Rating: 
Summary: The gospel for the 21st century
Review: As also stated in the introduction of my (Dutch) version of this copy; there is no law stating that this book should be taken too seriously. What I mean with the comparison to the Bible is that, both books can be really helpful to guide you to the tournament of today's life. But if you use all these 'laws' literally it could very well cause you and your environment a lot of trouble.I live my life according to some of these laws for the last 4 years now and I feel it has protected me in some ways, especially at the office. Anyhow it's a great book for anyone who want's to learn about power and historical fact, and be amused at the same time.
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Summary: accept that it's a game and you've taken the first step
Review: Obviously no one book can explain the infinite nuances of social interaction, but "The 48 Laws" comes pretty close compared to other works of this nature. I try to read every book as objectively as possible, keeping an open mind and finding ways to disagree with the author. A rule here and there I found a little ridiculous, such as rule #27: Play on people's need to believe to create a cultlike following". Perhaps on a small scale, such as in an office setting that would be beneficial, maybe the word cult threw me off and got me thinking of Jim Jones and David Koresh, who didnt fare to well in the end. Aside from other complaints like the book being contradictory, I found it profound, true, and straight to the point. No touchy feely Oprah stuff in here, just the harsh reality. It's sad but true, life IS a game, and once you take a step back and see that, you'll NOT take things as seriously and join in on the "fun". As I was reading this book I had a situation at work with my boss that was difficult to handle. He wanted me to do somthing I didnt want to do at all (nor was required to do), and he was trying to manipulate me into doing it. In a civilized way, all his strengths and all my weaknesses came into play and were subtlely exploited. I realized this and threw some of the 48 LAws at him just to see what would happen. I used "Always say less than neccessary", "Conceal your intentions", "Never outshine the master", "Make other people come to you, use bait if neccessary", "Use selective honesty and generosity to disarm your victim" "Know who youre dealing with, do not offend the wrong person", "Use the surrender tactic, Transform weakness into power", ...among tidbits of other laws. Honestly, this all took place in one day in about three conversations. I know that sounds ridiculous, but it worked. Eventually I said "okay I'll do it", but the next day he said "dont worry about it I'll do it." It took patience, BUT I WON. Was it a small victory? Yes, but oh so sweet and now I'm looking forward to more situations to try the laws in. Even better, it seems my boss has gained an ounce more respect for me for standing up to him in such a confusing way. All done without "outshing him". We are animals, and share the same primal needs as lets say, cats. We protect our survival, well being, territory, food... our emotional and physical space. We do it in a much more comlicated way than cats do, but our primal needs are essentially the same. As Robert Greene says in his book: "Today we face a peculiarly similar paradox to that of the courtier: Everything must apear civilized, decent, democratic, and fair (as oppose to cats). But if we play by those rules too strictly, if we take them too literally, we are crushed by those around us who are not so foolish." Well said. Great book.
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Summary: You want the truth, you can't handle the truth
Review: POWER... It's ruthless, it's cunning, it's loyal, it's backstabbing. Just like life really is without the sugar or even Equal. This extension of Niccolo Machiavelli's "The Prince" is so interesting to read. I couldn't put the book down and finished it on the plane to Italy and back. If you can take some harsh realities and realize that people are just like you and are mainly interested in their own survival and not necessarily yours... you'll be able to accept what this book has to offer. If you're timid... read the Prince first. Then graduate to POWER.
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Summary: READ AND LEARN, THESE ARE TOOLS FOR LIVING
Review: Excellent book that deals with worldly wisdom, history and fluid prose. Don't get discouraged by the moralists and puritans who say that this is frivolous book. This book is about tools for living. You need experience to use any tool. In this case use your common sense when applying the laws. For the ones like me, that are constantly looking for tidbits of wisdom in books, magazines and movies, this book is an authentic gold mine. Read it and enjoy it.
Rating: 
Summary: Useful tips but much too long and poorly written
Review: If I had looked at this book more carefully in the bookstore I would not have bought it.
GOOD THINGS ABOUT THIS BOOK
1. It councils remaining calm because emotion and anger cloud the judgement.
2. It advises one to be reticent and to conceal one's plans. I've noticed that the robber barrons of the 19th century applied this philosophy (particularly John D. Rockerfeller and Jay Gould). BAD THINGS ABOUT THIS BOOK
1. It's way too long. Who can remember 48 rules? Many rules duplicate one another in any event. For example, laws 3, 4, 14 20, 30 and 48 all advise some form of concealing one's plans. Other rules contradict each other. Law 6 says "court attention at all costs". Yet laws 1 and 24 advise discretion. So which is it? Attention or discretion? The book has the air of something that was thrown together without much thought or editing.
2. The book concentrates of forcing or deceiving others into acting. But I think that most work gets done by convincing, persuading or encouraging others to cooperate. The book ignores this aspect of power entirely.
