Sterling, 2000, $12.95, ISBN 0-8069-2789-5, 128 pgs., trade softback

Tao joined the People's Liberation Army in 1933, went on the Long March, served in various combat commands, and became a professor of the Beijing War College. This thin volume offers an overview to Sun Tzu as taught by Tao.

For the most part, the book consists of a Sun Tzu maxim, a brief interpretation, as an example battle from (mostly) Chinese history. Sometimes the lesson comes through clearly, other times, you have to re-read the section a number of times to get the gist of it.

Part of the problem is my utter ignorance of Chinese military history of the ancient era. Talk to me of Rome and Carthage, or Athens and Sparta, or Macedonia and Persia, and I can follow. But Chu, Qin, et al--not a glimmer of where they were. I might as well be reading A, B, C, and D. Presumably, Chinese officers have less difficulty.

I like the idea of interpreting Sun Tzu against concrete examples. That I didn't understand them is not Tao's fault. He's writing to an already informed audience. If you know Chinese history, you'll probably find this book much more informative and enlightening that those, like me, who do not.