avoids the battle.
―Sun Tzu, The Art of War
