A note on the book
A thought
from the water.
The thought of this book came to me during a morning swim in Nago Bay. I was thinking about how much I love The Art of War, and wondering what I might learn by turning my attention to the preservation of peace.
I work with computers and build things. Those habits inform these pages: preparing for mistakes, keeping a failure from spreading, sharing what is useful, and making repair possible.
The peace I seek leaves people free to disagree. It protects independent thought and makes room for the outlier, while asking us to respect one another's boundaries and resist coercion.
The form
The book brings together the brevity and strategic attention I admire in Sun Tzu's The Art of War with the warmth and imagery I love in Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet. Its thirteen chapters contain 104 original passages.
This manuscript
This is a first manuscript, developed with AI assistance from my ideas and conversations. It remains open to revision. These passages are principles to examine and practise; their application asks for judgment.
You can read the complete book, visit an individual chapter, or keep a Markdown copy. The complete reading view also has a print layout.
If a passage leaves you with a question, I would be glad to hear it. Write to me.