3. There are few examples of power taken from the 20th or 21st centuries. The author is perfectly comfortable with quoting stories from the Roman Empire but ignores the present. I think more recent examples of power would have been more relevant.
4. It would have been nice if the book had said something about situational analysis. I think it contradicts itself in many places because each situation needs it's own specific solution. Trying to blindly apply a rule in all situations is foolhardy. Better to analyze. Following the scientific method would be good. 1) Collect data on the situation. 2) Define the problem with the situation. 3) Propose a plan to solve the problem. 4) Implement the plan. 5) Observe if the plan worked. 6) Go back to step 1 if problem is not solved.
Rating: 
Summary: pitiful
Review: I'm only seconding what other reviewers have already said, and that's that this is such a pathetic outlook. One gains "power" thru whatever means, and then what is there? Quality of life? Yeah, right. Pitiful.
This is a textbook for [people] who think it will help them become winners. They'll only get in deeper. They'd be wise to try some other path to fulfillment.
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Summary: Priceless-Office politics 101
Review: I have not finished reading this book yet, I am only a third of the way through it. But I find the information valuable. I am a Christian and naturally I try to give other people a chance and take them at face value. Something that I've found to be quite deadly in the business world. After being "Had at" twice in a year and a half by two employers. Whom initially gave me the impression they were pleased with me. I realise that I can not continue to go on to simply assuming that peoples smiles are sincere. This book has served as an excellent guide. I strongly believe that The Lord was the one who led me to this book. On the surface 48 Laws might seem as a book on how to gain power by any means necessary. But if you read below the surface Greene is warning you to peoples under handed and duplicitous tricks. The book also serves as a nasty wake up call as to how the world really works. We may like to think that we live in a civilized society where people are not nasty and vicious. But the truth is things have not really changed that much at all. The only difference is that nowadays the viciousness and nastiness has become more cultured and refined. And harder to detect until the very end when you've been badly hurt. The (business) world is not a logical place. People will try to get at you out of jealousy, spite, pettiness or insecurity. Sometimes this will be in ways you will not be able to imagine, you would not expect someone to go "so low". But they will. I strongly recommend this book to Christians out there or anyone else out there who has pledged to live a moral and upstanding life. You are sheep among wolves and it is best that you educate yourself in order to combat them. By all means continue to live right, just remember that there are people out there who do not share this philosophy and will attempt to harm you. Without a single mark on their conscience. I can not recommend this book enough-please buy it. If not for yourself then maybe for a loved one whom you know is being taken advantage of time and time again. I would also like to recommend "Cain and Abel at Work" as well as "Thick Face Black Heart". To be forwarned is forarmed.
Rating: 
Summary: Just So So...
Review: There's some interesting things in here. Alot of it starts with stories from Medieval times so parts of it can be about as exciting as reading some old testament. The laws themselves seem to make sense, you just have to be creative enought to apply them to your life. There's nothing evil in here, as one reviewer seems to want to suggest. If your good, you'll have good intentions, if your a troublemaker then the book will probably get you into more trouble.
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Summary: Not for todays statesman
Review: This book will create more animosity and suspicion.
After all we have come a long way from from being sycophantic medeival courtiers, or atleast we were suppose to. In any case reverting to medeival ways when people were executed for one wrong statement would be to reverse the ideas of freedom and democracy, the very principle on which modernity is established.
Greene would do well to title his book--- "Handbook of power for the Medeival Statesman". This book should be read as an analysis of pre-mordern diplomacy. A historical book without much relevance to day-to-day life. If many readers find much wisdom in practical matters from this book then it only goes to show that modernity has failed.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book.
Review: Found it to be very informative and a good compliment to Eric Hoffer's book, "The True Believer : Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements". Lots of good stuff in here. Richard Greene uses historical examples to back up all his conclusions. The most interesting thing about this book is that you can see all of these laws in work every day not only immediately around you but also in the news. It gives you insight into national and international politics, why world leaders do what they do, and how they do it. It's not really a book about philosophy or psychology, but more a study of sociology, which is why I found that it related very well to Eric Hoffer's book. Both books deal with manipulation and group persuasion. There are a lot of good books out there, but I single this book and Hoffer's out as two of the best ever, peroid. There is no doubt in my mind that this book deserved 5 stars, which is what I gave it. Buy this book, and you will find it a very exciting, helpful read. Yes, some of these things are amoral but hey, the book's title is "Power", so what do you expect? That's how the world works. Buy this book and you won't regret it, even if you just want to know about power and manipulation but not really use it on other people (if it seems distasteful to you). To summarize this book I can only say that, like Eric Hoffer's, it gives great insight into human nature. GREAT insight -- I cannot stress that word enough.
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