Rating: 
Summary: Don't Waste Your Time/Money/Energy
Review: Bottom Line: There are 48 laws, and like many of the other reviews have stated, many of them contradict each other. Try to follow the 48 Laws during your everyday work and/or home life. You will drive yourself nuts and appear anything but powerful. You want power? Then write a book that pretends to give the reader something he/she wants, put a red book cover on it, give it a title that will strike that nerve, and watch the sales roll in! Now that's POWER! I ought to know...it worked on me!
Rating: 
Summary: Great but controversial book. Read with open mind.
Review: I find The 48 Law of Power to be a "powerful" book. Some of the 'laws' are controversial as they can be interpreted as amoral or ruthless. However, if read with an open mind, you will learn insight as to why certain people succeed and why some people fail. No matter how much you may agree or disagree on these "laws", one thing is for sure, this is a SMART book.
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Summary: It's about. . . how to fail.
Review: Everytime I have used the "laws" in this book, I have lost popularity, success, and friends. Read this book and make sure you do not apply a single priciple to your life. I suspect that the opposite of every non-contradictory rule is a better guide to power. The only merit these "laws" have is in the global abstract. If you are running for President of the United States these rules may be somewhat applicable. The reason I say this is because traditional power rules do not apply when one is pursuing power at the impersonal, national level, where there is fierce competition. "Good men are never great. Great men are never good."
Rating: 
Summary: EXCELLENT IF YOU'RE SELLING SWAMPLAND TO SUCKERS
Review: This book is pure evil. The premise is that you gain power over people only at their expense. That's not power -- that's manipulation, and it comes back to get you. True power comes from helping others in a genuine way, not trying to lie, cheat, and deceive. Others say it's good as defense, but that's wrong -- it encourages people to think of others as trying to take advantage of them. It hurts those of us trying to live our lives honestly, decently, without deception. If you loved "The Rules," this mean-spirited book of treachery will give you more tools to make yourself even more miserable. *** In their preface, the authors say "You cannot succeed at deception unless you take a somewhat distanced approach to yourself..." DON'T ENCOURAGE THIS! VOTE WITH YOUR DOLLARS -- DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK! If you have already bought it, return it! (Buy "The Road Less Traveled" or "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" instead.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Treatment, but most of all, Highly Readable
Review: Most of the strong and weak points noted by the other reviewers are true. My point is that this book is a pure delight to read for simple enjoyment. Some of the history is just a bit off, but the synthesis of sources and ideas is the best I've seen in many years. The book is best taken in short sessions, spread out over a few weeks, and very few of the reading sessions will yield anything less than profound satisfaction. This might be a guilty pleasure, but anyone who can read this book without pleasure is intellectually constipated, perhaps terminally so.
Rating:
Summary: Extremly Interesting Will not get you POWER
Review: The book provides very interesting historical anecdotes that illustrate the "laws of power" as well as the point of view of the author. But let's face it, If this rules would get you so much power, how come the author biographies do not include any senate, CEO or former power positions. At least you would expect these rules to provide the author enough power to work with a better publisher than Viking. So buy it and read it for the interesting history passages and anecdotes contained in the book, unless your idea of power is writing books for a non significant publisher.
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Summary: The first time I read this book it was called "The Prince"
Review: The first time I read this book it was indeed called The Prince and it was written by the original strongman of Florenzia: Machiavelli. This book is one of those recycling past political/military strategist books that appears every few years or now ever since Michael Douglas told Charlie Sheen to read The Art of War in Wall Street. In short, you're better reading the original versions of hardball-politic books. If Machiavelli himself is too rough for your tastes, try out "A child's guide to machiavelli" which, as a satire, is more effective and direct than this book. At any rate, the authors have successfully waged their own Princely propaganda campaign as we've all seen ads for this book in the NY Times for the last few days! The only argument against my denigration of this book is the assembly of examples regarding specific businessmen/women & occurrences. Hogwash I say. The reason The Prince stays in the western canon is because man has proved Machiavelli right time after time. Only the most dense reader needs these examples spelled out letter for read letter. Kudos must be given to Elffers for his interesting design though.
Rating:
Summary: This book is great.
Review: This book teaches you about life and how to survive and thirve in it. You will learn how to gain power and hold it, and will also learn how to gain a reputation(Law 5) and how to completely destroy your enemies(Law 15)
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Summary: Everything wrong with society today!
Review: This book represents everything wrong with society today. Hide your intentions, spy on others and do anything to promote yourself and weaken everyone else are all messages at the center of problems we have today and not solutions. The notion that you can apply these 48 laws and become powerful is a farce. What I have witnessed is that people applying manipulative principles like this end up lonely and sad people. I have always thought that you influence people through your actions, honesty, and openness and I still believe this. I give credit to the authors for doing an excellent job of unearthing rich and numerous facts and support for their 48 laws but the title of the book should be changed to "How to ruin other people and eventually your own career" and not "power".
Rating:
Summary: An absolute must for your bookshelf...
Review: I really enjoyed the contents of this well researched and well written book. It summarizes very well the use of power tactics used over the centuries. In fact it was a bit scary. In summary, it was a book that makes you "aware" of possible scenarios that can and will be used against you in the course of your life. This book certainly woke me up to what is possible. A must read.
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