Any great War Strategist and War philosophers I should Know about?Sun Tsu?

Question

I Looking for a better knowledge of War Strategy,
Is there any other Books I should know about?
Niccolo Machiavelli Iv'e heard was good. .
The book of the 5 Rings Iv'e heard was great also.
I geuess im looking either for a better understanding Of strategy / tactics For self defence. Or a better understanding of Sun Tsu's translations.

Answer 1

Hey Dr P.

You should know what is the ultimate goal of war?

It is of course, Peace. Something we should never forget.

Answer 2

ANY philosophy book will assist you in achieving your aim. All philosophy is the study of wisdom and how best to apply it to your life. Machiavelli steers a little to the right (conservative-manipulation) than Sun Tsu, which is pure philosophy. And reminder: the first rule of war is don't go to war!

Answer 3

Francesco Gucciardini--He was a contemporary and friend of Machiavelli's, as well as being a rather unscrupulous politician. Machiavelli himself was heavily influenced by the writings of Xenophon. You may also want to look into the modern writings of Robert Greene.

Answer 4

'The Art of War' and 'The Prince' are the two most famous examples, but if you want another one, one that comes to mind is the Strategikon, written by Emperor Maurice.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategikon

It is arguably just as influential, if not more so, as the Art of War, as it codified many of the ideas of war that are given today, such as the advantages of a national army to mercenaries, or the uniform distribution of equipment, or the combining of arms for maximum effect.

Also, The commentaries of Julius Caesar are worth a read if you are interested in military literature. His two most famous ones are his commentaries on the Gallic War and the Civil War.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commentarii_de_Bello_Gallico

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commentarii_de_Bello_Civili

Answer 5

Learn to play the ancient board game "Go". It's a game with black and white stones that are played on the intersections of a grid. It has only a few rules, which are pretty simple, but the game gets complex quickly. It is mandatory for officers in China to learn how to play because of it's strategic value. It's a fascinating game. If you want to learn how to play check out goproblems.com

Answer 6

Clausewitz

Answer 7

Carl von Clausewitz "On War"

Answer 8

why yes my friend study probability theory and game theory and you will find John von Nuemann who wrote a book titled The Theory of Games and Economic Behavior. his theories are a basic tool for generals to test their military stratagies as complex games of chess.