The 48 Laws of Power

Introduction: Today’s world is full of individuals who will lie, cheat, and steal to take the clothes off your back. They will go to any length to manipulate you or others around you, twisting the truth and bending others to their every whim. Undoubtedly, ‘you’ who is drawn to this book, have experienced the misfortune of being victimized by one of these individuals. Perhaps you have thought to yourself... “They’re always 2 steps ahead!” “Somehow, they made ‘me’ look like the bad guy!” “Eventually they’re going to get fired for this!” You always find yourself playing defense, you never know what they’re going to do next, and you simply cannot understand why another person would be so horrible. Take your power back – Read this book! “What is good? All that heightens the feeling of power in man…” - Nietzsche, Friedrich. The Antichrist. 1888. Synopsis: The 48 Laws of Power is a book comprised of tactics, concepts, and lessons which successfully created or maintained power. Supported with stories from history, both modern and ancient, from the most powerful people and empires which have ever existed, each chapter is crammed page to page with value. For 430 pages you will be inundated with information which is crucial for all of life’s situations where power plays a dynamic (work, social hierarchies, politics, etc.). Written with “the old aristocratic courts” as the backdrop and Machiavelli to set the scenery, this book contends with our darkest inner thoughts during our least favorite interactions with those who have more power than us. Things I love: Writing – The writing is very casual so that it is available to the widest possible audience. It can be read easily, flowing almost as smoothly as regular conversation. You will not be left wondering what a word meant or stopping yourself to grab a dictionary. Printing – This book has some extremely creative printing, placing supporting stories, poems, proverbs and more in the margin and printing “images” using text at the end of each law for visualizing a concept. I have not seen anything similar in a formal book like this. Information – Clearly all 48 Laws took an extremely long time to compile and write. You simply cannot comb the annals of history for compelling stories, retelling them concisely, in a brief period of time. This book is a labor of love, and it shows in every chapter. Originality – This book comes off as very genuine and creative. Everything about it from the cover, the red text inside, the formatting, it’s all unique. You can tell a lot of thought was put forth to conceptualize this work. Who Should Listen Instead of Read: Relevant to everyone, “The 48 Laws of Power” is excellent, however I believe there are a few people who would not enjoy their time reading this book. - If you do not enjoy reading or learning history, this book will be difficult for you. The main content of the text consists of historical examples. The book is of medium length at 430 pages, so if this sounds like you, consider switching to audio. - As mentioned above the text is 430 pages, so if you simply do not have the time in your day to dedicate to reading, you will spend a long time on this book. Again, in this instance I recommend switching to audio for efficiency. Note: My product images were taken after reading the entire book over many months. The book was flawless when first received.

This book is a masterclass in understanding how influence works. Robert Greene uses historical examples to illustrate laws that feel just as relevant today as they were centuries ago. While some of the laws feel a bit intense, it’s an incredible tool for learning how to navigate complex social and professional situations. It definitely changes the way you look at everyday interactions.

