Michael Nylan’s Translation of The Art of War Recommended by NYTimes

January 16, 2020

This month, Professor Michael Nylan’s translation of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War was released by W.W. Norton. Nylan is the first female scholar to translate this 2500-year-old classic text into any language. Listed as a recommended book of the week, The New York Times wrote, “Each sentence is a struck match.” The Times also applauded Nylan’s thoughtful choices as translator, to honor this cornerstone text on strategy: 

“Nylan ran her successive drafts past ‘an international group of scholars drawn from multiple disciplines,’ including a former military officer and a poet, she writes in her introduction. Like the wisest commanders, she sought criticism and synthesized the best of it. Her translation is insightful and alert.”

Click here to read the full Times book review.


Professor Nylan has two upcoming events in Berkeley to celebrate The Art of War:

Wednesday, January 22, 2020 | 5:30pm | University Press Books

Monday, February 3, 2020 | 4-6 p.m. | 180 Doe Library