Sun Tzu did not write the Zen Book of War

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In a previous blog post on October 10, 2021 I had asked Can you trust a blog post where two books it discusses have their authors incorrectly named? That post discussed an article (blog post) by Dr. John Livingston at the Gem State Patriot News. He cranked out another confused article on October 20, 2021 titled We are winning in which he discusses a foggy memory from some of his military experiences long ago.

 

He claims in the second paragraph to have read a book by Sun Tzu titled the Zen Book of War, which had 14 to 15 chapters and was on a Marine Corps recommended list. I also read Sun Tzu long ago, but correctly remember the title simply is The Art of War. You can look up Sun Tzu at Wikipedia, and be directed to another page about The Art of War which says it only has 13 chapters. Livingston also says dispirit when he means disparate.   

 

He also refers to Jack Welch of General Motors, which is nonsense as well – Jack ran General Electric.

 

If you look around via Google, you can find a Discussion Guide from the Marine Corps Commandant’s Professional Reading List that refers to The Art of War. It also appears in the notes on page 99 of the 1997 Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication 1 – Warfighting.

 

My Zen graphic is based on this image from Wikimedia Commons.