Alexander Gabriel ZoderoTA.G. ZoderoT Start free

Sun Tzu · Lionel Giles, 1910

Read The Art of War Online

All thirteen chapters of Sun Tzu's The Art of War in Lionel Giles' 1910 translation, one page per chapter and free to read. About 10,500 words, under an hour from the first verse to the last.

Each chapter opens on its painting from The Art of War Illustrated

ILaying PlansVerses 1 to 26 · 3 min IIWaging WarVerses 1 to 20 · 3 min IIIAttack by StratagemVerses 1 to 18 · 3 min IVTactical DispositionsVerses 1 to 20 · 2 min VEnergyVerses 1 to 23 · 3 min VIWeak Points and StrongVerses 1 to 34 · 5 min VIIManœuveringVerses 1 to 37 · 4 min VIIIVariation of TacticsVerses 1 to 14 · 2 min IXThe Army on the MarchVerses 1 to 45 · 5 min XTerrainVerses 1 to 31 · 5 min XIThe Nine SituationsVerses 1 to 68 · 8 min XIIThe Attack by FireVerses 1 to 22 · 3 min XIIIThe Use of SpiesVerses 1 to 27 · 3 min

Questions readers ask

How long is The Art of War?

About 10,500 words in Lionel Giles' translation, in thirteen chapters. The longest, The Nine Situations, runs to 68 verses; the shortest, Variation of Tactics, has 14. The illustrated edition fills 188 pages because the verses share its spreads with 85 paintings.

How long does it take to read The Art of War?

Under an hour at an ordinary pace: 10,500 words at about 240 words a minute comes to roughly 45 minutes. The verses are short, which makes it easy to stop and reread one.

Which translation is this?

Lionel Giles' English translation, first published in 1910. The text is his word for word; the one change is typographic, as in our illustrated edition: sixteen of his dashes are set as colons. How it compares with other translations is covered in The Art of War Ebook: Which Edition Should You Read?

Is The Art of War worth reading?

Yes, and it is short enough to find out in one evening. Much of what circulates as Sun Tzu is not in it: of sixteen famous quotes we checked, four are his words, seven are rewordings and five do not appear in the book at all (the full check). Reading the thirteen chapters is the only way to tell them apart.

Can I read The Art of War with pictures?

Yes. The Art of War Illustrated sets the same text among 85 paintings across 188 full-colour pages. The ebook is $0.99.

Before or after the text: The Art of War Summary: All 13 Chapters Explained, Sun Tzu Quotes from The Art of War and Did Sun Tzu Really Say That?

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