A New Year's List of Books on Strategy and Leadership

By M.E.H.

Book categories: Art of War (below), modern warfare, strategy, historical novels, Taoism and Zen, the Go game, and other books on strategy and leadership.

Here is a New Year's list of books for those who are looking to start the year out with a mindset towards strategy and leadership. We believe these books should be in the library of everyone who is interested in the Asian strategic mind.

Let's start with the book the premier book on Chinese strategic mindset—Sunzi (or Sun Tzu) Art of War.

According to Amazon.com, "The Art of War is the Swiss army knife of military theory—a different tool for any situation. Folded into this small package are compact views on resourcefulness, momentum, cunning, the profit motive, flexibility, integrity, secrecy, speed, positioning, surprise, deception, manipulation, responsibility, and practicality.

Most passages, however, are the pinnacle of succinct clarity: 'Lure them in with the prospect of gain, take them by confusion' or 'Invincibility is in one's self; vulnerability is in the opponent.' Sun Tzu's maxims are widely applicable beyond the military because they speak directly to the exigencies of survival. Your new tools will serve you well, but don't flaunt them. Remember Sun Tzu's advice: 'Though effective, appear to be ineffective."

-- Brian Bruya, Amazon.com

Presented here together for the first time are the greatest of the ancient Chinese classics of strategic thought: The Complete Art of War. Probably the most famous work of strategy ever written, Sun Tzu: The Art of War has sold millions of copies in many languages around the world. Lost for more than 2,000 years and only recently recovered, The Military Methods of Sun Pin (by Sun Tzu's great-grandson) is a brilliant elaboration on his ancestor's work. Only The Complete Art of War brings the wisdom of these two ancient sages into a single volume and gives the reader a unique opportunity to master the essentials of Chinese thought on strategy, organization, and leadership.

Our favorite interpretations of Sunzi's The Art of War are shown below (available at Amazon.com):

- Entrepreneur Magazine

"K-Mart, AT&T, Xerox, and General Motors would have saved themselves billions of dollars if their past CEOs had read this book."

- Dr. Philip Kotler, Northwestern University