Vital Strategies: The Hidden Code of Sunzi (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798296665164)

In the West, war is often perceived as a situation where the strongest and most ruthless is the only possible winner. However, any conflict that manifests as a violent clash between two human parties is utterly primitive. War, like every conflict, is a negotiation. Force is not necessarily equal to violence. These two are not the same, and there is much confusion surrounding them. Force can be physical or metaphysical, ethical or moral, spiritual or material, emotional or mental. Seldom is brute force the appropriate solution in negotiations, even outside of war. Genuine force means to use information wisely, to master timing, to be in the flow, and to position oneself astutely. And this is what Sun Tzu is all about. This book examines unexplored aspects of Sunzi's classic The Art of War, showing how this masterpiece can offer precious insight into dealing with present-day challenges.

Vince A. Di Dato is Director General at XERDAN Ltd in Malta, 1st Captain (Ret.) of the Italian Army, and Functional Specialist at CIMIC (Civil-Military Cooperation), with a Master's in Architecture and Industrial Design, and one in Civil-Military Interaction at the Helmut Schmidt University of the German Federal Armed Forces. He is a PhD candidate at the Helmut Schmidt University researching Military Design Thinking.