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Summary: People...Grow Up
Review: I have read the many reviews that criticize the 48 Laws as "Not Practical", "Dangerous" and "Shameless". What planet are you people from. I went to night school to get a college degree, I have followed my fathers advise and worked an honest days labor. I came in early and stayed late to get the job done. I have recieved great reviews and many promises of money and promotion. All for little. I noticed my peers, who were not as dedicated as I by their own admission, careers were moving along at the same pace as mine or faster. When I had enough, I began to talk to managers that I trusted and employees who have had success in career advancement. Guess what, their comments and advice were very similiar to many of the laws in this book. This book is very "Practical" and, while I admit, practicing many of these laws would be "Dangerous" and "Shameless" to ignore that they are present in our every day lives is delusional. It does not matter if you want to play the game or not, you are in it. You don't have to take a sword with you but for heavens sake at lest wear some armor. This book is that armor, to understand the 48 laws allows you to see the oppertunity/danger before it is to late. NO, I WILL NOT HURT PEOPLE FOR GAIN but I will no longer be used if I can help it.
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Summary: I am King of the world!!!
Review: I found the 48 Laws of Power to be an intriguing and unique read. In the preface, the author, Robert Greene, recommends that the book be used more as a reference guide than a pure read. True to his words, I started reading the 48 Laws as an 'Art of War' equivalent only to find it more useful to study the sections that were germane to my current situation or my interests. Greene's 48 Laws revolve around one major theme: the ability to master one's emotions. He makes a compelling case for anger and its ability to influence our plans and strategies. He also claims that half of our power comes from what we DO NOT DO by not letting ourselves get dragged into losing situations. Greene uses many unique quotes and anecdotes from the some of history's most powerful people: Napoleon, Kissinger, Machiavelli and Sun Tzu to help make his point. However, at times I feel the use of these quotes and case studies bogs down the natural flow of the book. Of the 48 Laws, many would be considered elementary. In all, I found that 16 of these Laws do have direct and realistic application to the world of business. I now regularly refer back to highlighted sections as I face certain challenges in my day-to-day work. I believe 48 Laws of Power is well worth the investment. As with many books, this one serves as a reminder of the many laws of principles we already recognize as true but fail to execute. If you are in the world of business or politics, you should own this book
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Summary: Terribly Clever, and Frighteningly Useful
Review: Ever wonder what those above you were doing differently? Ever wonder how they managed to get into positions of power and stay there? Here is your chance to find out. The 48 Laws of Power is a distillation of centuries of writing from some of the world's most revered political thinkers and philosophers, segmented into easy to digest chunks. Each section focuses on one aspect of power, from "Conceal Your Intentions" to "Discover Each Man's Thumbscrew" to "Never Appear Too Perfect." Ranging from early Chinese to late modern Washington, the sources clearly draw most of their depth from 16th and 17th century writers like Gracian, Machiavelli, and Castiglione, and have the conniving spirit of the courtier at heart. Greene's clever use of mnemonic reminders for each law (The Vulture for "Get Others to Do the Work For You, But Always Take the Credit") jogs your memory at opportune moments long after reading. I found myself drawing parallels to actions of people I know, and applying useful concepts at critical times. Only the rare few who intuitively know how to manipulate the world around them will gain nothing from this book. You will undoubtedly find a few points that will help in your daily life.
