The Art of War

By: Sun Tzu

Narrated by: Don Hagen, Victoria Gordon

Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

This Chinese treatise on war was written by Sun Tzu in the 6th century B.C. Each one of the 13 chapters is devoted to a different aspect of warfare, making it the definitive work on military strategies and tactics of its time. Studied by generals from Napoleon to Rommel, it is still one of the most influential works on the subject and is required reading in most military academies around the world. Although it was meant to be a practical guide to warfare in the age of chariots, this seminal work on the philosophy of successful leadership is as applicable to contemporary business as it is to war, and has become increasingly popular among today's corporate and political leaders.

Public Domain (P)2011 Gildan Media Corp

Important information

Would you listen to The Art of War again? Why?

I do plan on listening to this audio book again and probable a few more times after that. Very good information. It may have been written about the art of war, though I think it could say,

Who was your favorite character and why?

There are no characters as in stories.

Have you listened to any of Don Hagen and Victoria Gordon ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is the only book I've read by the authors. This book was recommended to me.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Though the book is about The Art Of War, it is applicable to doing business in this world.

Any additional comments?

This book reads like an outline, don't dismiss it because of that. This book is very helpful for dealing with the business world too!

Review by an Infantryman

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

It was time SPENT. Neither good nor bad.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Tactics and thought process are great. The the way the book reads makes it a little cumbersome.

Did Don Hagen and Victoria Gordon do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Didn't finish the book. Couldn't say.

Do you think The Art of War needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

N/A

Very Good

Any additional comments?

This was a very interesting read and much easier than I thought it would be.

This book really showed the major flaws in the War on Terror and in fact even having a War on Terror, which is a war that really has no end. As well I learned much about warfare from it.

A Sound Value!

This is the only recording that has 2 voices reading....I'd call it a real sound value!

It was OK

Honestly it is a good book, but I don't really enjoy the numbering, it takes away some from the flow of the book. The numbering does not really make much sense for an audio book, but i do enjoy the addition of external stories that have to do with the art of war, and particularly the fact that it is read by a different person and is explained as t why it is relevant

Useful knowledge, Ancient, but still useful

This book has been a staple learning text for military schools for hundreds of years, and the lessons are still applicable for daily life, military or civilian. The tone of the narator tended to be a bit droll after a while, but the introduction of the female explanatory narrator was a welcome change. A very enlightening book that will provide at least a couple of life hints to every listener. Not a novel, this is a serious learning experience.

Not for Listening

This is one of those volumes I have always meant to read, but had not. I wish I had. This is really a Manual. It is not meant to be listened to, in my opinion. It is meant to read, consulted from time to time and, if you have a combative or adversarial occupation (like mine), adapted to your application, as necessary. Many of its observations are sage and well expressed, in a pithily Oriental fashion (Confucian like).
However, it is very difficult to listen to. I persevered, but I enjoyed reading the passages that resonated with me, more. Accordingly, the performance scores are not a reflection on the narrators, but on the suitability of this text for narration. The story score reflects its applicability to what I do and the fact that centuries ago someone thought about this enough to write a manual at all.

Not Suited for Audio

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

I do not believe this book could ever get above a 1 rating as an audio book.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Cold Vengeance by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

The narrator was fine.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Art of War?

All of it!

Any additional comments?

I would take this book out of you library. It just does not work in an audio version.

Boring

What would have made The Art of War better?

I was interested in listening to this based primarily on all the references that I have heard to it over the years, but when I finally got around to listening to it I was almost bored to tears (and had to stop listening partway through). It came through sounding like en endless, monotonous list (delineated by numbers and letters) of seemingly obvious observations of strategies for besting an opponent at