7) The Art of War, Sun Tzu

…to learn that the act of killing fellow humans can be raised to an art.

The Art of War was written on bamboo slips a couple of thousand years ago in China and has influenced Eastern and Western military thinking, business tactics, legal strategy and more.

SunTzu, who the text is attributed to, writes that war should be avoided at all cost, but when it is unavoidable it should be swift and decisive.

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.