The Protracted Game: A Wei-Ch'i Interpretation of Maoist Revolutionary Strategy

by Scott Boorman and Scott A. Boorman

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• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195014936
• ISBN13: 9780195014938
• Release Date: September 1971
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A Great Book

As a chess player and ADD computer programmer I was fascinated from reading the cover of this book. I have traveled in Asia but never able to put together how that thinking is pursued at a global level. This put it together for me. By digging into the the heart of the long term strategic mindset it opened up alot of ideas for me. Both in understanding Asia, and in my own life trying to figure out the value and difference between sharp, quick option based chess analysis and the longer term slow choke holds this book illuminates. Highly recommended very few things you read challenge the kernel of how you think like this does.

Wei-Ch'i and Chess - Eastern and Western strategic thought

As a former professional U.S. Army Military Intelligence officer, I found "The Protracted Game" to be an insightful and profound look at the differences between Western and Eastern stragetic thought. Chess is often used as a metaphor for Western diplomatic/military strategy, but chess focuses on the relative power of the pieces and their allowable moves. But in Wei Ch'i (or Go), all of the pieces (stones) have the same value and the emphasis is on strategic location and positioning pieces in spots on the board in order to capture territory. And "classic" Communist revolutionary strategy presupposes that the insurgent won't have the modern weaponry that Western military forces depend on. Thus the emphasis on capturing (and holding) territory a small piece at a time. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the development of strategic warfare and the difference between Eastern and Western strategic politico-military thought.

Wei-ch'i (Go) and Mao

This was possibly the most insightful book I have ever read. It improved my understanding of strategic human conflict on the Wei-ch'i board, in modern society, and on the battlefield as well. It is important, however, to be somewhat familiar with Wei-ch'i in order to fully comprehend the concepts.