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Summary: A Macchiavellian encyclopedia
Review: Amoral, ruthless and cunning, "The 48 Laws of Power", by Robert Greene, is a revised Macchiavellianism. Greene, a playwright and classical scholar, presents here a number of hypothetical and generalised strategies for the would-be diplomat as to how to accre power by all means, such as fraud, hypocrisy, treachery, self-mastery and dissimulation. The "laws" range from "Crush Your Enemy Totally", "Conceal Your Intentions", "Assume Formlessness" and "Take the Credit, While Others Do All the Work"; each law is expounded in an elegantly laid-out chapter, which includes instances, (based upon historical sources) where the law was successfully observed, possible instances when it was tragically transgressed, an interpretaion of both instances, some remarks as to the time and situations it can be applied and a possible reversal of the law (e.g. countermoves if the law in question fails, or when it would be prudent to desist from observing it.) Moreover, the book is highly democratic in spirit, and is tailored for people from even the lowest stratum of society, enabling them to apply these strategies in their lives in order to accumulate more power. The historical figures used by Greene are taken from as far back as classical antiquity, ancient China and Japan, and up to the Nixon era, though it would have been preferable had Greene updated his book even further and included more recent examples of powerful figures, such as Maragaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, Bill Gates and David Copperfield. It's a pity that Greene has recourse to the same figures over and over again in order to illustrate his observations, which narrows down the cast of characters of what would have otherwise been an absorbing account of the power-plays of master manipulators. The book is entertainingly and attractively written, though, with a bibliography and an index, and is as extensive in its scope as an encyclopedia. My one major criticism, though, (and this applies to almost all self-help books) is that it may fail to meet its practical end by reducing all the laws of power to a mere forty-eight, as the realm of power is so diffuse that it can permit a number of different combinations of action, and shifts in perspective. Secondly, a born manipulator will have no need to consult a book such as this, as it is precisely the people who lack the skills Greene admires who will have anything to learn from it. Nevertheless, those who are frustrated, who are isolated, who crave attention, who are ugly, awkward, or simply misunderstood (as everyone is, from time to time) will find this book to be of some relevance. In any case, one can simply glance through it as a bold and peculiarly interesting armchair read.
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Summary: A must have
Review: "There is only one way to achieve happiness on this terrestrial ball and that is to have either a clear conscience, or none at all" --Ogden Nash There can't be a better prelude to a book such as this.And thank you for understanding me. Salut Mr Greene
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Summary: Great book for the ambitious
Review: Those who have read this book and reviewed it as a tool for deception and distrust, obviously do not know who their friends really are! This book gives great insight into the workings of how to become the powerful person one wishes to be. It clearly describes how to act in order to become noticed, and eloquently explains who you can or cannot trust. As a person who has hired friends in the past, I can assure you that what the book explains on friends is right on the target. In addition, this book helps to open ones own mind and realize just how important they are, even though they did not know it. If you want a tool for achieving greatness in life, make sure this book is in your library.
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Summary: Do you want to ride in the Limo or the Yugo?
Review: Whether you're already the Power Elite, the Power Elite in-waiting, the Wannabe Power Elite in-Waiting (Hollywood Assistant Directors, Wall Street undergrad analysts, and Washington DC interns), or just in the mood for a delicious little primer in power politics, Greene & Elffer's fine little tome is a witty, erudite, engaging, and very useful read. There are only a few truly great books about attracting, amassing, building, and expanding one's personal power, and this is one of them; the others would include Machievelli's Prince & the Discourses, Stanley Bing's What would Machiavelli Do?, Musashi's Book of Five Rings, and Sun Tzu's Art of War. As with its notorious predecessors, "The 48 Laws of Power" takes as its central premise that human relations aren't pretty, that Hobbes was dead right, and that life in the state of civilization is nasty, brutish, and short---that is, unless you manage to carve out a chunk of the spoils for yourself, get the keys to the executive washroom, and install yourself in all the important trips on the Gulf Stream. "The 48 Laws of Power" is a distillation of millennia of advice to the power hungry, centered about the 48 immutable laws, which are illustrated and studded with fascinating nuggets from the lives of Napoleon, the Caesars, Clausewitz, Sun Tzu, Machiavelli, Otto Von Bismarck, Al Capone, and even conman Yellow Kid Weil. The Laws themselves are great fun and highly useful, some of them obvious and others obscure, and all great for a laugh---while you commit them to memory. The historical illustrations are juicy, well written, and always engaging, but be warned: the book is a little too absorbing. Having bought the book at the World Trade Center's Barnes & Noble, I opened it up on the subway (meaning to go to midtown), and snapped back to reality when I realized I was in the Bronx, leading me to invent a 49th law of power: "Don't read the 48 Laws of Power while riding on the 1, 2 or 3 train." Required reading for you and *your* children---but keep the thing away from anyone else, particularly your rivals at the office.
