Written approximately twenty-five hundred years ago, in a time of political turbulence and great military activity, Sun Tzu's The Art of War has exerted an extraordinary influence on the modern world. People of all persuasions have found inspiration and sound, practical guidance here for any number of activities that require strategy, from sports and normal business affairs to affairs of the heart. They have found the courage to view the world in which they live and work as a network of actual and potential combat zones, where the stakes are high and struggle is the primary mode of being; where no one is to be trusted and survival depends on unconditional victory. This edition, augmented by commentaries and anecdotal material, renders the classic text accessible to the contemporary reader, while maintaining the spare, near-poetic tone of the original.