The Art of War is an ancient Chinese philosophical treatise, written the human Sun Tzu on Earth during the 2nd century BCE. The Art of War offers a number of maxims for the strategic and tactical conduct of military campaigns, which were widely influential for thousands of years after Sun Tzu's death. The Art of War was taught and studied at Starfleet Academy through the 24th century. (TNG episode: "The Last Outpost")
Lt. Commander Joe Wilder often quoted the book, referring to his as his bible. (TOS short story: "Official Record")
Ambassador Worf had a leather-bound copy of The Art of War in his office on Qo'noS. It was a gift from Captain Jean-Luc Picard. Worf had previously read the book while enrolled in Starfleet Academy. However after re-reading it from Picard's gift, Worf was able to understand the multi-layered message and how it applied to both battle and politics. (TNG novel: A Time to Sow)
Captain Kirk once quoted a passage of The Art of War to a Klingon commander, who called it “rare human wisdom.” The passage was "If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles." (TOS comic: "Art of War")
External Links
- The Art of War article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
- The Art of War article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.