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Summary: Dangerous
Review: This is an interesting subject and the book is well written, however If You buy this book and follow the principles You have bought Yourself a manual in how to cause Yourself grief and unhappines. I bought this book some years back when it was first published because I was interested in the subject, and stumbled across it just recently - Like other self-help books, often used by Sales Men, manipulation is seen as something good, and although it might bring You some short term success(of course depending of what You see as success), this is a house built on sand, it won't last long before (as another reviewer has stated), You will be despised and treated as a pariah, because people will see through You and recognize that Your presence is pure malicious self interest, creating the opposite effect of Your desires. The author apparently thinks that the world is surrounded by enemies that are out to get You, adhere to his laws and who knows, that is probably what You will experience(and rightly so). If You follow the instructions issued in many self help books and don't behave in a normal way, people will view You with suspicion and distrust, so often what You read in such books, (Dale Carnegie springs to mind here), if not most of the times are recipies for interpersonal failure. If You want to read something that is useful to learn You to get along better with Yourself and others, I would recommend Daniel Goleman's 'Emotional Intelligence' Like the case of Pandora's Box, this warning is well intentioned. If You know what this book can lead to, this is not something You would want to investigate, As the Kirkus review states, this is a silly distateful book, and I am going to throw it out, - I would be embarrassed if anybody knew that I would read something like that
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Summary: Highly Informative
Review: Some personality types will enjoy this book more than others, but there's something to be learned here for everyone. Some readers might view this as '48 Things I Wish I'd Known Before I Went Out Into the Real World - Rules for Egoists'. Co-dependant readers can get a valuable mirror, showing true motives for what were previously percieved as altruistic actions. History buffs can get a neato treatment of some interesting personalities of olden days. In spite of the fact that I was prepared to find this book repugnant, I got something of all of the above. If you're not ready to face your dark side, you're probably not ready for this book.
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Summary: "Be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves"
Review: I recently bought this fascinating book, and fail to understand the negative rebuke of this book by other reviewers. The basic message of this book is actually a very positive one: in any situation, you can take steps that enhance, or deplete, your level of control over it. It's that simple. Call it savvy, street-smarts, or power, a read of this book will help you understand it and exercise it when the chips are down. The book has historical examples of "observances" and "trangressions" of the laws of power, and the benefits and consequences of each. These examples mostly date the date back to earlier centuries, but there are many more examples from recent history, from Henry Kissinger to Muhammad Ali to Bobby Fischer. Possible "Reversals," or potential exceptions to each rule, follow. One very interesting example in the book is the account of Fischer's successful trouncing of Boris Spassky for the 1972 World Chess Championship, after losing a poorly played game 1, then losing game #2 by forfeit. Did he throw the games on purpose? Many will disagree. I definitely would have liked to have seen an example of Fischer's subsequent transgression of the law in 1975, when he refused to play Analtoly Karpov and that time did lose on forfeit, and became a recluse. Perhaps it was Karpov who utilized the laws of power that time. Other stories you have read or seen on television will be seen in a new light after reading this book. For example, consider the recent TLC special on Melvin Purvis, the FBI agent who eventually successfully took down mobster John Dillinger. Unfortunately, J. Edgar Hoover, insanely jealous with Purvis' subsequent fame, forced Purvis off the force and tormented him for years even after Purvis left the FBI. Could Purvis have done something to have avoided this fate? (Hint: check out Rule #1). You will not view any story you see or any personal situation in life quite the same way again after reading this book, and that's a good thing. In response to people who dismiss the book as being 'immoral' or 'un-Christian', or comment to the effect that 'a Christian shouldn't act that way,' I suggest if such a book existed in Jesus' times, he might have given each of his apostles a copy. After all, read Matthew 10:16, in which Jesus warned his apostles, "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." This book helps you do precisely that!
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