At the core of this ancient Chinese strategy manual is the understanding that conflict is an inescapable part of human life, but aggression only leads to self-destruction-so it is advantageous to seek a view of the whole that brings conflicting views into a larger perspective. This new and unusually faithful translation carefully preserves the enigmatic quality of Sun Tzu's original, with line-by-line commentary that reveals its broader implications how it can be applied to everyday circumstances.