• The Art of War

  • By: Sun Tzu
  • Narrated by: Aidan Gillen
  • Length: 1 hr and 7 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (40,231 ratings)

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The Art of War

By: Sun Tzu
Narrated by: Aidan Gillen
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Publisher's summary

The 13 chapters of The Art of War, each devoted to one aspect of warfare, were compiled by the high-ranking Chinese military general, strategist, and philosopher Sun-Tzu. In spite of its battlefield specificity, The Art of War has found new life in the modern age, with leaders in fields as wide and far-reaching as world politics, human psychology, and corporate strategy finding valuable insight in its timeworn words.

Aidan Gillen - who has learned a thing or two about strategy through his roles as skilled manipulator Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish (Game of Thrones) and ambitious politician Tommy Carcetti (The Wire) - brilliantly performs this ancient classic. His experience in portraying insightful and, at times, cunning characters makes him a natural fit for this ancient collection of battlefield epigrams whose influence has grown tremendously in the modern world.

Public Domain (P)2015 Audible Inc.

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What listeners say about The Art of War

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The actual book The Art of War, not a commentary

Excellent reading by Aidan Quinn, and a nice translation by an uncredited translator.

People sometimes assume that because The Art of War is short, and it mentions Sun Tzu in the text, a given edition is an abridgment or a summary. No, The Art of War is just pithy, and was never intended to be a book. It was written down on scrolls around 500 BC. A translation of the text itself will be no more than 80 pages, often in the form of verse or bullet points, though a given edition might be longer because it contains additional material, such as an introduction and some of the classical commentary. For example, Lionel Giles' translation is 25 pages long and just under 11,000 words.

As for the text speaking of Master Sun saying various things, that's not an uncommon device. The Book of Ecclesiastes does it, too, for example, and so does the Chuang Tzu. "Sun Tzu" appears to be an imaginary authority, inspired by a military expert named Sun Bin, rather than the actual author, so it's pretty logical.

I mention this because at least a couple of the commenters here have come to the wrong conclusions about what this audio book is, and a lot of people have taken their word for it, judging by the approval ratings. This is a very good recording, and it would be a shame to overlook it because of a misunderstanding.

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530 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Aidan Gillen needs to narrate more books

What made the experience of listening to The Art of War the most enjoyable?

The narration

What did you like best about this story?

The simplicity, the sensibility that Sun Tzu brought to chaotic war.

Which character – as performed by Aidan Gillen – was your favorite?

...

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

Please have Aidan Gillen narrate The Prince next, and really anything else. This man could read a phone book and I'd pay for it.

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165 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Game of War

The Art of War is a time tested classic of strategy and martial wisdom. The reputation of this book is extremely well known, so I won’t bother reviewing Sun Tzu. If you’ve ever been interested in this text, go for it.

If you’re reading this review, my guess is that you’re wondering about the performance. In short, Aidan Gillen knocks it out of the park. If you’re a fan of Aidan Gillen (or Game of Thrones in general) what could be cooler than being schooled in the art of war by Lord Petyr Baelish himself? You owe it to yourself to give this a listen. Highly recommended!

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101 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Great performance

This ancient text may apply to many people's work. Anyone who works in a competitive environment can benefit from it, even if only a little. Even if you can't benefit from it, this work might help the listener to understand historical works dealing with wars better.

The reading is excellent. Aidan Gillen does a great job reading the text. I don't know if it's because I've been watching Game of Thrones for four seasons, but it sounds like he's using a kind of Littlefinger voice here, which adds to the effect. I'd recommend this audiobook to pretty much anyone, even if they don't have an army.

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89 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Thought I was getting the full book

Great choice of narrator, but this is a synopsis of the book, not the book itself.

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48 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Clever and extremely enjoyable

Stroke of genius having Aidan Gillen read Art of War. His gentle Irish brogue is tough yet alluring. And as a fan of GoT, I can see Littlefinger conspiring over this document and making these words his own. Well done!

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31 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A classic, but this is not the whole text...

Art of War by sun Tzu is a classic, but this is not the whole text. Regardless, it provides the essence, and probably all I really wanted + Gillen's narration was great. Glad I listened, and if you are in to STRATEGY, this should be on your MUST READ list.

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23 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Littlefinger brings it home

Aidan Gillen delivers a great performance and keeps the listener interested and engaged through out the entire book!

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21 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Enjoyed this reading.

Enjoyed the reading. Very well presented!👍👍. Was thankful for the AUDIBLE 50% SPRING cleaning sale. Thank you for the presentation

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Best strategy book.

I have listened to the book while multi tasking and in heavily noise locations without missing key point Sun puts out.
The Art of War strategies once implemented in the day today activities can have great impact.
I am surely going to listen to it the second time in a more calm and quiet environment.

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7 people found this helpful