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Hola Roberto,
Good comments on the 'Art of War'. Interesting on how you see a relationship between war and commerce because that was how I became aware of the book. Back in the early 1980s, I was reading James Clavell’s 'Nobel House'. It is a fascinating story of the trading companies in Hong Kong set in the 1960s. Much of the story concerns the rival trading companies and how they maneuver against each other. Clavell often makes a point of saying that Western traders are no match for Chinese traders because they are not familiar with Sun Tzu’s 'Art of War'. The copy that I have was issued by Clavell and the cover art matches the cover art of his other books.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_House
I have a large collection of quotes. The Sun Tzu quotes I have are:
“Therefore one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the most skillful. Seizing the enemy without fighting is the most skillful.”
“All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.”
“If ten times the enemy's strength, surround them; if five times, attack them; if double, divide them; if equal, be able to fight them; if fewer, be able to evade them; if weaker, be able to avoid them.”
“The more you read and learn, the less your adversary will know.”
“What is essential in war is victory, not prolonged operations.”
“A military operation involves deception. Even though you are competent, appear to be incompetent. Though effective, appear to be ineffective.”
“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.”
“The victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory.”
“Those skilled in war bring the enemy to the field of battle and are not brought there by him.”
“A skilled commander seeks victory from the situation and does not demand it of his subordinates.”
I collect quotes on a number of subjects that interest me. I belong to a Yahoo group of people who like quotes, and I post there every other day. Link to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Daily_Quotes_Of_Wisdom/
You might have to register to view all the postings, but it doesn’t cost anything, and you can drop yourself off anytime if you don’t like it. If you register, you will get an email post as they occur.
Thanks for your offer to help on the language school. I’m not sure what you can do, but here is the link, and I’d appreciate anything help you can give me.
http://www.chac-mool.com/
I went up on Wikipedia and checked out 'Labyrinth of Solitude'. It sounds real interesting, and I’m going to have to seek it out.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Labyrinth_of_Solitude
From the description, it kind of reminds me of a book I’ve read by Richard Rodriguez’s 'Days of Obligation: An Argument with My Mexican Father'. Rodriguez and I are similar in that we are both Mexican-American Californians born in 1944. While he is gay and I am not, we both share the tension that comes from not being Mexican and not being American. In both countries we are always ‘the other’. When Americans see me, I am always ‘Mexican’; when Mexicans see me, I am ‘Pocho’. Check out:
http://www.shelfari.com/books/755315/Days-of-Obligation-An-Argument-with-My-Mexican-Father
I live in Southern California about 60 miles southeast of El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula, commonly known as LA. If you like, you can write me at my regular email address: ramon4@yahoo.com
Cheers
Hola Roberto. Thanks for the book recommendation. I have not read anything by Octavio Paz, but I have a copy of Configurations on my shelf that I’ve never opened. I think I got it as a gift. One of these days I’ll have to read it.
I’ve heard of The Labyrinth of Solitude, but I don’t know anything about it. Is it fiction or non-fiction? I would have to read an English translation, and I’m sometimes suspicious of translations. I recently read Los de Abajo (The Underdogs) by Mariano Azuela, and I was disappointed. It seems like it was a very poor translation. It is supposed to be iconic work of the Revolution much like Red Badge of Courage is the iconic work of the American Civil War, but I’m not so sure. (Well maybe it is, I was not impressed with Red Badge of Courage either.)
Share with me your thoughts of the Art of War. I see you gave it five stars. I read it years ago, and I thought it was a good read, and I gave it four stars, but I don’t think I liked it as much as you did. I like to collect quotes, and there were a lot of good things in the book to add to my collection of quotes. Still, I’m not sure one could read this book and have a good understanding on how to conduct a war. What are your thoughts?
Where to do live in Mexico? I was thinking of signing up for a language school in Mexico, but I don’t know which one to choose. I was thinking of the kind of school where you learn by immersion, where you actually live with a Mexican family in the evenings and do class work in the days. I was wondering if you’d have any recommendations. I was thinking of this school in Cuernavaca. They have a good looking web site, but what can you tell from a web site? But I think it would be cool to go to Cuernavaca and pick up on some of the Zapata history. But then Cuernavaca made the news recently when the Marines had a shoot out with a drug lord there, so now I don’t know.
Hola Roberto. Pleased to meet you. Yes, I would be happy to be your friend. I just stopped by your 'shelf' and took a look at your books. You have some very interesting stuff. And we have two books in common, Art of War and Catch-22, both strong favorites of mine. Come on back at me and let me know your interests.
I am second-generation Mexican-American. My four grandparents left Mexico during the height of the Revolution. I am sad to say that I don't speak Spanish. I've read a lot about the Revolution, but only books in English. I wish I could learn to read Spanish and read some history from Mexican historians.
Hope to chat with you in the future.
Welcome to the group based on the book 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. There is a general explanation of the group under guidelines and the book(s) of the month that the group is reading are pinned to the top. I hope you will be able to enjoy the group and perhaps join in one or more of the monthly reads. We pick our next books about midmonth. Our books for January are posted to give you time to locate the books. We are reading Lady Chatterley's Lovers by DH Lawrence and The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John Le Carre in January 2010.
