I have loved reading non-fiction books for some time, but none as great as 'The Art of War' by Sun Tzu. I was first loaned a copy of it by a friend of mine who lived in my unit complex when she found I had lost my compass in life. At first, I didn't have a clue what the heck she meant... but you see, I was fighting a battle at the time with a neighbour's daughter who was trying to make me move out.
This daughter had played a series of tricks and so-not-funny jokes on me over a few months, and I was at the end of my tether. So, when my friend gave me 'The Art of War' it wasn't just a book for me to read, it was a book on strategy.
As I began the book, I found the translation was brilliantly done. The illustrations were beautiful, and what Sun Tzu had written down was absolutely true about how to treat his men, how to work with them, talk to them and how a war should be won one battle at a time - even the small battles were important. And you know, I was able to put some of what the book taught me into action with the neighbour's daughter. It taught me to be Zen and very calm about things, to wait for her to finish what she was doing and then say something to her. I learned a lot about how to fight my war with this young lady (she was in her early 20's) one battle at a time. And in the end, she finally screwed up by putting her own foot in her mouth about a few things I wasn't supposed to hear. This book taught me a lot of things; and it also taught me that '... a good general feeds off his enemy...' and that is exactly what I did.
Today, I bought this very book to have it in my collection. When I saw it three weeks ago at the Centro Newsagency, I hoped it would still be there for me to buy, and I was thankful that it was. Yes, it was expensive, but it's worth it! And I must say, it's well worth the read too. I'm just happy I managed to get my hands on a lovely copy of it so I can keep it for years to come. Until my next post, happy reading.
This daughter had played a series of tricks and so-not-funny jokes on me over a few months, and I was at the end of my tether. So, when my friend gave me 'The Art of War' it wasn't just a book for me to read, it was a book on strategy.
As I began the book, I found the translation was brilliantly done. The illustrations were beautiful, and what Sun Tzu had written down was absolutely true about how to treat his men, how to work with them, talk to them and how a war should be won one battle at a time - even the small battles were important. And you know, I was able to put some of what the book taught me into action with the neighbour's daughter. It taught me to be Zen and very calm about things, to wait for her to finish what she was doing and then say something to her. I learned a lot about how to fight my war with this young lady (she was in her early 20's) one battle at a time. And in the end, she finally screwed up by putting her own foot in her mouth about a few things I wasn't supposed to hear. This book taught me a lot of things; and it also taught me that '... a good general feeds off his enemy...' and that is exactly what I did.
Today, I bought this very book to have it in my collection. When I saw it three weeks ago at the Centro Newsagency, I hoped it would still be there for me to buy, and I was thankful that it was. Yes, it was expensive, but it's worth it! And I must say, it's well worth the read too. I'm just happy I managed to get my hands on a lovely copy of it so I can keep it for years to come. Until my next post, happy reading.
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