Rating: 
Summary: Honesty Is The Best Policy. Or Is It?
Review: The 48 Laws Of Power, which could be just as well called The Devil's
Dictionary, or anything with the "Devil" in the front of it, is a
well-researched and highly readable bombshell on effective deception
throughout history.Behavioral symbolism is an often overlooked area in human society,
yet it has shaped every facet of it and conesquently, is widely
ignored also in our daily lives. This book paints the human relationship in a much more sobering
light than what many people are used to. In this book, everyone
is a liar, in an arena, in which blows and handshakes are thrown
with equal, often confusing, direction, but with always one intent. That intent is to gain power. A lot of people will recoil from reading a few pages: "Why write
such a book? Why teach how to deceive and feign sincerity to such
a pathologic degree, so thoroughly?". Fact is, these tactics are still prevalant today, probably more
than they ever have been: turn on CNN, try to contrast what is
in this book with what goes on in the news. You might be suprised
just how different things appear. This has been going on for
thousands of years, throughout human history, but the worst times
when only a select few knew what was actually going on. Not everybody is a liar, not everyone spends their life seeing
every person as an opportunity to deceive, but a lot do,
especially when it entails position or power. I think the author had good intentions, than bad, writing this
book. This is a book that everyone should read. Just because
you are well-versed in the ways of deception doesn't mean your
going to screw friends and co-workers over, but it sure will
arm you against friends and co-workers that want to. - Louis
Rating:
Summary: Laws Made to be Broken
Review: I felt guilty buying this book, as if people would think me strange so I slipped it in a pile of Playboy issues so no one would notice.
Really, I shouldn't have felt bad. It's filled with historical anecdotes from which, the author tries to extrapolate "laws" of power, defined as getting people to do what you want.
It's fun to read but simplistic in ingoring motivational theory or moral suasion.
It is designed for those who think they have to wheel and deal their way to the top by fooling others. I have known the type and while temporarily successful, inevitably they fail and lose the respect of everyone.
A better book to read and follow for getting people to do what you want is Greenleaf's Servant Leadership.
Rating: 
Summary: Good
Review: This book is interesting. It's presented as some timeless tome, but the writing isn't very good in spots, and the philosophy is good for SOME situations. I read a book titled WHO PROSPERS by Laurence Harrison, that compares cultures, and he said certain third world cultures are often backward because of their corruption. In such cultures, wiliness and cunning and deception are the foundations for survival. I recall a Rwandan citizen in the NEW YORKER saying wistfully to the American journalist, "You people from the West are so HONEST." So this book should help if you're dealing with a band of gypsys. (Or the Clintons!) But not when dealing with everyone. Yes corrupt environments exist for sure! And advice from this book will certainly help in some situations in "honest" cultures. But really this book is largely about HOW TO THRIVE IN CORRUPT ENVIRONMENTS! I live in Newport Beach, California, which is very affluent, and I know some very very wealthy people AND MANY OF THEM ACCUMULATED THEIR IMMENSE WEALTH THROUGH HONEST NON-DECEPTIVE MEANS. Not all, of course, but certainly some. I like to think the authors of this book wrote it as a guide for SOME situations, but not all. Sort of the HOW TO WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE for when dealing with the Corleone family.
Rating: 
Summary: Brainwashing manual - Destined to be a classic.
Review: I spent the first half of my life being drawn into a variety of schemes, many of them outright cons. I did everything from visiting Guru Maharaji to taking absurdly expensive 'self-improvement' courses. Had I had the understanding this book gives, I might have recognized the classic power plays these modern day con artists were using. The more things change... If you want a detailed, historically fascinating account of the ways humans are, this is an absolute must read. If you have idealistic or utopian leanings, this book might save you a lot of grief.
Rating:
Summary: Bill Clinton's Play Book
Review: This was truly an interesting and enlightening read. What I was especially impressed by the fact that many of the Laws were put to good use by our ex-President Bill Clinton. Some of the Laws are downright Machiavellian and probably would not be employed by persons of good conscience. However, the majority are action items for getting one's life going. My personal favorite exhorts us to act boldly and decisively. When in doubt, do not act. The book itself reads easily. Each chapter has the law and examples from history illustrating its successful application or fateful transgression. Very entertaining.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Book!!
Review: I have found, through my own experience, that many of these tenets are very applicable in real life. I have used several of them to further my own career over the last two decades. I think the points in the book are missed by a lot of the reviewers. Especially where the reviewers have asked for specific guidelines of when to use seemingly contradictory laws. Situations are different and it is impossible to foresee the future and pick a specific law to be used in that situation. These people are probably not powerful themselves. They want an ABC, step-by-step process to success. Those who are truly powerful are able to use their own creative thought to adapt their own situation to the laws and thus become successful. Read this book. Reflect on this laws. Adapt them to your own life and situation and you will gain power.
Rating: 
Summary: Great only as a gag gift for an inane egoist.
Review: I was hoping, as one reviewer suggested, that this could be a work of satire. But then I read further as the author so gallantly defended his work, and reached the sad conclusion that he is, in fact, serious. However, he does not follow his own advice: "always say less than necessary".
Rating:
Summary: Simply powerful!
Review: A fascinating exploration of the teachings granted by notable figures in history about control, survival and ... power. Sergitoc
Rating:
Summary: Move over Machivelli.....
Review: A throughly educational read.... To all the critics of the authors.....remind me again for what exactly was Machivelli remembered for? What was HIS power base? Duh...the truly powerful never capture the public's attention because they have the intelligence to engage subtlety....
Rating:
Summary: A must, but not everyone's cup of tea.
Review: Since beginning of history, the world is divided into two: the one of those who rule and the one of those who are ruled or the subjects. Though coexisting on the face of the same earth, these two worlds have completely different sets of norms, morals and principles. The world of the subjects is that of physical survival but within bounds of realistic simplicity. The world of the rulers is a contant, complex game of surviving with power and control. One is at a constant war of wits with competing forces whose own survival depends on one's elimination.
The common man is oblivious to the ruthless ways of this world. He calls it "Politics" and preffer to stay away from the filth. For the rulers though, this world is a day to day reality. Today's world of business and politics are built on the same lines and the game played there are also the same. This book is about the world of the rulers and their ways of surviving. It may be a bit too much for the simple, common man's understanding, but it is a must for the ones who belong to the world of power, or the ones who want to enter it.
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