General V, later on the primary PVA military leader in the Vietnam War, was a passionate student and specialist of Sun Tzu's ideas. America's defeat there, more than any other event, brought Sun Tzu to the attention of leaders of American military theory. The Department of the Army in the United States, through its Command and General Staff College, lists The Art of War as one example of a book that may be kept at a military system's library.
It is recommended reading for all United States Military Intelligence personnel. The Art of War is utilized as educational product at the US Military Academy at West Point, in the course Military Technique (470 ), and it is likewise suggested reading for Officer cadets at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. Some significant military leaders have specified the following about Sun Tzu and The Art of War: "I constantly kept a copy of The Art of War on my desk." - General Douglas Mac, Arthur, 5 Star General & Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers.
He continues to influence both soldiers & political leaders." - General Colin Powell, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Personnel, National Security Advisor, and Secretary of State. According to some authors, the strategy of deception from The Art of War was studied and commonly used by the KGB: "I will force the opponent to take our strength for weakness, and our weakness for strength, and hence will turn his strength into weak point".
Finnish Field Marshal Mannerheim and general Aksel Airo were passionate readers of Art of War; Airo kept the book on his night table in his quarters. [] Application outside the military [edit] The Art of War has been used to many fields outside of the military. Click Here For Additional Info of the text is about how to outsmart one's opponent without actually having to participate in physical fight.
The Art of War is pointed out as an influence in the earliest known Chinese collection of stories about fraud (mainly in the world of commerce), Zhang Yingyu's The Book of Swindles (Du pian xin shu,, c. 1617), which dates to the late Ming dynasty. Many company books have applied the lessons drawn from the book to office politics and corporate business strategy.