Photo, above: The Art of War by Sun Tzu, compiled over 2,000 years ago by the warrior-philosopher, is still one of the most widely studied and influential books on strategy throughout the world today.

This work stresses the unpredictability of battle, the importance of deception and surprise, the close relations between politics and military policy, and the high costs of war. The futility of seeking hard and fast rules and the subtle paradoxes of success are major themes. The best battle, Sun Tzu says, is the battle that is won without being fought. The most fundamental of Sun Tzu’s principles for the conduct of war is that, “All warfare is based on deception.” Another key Sun Tzu principle is that, “The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”

JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW

Hour One

Saturday 9 November  2013 / Hour 1, Block A: Moment of Battle: The Twenty Clashes That Changed the World by Jim Lacey and Williamson Murray (1 of 4)

Saturday 9 November  2013 / Hour 1, Block B: Moment of Battle: The Twenty Clashes That Changed the World by Jim Lacey and Williamson Murray (2 of 4)

Saturday 9 November  2013 / Hour 1, Block C: Moment of Battle: The Twenty Clashes That Changed the World by Jim Lacey and Williamson Murray (3 of 4)

Saturday 9 November  2013 / Hour 1, Block D: Moment of Battle: The Twenty Clashes That Changed the World by Jim Lacey and Williamson Murray (4 of 4)

Hour Two

Saturday 9 November  2013 / Hour 2, Block A: Gettysburg: The Last Invasion by Allen C. Guelzo (1 of 8)

Saturday 9 November  2013 / Hour 2, Block B: Gettysburg: The Last Invasion by Allen C. Guelzo (2 of 8)

Saturday 9 November  2013 / Hour 2, Block C: Gettysburg: The Last Invasion by Allen C. Guelzo (3 of 8)

Saturday 9 November  2013 / Hour 2, Block D: Gettysburg: The Last Invasion by Allen C. Guelzo (4 of 8)

Hour Three

Saturday 9 November  2013 / Hour 3, Block A: Gettysburg: The Last Invasion by Allen C. Guelzo (5 of 8)

Saturday 9 November  2013 / Hour 3, Block B: Gettysburg: The Last Invasion by Allen C. Guelzo (6 of 8)

Saturday 9 November  2013 / Hour 3, Block C: Gettysburg: The Last Invasion by Allen C. Guelzo (7 of 8)

Saturday 9 November  2013 / Hour 3, Block D: Gettysburg: The Last Invasion by Allen C. Guelzo (8 of 8)

Hour Four

Saturday 9 November  2013 / Hour 4, Block A: Sun Tzu at Gettysburg: Ancient Military Wisdom in the Modern World by Bevin Alexander  (1 of 4)

Saturday 9 November  2013 / Hour 4, Block B: Sun Tzu at Gettysburg: Ancient Military Wisdom in the Modern World by Bevin Alexander  (2 of 4)

Saturday 9 November  2013 / Hour 4, Block C: Sun Tzu at Gettysburg: Ancient Military Wisdom in the Modern World by Bevin Alexander  (3 of 4)

Saturday 9 November  2013 / Hour 4, Block D: Sun Tzu at Gettysburg: Ancient Military Wisdom in the Modern World by Bevin Alexander  (4 of 4)

..  ..  ..

Music

Hour 1:

Hour 2:

Hour 3:

Hour 4: