As the hit television series The Sopranos starts its sixth and final season, we at Sonshi.com thought to do an interview with actress and author of The Art of War: As Featured on the Sopranos, Jessica Steindorff. Like what many excellent authors would do, she focused on what an uninitiated reader seeks from The Art of War, and so tied the perhaps unfamiliar classic book on war to a popular show most people can instantly relate to.

When mob boss Tony Soprano praised on several episodes The Art of War's usefulness, people took note. As Ms. Steindorff will point out, Hollywood executives, as well-read as their corporate counterparts, have studiously applied The Art of War to their endeavors. We are not surprised. The more intense the competition, the more Sun Tzu's must-win principles are valued.

At a very young age, Jessica Steindorff became executive in charge of development for New Millennium Entertainment. She is also co-author with Michael Viner of "George Schlater's Big Book of Showbiz Bloopers and Blunders." She has done audio abridgments for Patricia Cornwell's "Cause of Death" and "Unnatural Exposure," and has been a contributing writer for the Malibu Times. Currently, Ms. Steindorff is attending UCLA Film School and working at William Morris Agency, one of the leading talent agencies. She can be seen on the hit NBC show "Las Vegas."

Jessica Steindorff represents the young, intelligent women leaders who are starting to fill leadership roles traditionally held by men. Brava! Many of our readers are women, and they too read Sun Tzu to give them an edge in the competitive business world.

We like Ms. Steindorff so much that we invited her to join Sonshi.com and create a radically different feature on this site called "Ask Jessica." Similar to "Dear Abby," it will be known for its "uncommon common sense and youthful Sun Tzu perspective." Now you can ask a Sun Tzu author your own questions about The Art of War and life's many issues.

But first, our interview with Jessica Steindorff. Enjoy!

Sonshi.com: How did you first come across Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, and what about it interested you?

Steindorff: Growing up, my father always used quotes from Sun Tzu's The Art Of War, so I became fairly familiar with mental warfare tactics at a very young age. There is something about the way it's written that attracted my attention as it applies to basically every aspect of life.

Sonshi.com: Your book “Art of War: As Featured on the Sopranos” was first an audiobook. Why did you decide to start the project? What separates your translation from the many versions out there?

Steindorff: Well, I was actually hired by a Beverly Hills based publisher to write the translation. I read all current translations, and after, felt there was a huge void in the way they've been written. Half are written in an overly profound way which make most feel inadequate as don't fully understand. I guess people feel it makes them more intelligent when they ramble in nonsense, page after page. Then there are those who are pretty much written for middle schoolers and are way too dumbfounded, which, personally I peeve when author's talk down the reader.

So I tried to combine both varies into one version that is easily understandable, but doesn't make you feel like you're in grade school. I tried to embody the same philosophical ways Sun Tzu had written, without being over the top, and embracing certain realms of today's warfare to make it more up to date.

Sonshi.com: Why do you think a character like Tony Soprano prefers Sun Tzu over Machiavelli?

Steindorff: Sun Tzu controls armies...he is always the leader...not a follower.

By viewing the world in which we live and work as Tony Soprano does: as a network of combat zones where the stakes are high and struggle is the primary mode of being, Sun Tzu teaches that only unconditional victory guarantees survival. It makes more sense than Machiavelli in that G's life.

Sonshi.com: The first time Sun Tzu’s Art of War was mentioned on the Sopranos, the book became the #1 seller in New Jersey according to Amazon. Are there that many Tony Sopranos out there? What is the viewers’ main motivation in buying the book?

Steindorff: Well, commerciality really sells the majority of everything. As people are more obsessed with the media than intellect, they probably assume if a book has reference to a television show or movie, that it's their best bet for a good read. As for New Jersey, well, Soprano's is set there so why not?

Sonshi.com: Are most Hollywood executives and stars familiar with The Art of War? How many actually read and understand it?

Steindorff: From super agent Michael Ovitz (who passes The Art of War out to his employees), to our last four presidents, The Art Of War is the most influential and widely devoured work on Strategy. It serves as a business handbook that in my experience is widely used in many other areas of interest as well. Sun Tzu was not only a master of his time, but of ours as well.

Sonshi.com: Are you aware of any present or future references to The Art of War in a movie or television show?

Steindorff: The very first episode of Las Vegas mentioned the book on three separate occasions. There was also a movie that came out a few years ago with the same title which starred Wesley Snipes, about an operative for the United Nations. It's everywhere.

Sonshi.com: You star as Jessica Leider in the television series “Las Vegas” which James Caan also stars in. What are your other interests?

Steindorff: I spend the majority of my time with my horse, Penelope, up at The Sunset Ranch where I train with the fabulous Eric Ancker.

I am also recently involved with The Hollywood Dolls Horse Club, a non-profit organization founded by Millicent Sheridan to benefit the children and horses in need in Los Angeles County. Check us out at http://www.hollywooddolls.org/.

But, of course, writing will always be my passion and I hope to continue in the lovely land of literature for some time.

[End of interview]

You can purchase Ms. Steindorff's book The Art of War: As Featured on the Sopranos below: