The 33 Strategies of War (Joost Elffers Books),   ISBN:9780143112785

Customer Rating: 

Normally, I'm not prone to commenting on any such product on Amazon. This treasure, Robert Greene's masterpiece, however, keeps me entertained and informed to this day. With common-sense language and prolific research, Robert Greene has produced a 'must read' series of historical anecdotes, inspiring lessons, and dynamic strategical insight.

I highly recommend.

Customer Rating: 

While the Art of Seduction and The 48 Laws of Power are great, The 33 Strategies of War brings you into the common sense of the realities of life.

If you are to get anything out of this work, it is the fact that we are frequently facing unpleasant situations we choose to ignore and that an attitude of conflict resolution, no not necessarily pleasant or fair, is a must for survival in this world.

I'd like to think we can live in peace, that we can resolve our differences in a civil way, that things and circumstances are fair and favorable most of the time, but this scenario is by far not the scenario in which most of us live our lives.

This book brings one a little more awareness of what is going on in the world and why we struggle so much in the face of the only constant which is change, as we fail manyatimes to adapt clinging to a preconceived notion of reality from whatever tradition this may come from (religion, customs, culture, etc.)

This and other strategies are portrayed in the book. I give it four stars, because there is no magical solution for any worldview or successful approach to a problem.

Finally, this book made me reaffirm my realization that no book is the solution to any problem. As your person, your life, your circumstances will be unique and never identical, the only solution to problems is living through them by facing them using your own wits and your own experience.

Customer Rating: 

Although the title suggests the book focuses on war, it addresses all conflict - be it military, business or personal. In each of 33 chapters, he identifies a "principal of war", and gives several historical examples of how it was applied (or misapplied) with in depth analysis and commentary. One will learn as much about history as strategy from this.

After reading this I have thought back to past conflicts in my life. I now see strategic mistakes in how I handled in business. If I had read this book 15 years ago (obviously impossible as it was recently published), my professional life might have been more successful.

While the book is a great primer on winning conflicts, I also found it very readable and entertaining. It is quite long at 448 pages of small print, but it is one of few non-fiction books I will keep and reread. I also enjoyed his books "Rules of Power" and "Rules of Seduction", but thought this was his best work.

Customer Rating: 

Chuck full of detail and insight on warfare, this is also a compendium of strategies.

Customer Rating: 

The book arrived sooner than expected and was in excellent shape. The seller did all s/he was supposed to do and more. A wonderful experience. I can now die happy.