There is more to my life than just traveling around the globe, although I cannot complain about traveling per se. As a matter of fact, one of the most enjoyable parts of travelling is the time one obtains to flip-open a book and actually do some reading. Whether sitting at the airport where there are no plugs for a laptop adapter, or in a tiny airplane seat that was designed for a person half your height, or finally at the beach pretending that being exposed to the sun for a prolonged amount of time is a good thing after all, a book is simply a perfect companion. I suppose you can listen to some music as well, or even audio books, but in the end none of these seem quite as satisfying as a book which can take you to places far beyond what you thought your imagination might be capable off.

Anyhow, the latest book that fell victim to my travels has been Sun Tzu’s classic The Art of War. The particular edition I read, was translated by Dr. Thomas Cleary, and can be ordered here if you are interested. It is no secret that The Art of War is highly applicable to the business world.  The outcome of wars whether military or economic, in the end is mostly determined by the proper and timely application of some fundamental strategic principles. The problem is that choosing the right strategy at the right time given particular conditions, results in an infinite amount of possibilities for defeat or victory. The important lesson is to understand that no method or strategy will work all the time. In addition, knowing how to act and when to act, is just as important as knowing when not to act at all. Finally, knowing your own abilities, the abilities of your opponent, as well as the conditions will maximize your probability of pursuing the best strategy. Of course, the book delves a lot deeper on each of these topics, it has over 400 pages of valuable content after all, but this was just a little primer to wet your appetite.

There are several reasons, why I chose Thomas' translation while browsing the myriad of editions available at the bookstore. First of all, I simply like his writing style. He is easy to understand, and his translations flow naturally, which probably has a lot to do with the fact that he has translated quite a few classical Asian and Islamic texts. Second, each section of the Art of War in his translation is accompanied by translations of commentaries from several other prominent Chinese philosophers and military strategists of ancient times, such Cao Cao, Li Quan, Wang Xi, and many more. This really gives depth to the translation and brings to light the different interpretations of the ancient text; in particular since occasionally these philosophers interpret the same passages very differently. On other occasions, they build on each other to arrive at deeper and non-obvious conclusions. If this were not enough, this edition also contains translations from The Lost Art of War by Sun Bin, as well as translation from the Sliver Sparrow Art of War, which contains previously unknown fragments of The Art of War.

Having translated many ancient Asian texts, Thomas has a very comprehensive understanding of the evolution of Chinese philosophical thought, which comes is very helpful as on many occasions he is able to provide very useful background information that allows a less well-rounded reader to gain a deeper understanding of the translated text. Anyhow, if you need a little reading that is more on the serious side, and might be beneficial to your career, I would highly recommend this edition.

Given that I’ve done some traveling recently, it comes as no surprise that that I had some time, mostly on flights, to due some reading. The book I finished this time is titled Adulthood Rites, and is written by Octavia E. Butler. It is a sequel to Dawn, which I recapped here, in the Xenoegenesis Trilogy. Beginning a few years after Dawn, this book details the journey through life of an offspring that resulted as part of the alien and human union. Similarly to the first book, the emphasis is placed on the mental state of the being rather than on exciting action, and to examine how the offspring adapts to both humans and aliens, and how it does not really feel at home anywhere - mostly because neither pure humans nor pure aliens feel really comfortable with it either. The book also examines deeper issues in human behavior, such as those of violence and guaranteed self-annihilation, given the rather slow pace at which we evolve genetically compared to technology, and hence rise in our destructive power. If the only certain way to safe some form of humanity is to alter its genetic makeup – should it be done? If we alter the genetic makeup – are we still saving humanity? These as well as other interesting questions are explored in the book, so give it a read if you have some spare time.

On a lighter note, the pictures from the wedding are up and commented. Head on over to the picture section if you need to kill some time – or simply want to see what a really well organized wedding looks like.

I have made it a point to set aside a couple hours each week as ‘reading time’. Even this seems insufficient at times. Most of my recent reading time has been consumed by catching up on magazine subscriptions. If you subscribe to four or more magazines a month I’m sure you can relate. Anyhow, I’m happy to say that on occasion I can still get around to reading a full length novel. The latest novel, titled ‘Dawn’, by Octavia E. Butler was a very entertaining and relatively quick read. Most novels that I read are either science-fiction or fantasy, and this one was no exception. It takes place in a post-apocalyptic scenario on earth where an unsuspecting human is being held captive by aliens. Sounds like a routine beginning for a science-fiction novel, right? But that’s about where the similarities end. Unlike many other authors that focus at length on battles or exotic odysseys, Butler is more interested in the human-alien interaction and the mental consequences that can result from such encounters. This does not mean that the book lacks action. I will not reveal specifics and spoil the book for potential readers, but I’ll simply state that Butler examines uncommon topics that might even make you uncomfortable at times. The content of this novel encourages the reader to slow down once in a while and reflect upon what they have just read. Dawn is just the first book in a three book series and I’m anxious to get started on the next one!