Out-Machiavellis Machiavelli

books:


	• The 48 Laws of Power Robert Greene Penguin (Non-Classics), 2000 - 480 pages average customer review:based on 496 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Great stories

From the Author of: One Day She'll Darken: The Mysterious Beginnings of Fauna Hodel

This book has many great historical oddities that relate to everyday life. Who did what, when and more importantly, why. It's a book of wisdom, but I must say, I really hated the red ink on some of the stories - that part (on every page) made it tedious reading.

Out-Machiavellis Machiavelli

It's just too dark. He should have titled it "48 despicable ways of gaining power". I mean, there are all kinds of virtuous or morally neutral ways of gaining power, but Greene relishes the ruthless and cutthroat. It's for this reason alone that the book doesn't deliver on its promise: If you lived these laws like a master, you'd lose all your friends, and gain so many enemies you'd die young and have people cheering and dancing on your grave. That's not a path to long-term power.

However, the book is really interesting to read. I loved reading all the historical examples of power-plays. The only flaw with this is that his source-material for history is pretty limited. It's like he studied just five different historical subjects and draws all his laws just from those five. Still, all these examples were very interesting and instructive. Although I liked it, I think it made me irreparably more cynical. That's good in some senses, but has been bad in others.

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Loved this book

Robert Greene is great at giving examples and historical stories on his topics great book.

Fantastic Reference

This is a fantastic reference, a book you'll want to turn to many times over the years. Worth reading through once just to get a feel for the many examples and analyses, then you can grab it as necessary when facing a problem or issue that might be resolved by changing the power dynamic between you and others.

I won't say I agree with every single specific law and application. I will say that this is an excellent work worthy of your time and study.

Just Read It

From "Never Outshine the Master" to "Formlessness",
48 chapters or rules of group dynamics, relationships dynamics,
or sometimes called politics.

Ideally, use the Bible as your guidebook for living. When,
and not 'if', that's not possible, you might want to use this
book. It teaches you to face reality.

Lessons learnt (including inspirations from the book):
1. Never have overly radical changes too suddenly. Cloak
it and make it appear the same. Even if you are right, people
can't take it psychologically.
2. Have a respect for the old system.
3. Don't depend on luck or momentum. Depend on wisdom
and strategy. It's better to have bad luck. It makes you not
depend on it.
4. There're few absolute truths.
5. Look at the results. Who's the beneficiary? Person is likely
the culprit.
6. Isolation is the worst form of powerlessness.
7. Don't cast pearls before swines.
8. Try to be all things to all people.
9.In rome, do as the Romans do. Don't try to stand out
too early. Conceal your real unorthodox 'truths' or ideas.
10. Don't say too much.
11. Honesty is a fool's game.
12. Truth is ugly. People don't like to hear it.
13. Learn to use indirection.
14. It's ot just about what you reveal. It's also about what
you conceal. Concealment give aura.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Amoral, cunning, ruthless, and instructive, this piercing work distills three thousand years of the history of power in to forty-eight well explicated laws. As attention--grabbing in its design as it is in its content, this bold volume outlines the laws of power in their unvarnished essence, synthesizing the philosophies of Machiavelli, Sun-tzu, Carl von Clausewitz, and other great thinkers. Some laws teach the need for prudence ("Law 1: Never Outshine the Master"), the virtue of stealth ("Law 3: Conceal Your Intentions"), and many demand the total absence of mercy ("Law 15: Crush Your Enemy Totally"), but like it or not, all have applications in real life. Illustrated through the tactics of Queen Elizabeth I, Henry Kissinger, P. T. Barnum, and other famous figures who have wielded--or been victimized by--power, these laws will fascinate any reader interested in gaining, observing, or defending against ultimate control.

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