Strategic Thinking Trilogy

The Book of 5 Rings, The Art of War & The Prince

By: Miyamoto Musashi, Niccolò Machiavelli, Sun Tzu

Narrated by: Bill DeWees

Length: 6 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

The Strategic Thinking Trilogy contains the best worldwide books on strategy: A Book of 5 Rings by Mushashi, The Art of War by Sun Tzu, The Prince by Machiavelli and an introduction/summary of On War by Von Clausevitz. A must listen for all listeners interested in history, culture, military subjects, business strategy, and strategy in general.

©2012 Simply Magazine (P)2012 Deaver Brown

this was a great listen

would completely recommend this to anyone interested in the 3 greatest works on strategic thinking

Save your money, don't buy this copy

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would recommend my friends either buy a hard copy of the books or buy the audio books by a different narrator.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Strategic Thinking Trilogy?

When I stopped the recording and moved on to a different book.

Would you be willing to try another one of Bill DeWees’s performances?

If all of the books he reads are of the same quality I think my money would be better spent elsewhere.

Was Strategic Thinking Trilogy worth the listening time?

The books themselves are classics and great for anyone to read, but the narrator just butchered them.

Any additional comments?

I have read Art of War and Book of 5 Rings before, and wanting to read The Prince I saw this file and thought the price was a great deal. 3 books for 3.95.... I was mistaken, The narrator drones on through the books with almost no pause. The Prince was a smooth reading but the others felt like he was bumbling through two books he either does not understand or had not read before. Do yourself a huge favor, pay the extra money and buy them separately... and by another narrator.

Poor performance detracts from the content.

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

I don't think it was time well-spent because the content was lost with the poor, halting, stuttered performance, particularly with The Art of War. Aside from the awkward pausing, the reader for this part of it seemed like he may have had spittle around the edges of his mouth. I am sincerely not trying to be mean, but I did have to stop listening to it at this point because it turned my stomach, and I wasn't hearing the content at all.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Different reader.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Halting speech with awkward pauses and mispronunciations, among others.

Did Strategic Thinking Trilogy inspire you to do anything?

Find another version to listen to.

Any additional comments?

Please use more discerning judgment in determining what audiobooks/narrations are sold/endorsed here.

Don't buy

The person reading the art of war and the five rings is the worst. He has a heavy NE accent, starts off ever sentence loudly this drifts off until you can't hear him, and his microphone is of low quality. The book subjects are great just buy a different version.

Good for the price.

Would you consider the audio edition of Strategic Thinking Trilogy to be better than the print version?

The three books in one listen was a good deal. I enjoyed 'The Prince' the most. The fensing book "5 Rings" was direct and to the point and written from the viewpoint of author feeling he is the very best at what he does. The "Art of War" left me wanting more in the sense, so many people had told me it was such a great book, I was thinking I would enjoy it more, but I did not.

The Masters of Strategy

This collection by the three strategy masters is a must have for anyone that is interested in studying the arts of diplomacy and war. The writings of Miyamoto, Sun Tzu, and Machiavelli have long been held apart as the true lesson plans for successful strategical thinking. A careful examination of this reading will accomplish the same.

Bill DeWees does a decent job. He does make it difficult to stay with the reading at times. He is not the best reader on Audible, but he does a good enough job on this work.

Not bad

The narrator that reads The Art of War, and The Book of the Five Rings was choppy and at times difficult to follow. I also was not impressed at the amount of material not covered in the books.

I would recommend this to people looking for general idea's of the material.

Great Book Awful readed

What disappointed you about Strategic Thinking Trilogy?

Terrible narrator, probably the worst narrator ever.

What could the authors have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

hire a better narrator

What didn’t you like about Bill DeWees’s performance?

it was awful

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

I need a refund

Waste of money and a bad rendition of the classics

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I would switch narrators.

Would you be willing to try another book from the authors? Why or why not?

I would be willing to listen to other books by the same *authors* but not the same narrator.

How could the performance have been better?

Well, the narrator was unclear, hesitating and sometimes sounded like he was trying to find the right words, f.ex. in the introduction to "The art of war" and "The book of 5 rings". The audio quality is like he was using a Fisher-Price microphone in a tin can.
Also, the narrator mispronounced some words, so that I had to rewind to get his meaning.

Any additional comments?

I feel ripped off for paying $4 for this book....

Good books, but...

The books are great classics. But the reader leave much to be desired... sometimes the performance is really bad, I'm afraid. I've been warned from previous reviewers (thanks!). I agree with them. It's a pity! But as long as one knows these drawbacks....