Great read very powerful read. Life skills and growth

I picked this book up for $1, proof that there is no correlation between cost and value. This would be the book that Machievelli would have written, had he courted the Aristocracy of his times, rather than attempting to ingratiate the Prince. The author gives a hint to his motivations for this composition when he states in his acknowledgments: "Finally, to those people in my life who have so skillfully used the game of power to manipulate, torture and cause me pain over the years, I bear you no grudges and I thank you for supplying me with the inspiration for the 48 Laws of Power." This book is cathartic. But before diving deeper, a reader should be prepared to entertain the following ideas: 1. A Human being is no more than a sophisticated animal with self-interest as the primary motivator 2. Everyone wants more power, not less 3. Be true to yourself first and foremost, don't be a sucker 4. Power is a game and the better you play, the better your life will be 5. Power is essentially amoral and one of the most important skills to acquire is the ability to see circumstances rather than good or evil 6. To triumph, it is necessary alternate between being both cunning and formless 7. Beyond linear dualities of good and evil, there is a third dimension, the strategists' mind 8. The indirect path, that of influence is more effective and the use of it is an art If you can live with the above, the 48 laws of power serves as a handbook on the arts of indirection. This book argues that by mastering ones emotions, understanding the people involved and the fundamental dynamics of interrelationships within society determine the extent of ones accomplishments. Power is ultimately an artificial construct, given legitimacy by the people who participate in the game. We need power to survive in a competitive world that is constantly seeking to recruit us into the ambitions of others. We can drain our lives in the fulfillment of others, or best use our given life, energy and talents at our own discretion. Implicit to this design is the belief that society defaults a role to you, whether or not that role reflects your beliefs and understanding about yourself. A choice then has to be made on your part to accept such a role or to resist whether in an active or passive way. In the latter sense, one will turn upon themselves. It is better then to assert some degree of control by exercising influence and demonstrating an identity that is consistent with the person whom we feel ourselves to be, in other words, to actualize ones' self. Although this end state transcends any particular identification, characterization or ego, the path to it requires a struggle and this book is about the methods and devices used by successful participants. The good news is, the struggle can be worthwhile, rewarding and the unexpected consequences enlightening. The perfect archetypical master of the laws of power is the Courtier, who possesses more than anything, a talent to influence. Cognizant of how he is perceived at all times in a socially competitive world, the Courtier is ever vigilant to monitor his own effect, ever mindful of the elusiveness of power. I believe that this is what the author means by the Courtiers mirror. The core realization is that more than anything, human beings are the most social of animals, so it goes without saying that the most socially adapted animal attains the best that life has to offer. Human beings also possess Consciousness to such a heightened degree, that they can deliberately break and follow a path in defiance to their instincts and conditioned or learned behaviors, unlike animals. In a paradoxical way, learning to play the game of power teaches virtues of mindfulness, patience and mastering ones ego. In this sense, the book permits another legitimate path to the completion of ones life without blindly accepting a given religion. Well written, argued and referenced, it is abundantly clear how the author reaches his conclusions. It is highly accessible and well digested for the reader. There is a great deal of truth to the idea that a book serves as a mirror for the reader and I am hard pressed to argue against the wisdom contained in this manual. There is great peace of mind to be had from accepting fundamental truths. Some would read this book and walk away with the impression that this is a "how to" on manipulation. Beware of such people, as their delusions make them a danger to themselves and anyone who places trust in them. You need not become a con artist to derive benefit from what is contained here. The laws of cause and effect and the aphorism of "Know thyself" are embedded as living proof, ignore them to your peril.

there seems to be a lot of love and hate surrounding this book, so if you are curious but unsure, this review should help you decide whether or not to buy the book, and how it will impact you First, to understand the 48 laws of power, you must know two key ideas 1. you CAN NOT escape the power game. thinking you can "not participate" is as foolish as thinking that you could somehow escape gravity or make the sun stand still. Robert Greene explains why in the intro with some excellent examples 2. the 48 laws of power are neither good nor evil; they are just LAWS. If someone pushed a man off a cliff would you blame gravity for for his demise? This is the mindset you must adopt in order to learn a lot from this book. Things I Liked - NEW PARADIGM after reading the 48 laws, you will never see the world the same way again. once you understand some of these laws you will see many underlying currents and motives you did not see before. - INCREASES POWER one of the main reasons to buy the book. you wil become exponentially more powerfull by knowing and understanding these laws -CRYSTAL CLEAR every law is clearly outlined with "transgression" of the law, "observance" of the law, keys to power, and a "reversal" -GREAT STORIES the 48 laws are packed with mindblowing and sometimes humorous stories of people in history practicing these laws. this is helpful as some of the concepts are quite abstract. What I didn't like -RISKY an old proverb says " A man who plays with snakes will eventually be bitten". If you begin to use the 48 Laws improperly, you could get yourself in some dangerous situations, lose friends, piss off a lot a people, and destroy relationships - REQUIRES DISCERNMENT if you you are looking for a highly concrete book that the says "do xyz and you will accomplish vyx" look elsewhere. the Laws require good judgement and and and prospecting nature to practice and apply -NOT FOR EVERYONE If you are aghast at the idea of manipulation and deceit then read with caution. OVERALL: If you want to have more power or a better understanding of why different situations turn out the the way they do, you should definitely read the 48 laws of power by Robert Greene. If you want to be naive, easily manipulated, weak, you should ignore this book and go watch some netfilx. Thanks for reading

I've heard this book discussed a lot so decided to give it a read. It has the most unique formatting I've ever seen is book, which is cool. As far as the laws of power, there is a lot to digest here. The nice thing is you do not need to read them in order, so I have literally been flipping to a random law of power and giving it a read. The book positions these so that you can use them for your own advantage to gain an upper hand or get what you want, but also in a way where you can defend against someone who maybe trying to use them against you. It also tells true stories to give examples of how people have used them historically. Its certainly written in a semi old English style but it's a very interesting read.

Excellent book! Love it. Very well-written and insightful. Interesting subject done beautifully!

Really enjoying this book so far. Great format; ideas - examples - summary/interpretation. Also loaded with lots of great quotes in the margins. Very fun read

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Excelente leitura. Muito instrutiva e relecante

Highly recommend

I recommend reading 1 law per day, as there is A Lot to digest, and you need to absorb what your read before going to the next chapter.

Found it very drawn out and boring , I actually stopped reading it