Make sure you get a good version of the book when you are reading the Art of War. The actually \"book\" itself is very short- indeed only a few pages long. However there are alot of commentaries on the work which add depth and explain what Sun Tzu means, and further strategies. There are Eleven \"Standard\" commentaries, plus a host of others from random people. The eleven standard Commentaries were written by Cao Cao (If you\'ve played dynasty warriers as someone said you should remember him, he is a very famous warrior / general who founded the wei? dynasty from memory), Meng Shi, Jia Lin, Li Quan, Du You, Du Mu, Zhang Yu, Mei Yaochen, Wang Xi, Chen Hao and Ho Yanxi. Some of those people are famous, others are known only for their commentaries. You can get editions with commentaries by many other people, for example I have one with commentary from Mao Zedong (uh...chinese history again- If you dont know, he was the communist leader of china Until his death in the 1970\'s). I\'d also recommened you read the I Ching, a Taoist manuscript / book, which will help you understand the text alot better. I cant read Traitional Chinese, so I cant give any comment on valid / incorrect translations.
Time for a favorite quote:
\"Therefore the victories of Good warriors are not noted for cleverness or Bravery. Therefore their victories in Battles are not flukes. Their victories are not flukes because they position themselves where they will surely win, prevailing over those who have already lost\".