The 48 Laws of Power
by Robert Greene
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Book Reviews of The 48 Laws of Power
Book Review: THE 48 LAWS OF POWER: YOUR THINKING WILL NEVER REMAIN THE SAME
Summary: 5 Stars
Read this book and your thinking will never remain the same. Drawing upon historic examples that portray man's journey through the ages as one long, unending quest to dominate his fellows, The 48 Laws of Power reads somewhat like a much expanded version of Machiavelli's The prince. Yet it carries a lot of its own originality - on many levels. One interesting, innovative feature of this book can be found in the numerous illustrations and anecdotes appearing along the page margins that the writer uses to buttress his points. Quite educative, they provided me an easy opportunity to browse through and be acquainted with fascinating classic literature from Aesop's Fables down to Sun Tzu's The Art of war.
Can we refer to the 48 Laws as success literature? Some of Robert Greene's advice seems innocent enough: Never outshine the master; win through your actions, never through argument; concentrate your forces; enter action with boldness. These are tips you would find in any self-help book that should put anyone on a stronger footing in the workplace with their boss, with colleagues, or even within the curious context of a romantic relationship.
But there is a darker, more sinister side to the 48 Laws, a side that appears to be responsible for all the notoriety that surrounds this book. There are laws which, seeming to controvert themselves in some instances, advocate underhandedness and the practice of outright evil in the pursuit of one's ambitions. Reading The 48 Laws awakens a moral conflict within us and presents two philosophies that attend the attainment of power - one inspired by goodness and the other governed by guile. But I think it all depends on the kind of success you seek. To those that would stoop to guile I would point out that Robert Greene has neglected to include what perhaps might have been the first law: All that goes around comes around; you reap what you sow.
On the other hand, some of these laws that appear to advocate evil - taken in the right context, they shed their malicious intent and turn out to be very helpful, well-meaning principles. For instance, I agree with the thought `So much depends on your reputation - guard it with you life'. But I think my reputation rests, more than anything, on my character and commitment to whatever I do, and it is along these lines I will seek to guard it. Also, when I think of `Make other people come to you - use bait if necessary', I tend to see it in the light of the principle that pronounces: The kind of person you are, to a large extent, determines the kind of people you will attract into your life. So I go about developing my `bait' - myself - in the best way I can. Fishing, as opposed to hunting, one success writer calls it.
An anecdote which fascinated me and which I kept returning to was one about Cosimo de Medici, the 15th Century Florentine banking magnate, who rode a mule instead of a horse and decidedly deferred to city officials, but effectively controlled government policy in Florence for decades. He spent a lot of his own funds on grandiose development projects across the city but preferred to live in a nondescript villa, and when he died asked to be buried in a simple tomb devoid of lavish ornamentation. Robert Greene uses Cosimo's example to illustrate a concept that is profound as it is though-provoking: the REALITY of power is much more important than the appearance of it. Unfortunately, most people tend to see it the other way.
On the whole, the 48 Laws awaken one to the on-going struggle for domination and control even in the most mundane transactions between humans. They insist that power is a reality, whether we like it or not. They impress upon us the thinking that, to survive in today's world, one has to become a man or woman of the world - at least, if not in one's actions, in one's awareness. For me, the 48 laws show one how to discern power-bids in relationships, how to read between the lines and scour the fine-print; how to recognize various inter-personal issues at stake in business and the workplace, navigating with panache and perceptiveness. They show one how to be `peaceful as a dove but wise as a serpent', how to `see the tricks coming', as another reviewer put it. Indeed, the 48 Laws seek to banish our innocence. And you'll agree...innocence, many times, can be a painful thing.
Book Review: The Mind is the key
Summary: 5 Stars
I have read this book twice, and I found it quite interesting. For most of us this book should provide good entertainment. Greene has provided a lot of examples from history to show the validity of the laws. Though this book is comprehensive, I doubt whether it will turn the layman into a master of manipulation. The fact is that this book is definitely relevant, and I recommend it because it will allow people who see only simple motives and are used to the usual human drives and emotions to see things that they probably never felt or experienced ever before. Still, as I have stated, you are not going to become a master just because you know how the elite manipulated the masses and their peers. The world today is more complex than it was ever in the past, and the level of awareness and intelligence of the average human are much higher today. More people are educated and their numbers are increasing globally every year. Every law is valuble, but only in the hands of the most creative person does it find its best use. It would, therefore, be exceedingly simplistic to assume that the same propaganda that worked on people ten years back is going to produce the desired effect today. More humans are catching on. They are learning faster and experimenting faster.
Techniques that were used successfully in the past are getting obsolete precisely because the people understand the ploys. Personally, I feel that only a very sophisticated amalgamation of the laws of power are going to work today, and only the very best will be successful in fooling the rest. Greene tells us that the virtuosos of power have a phenomenal mental dexterity that helps them in applying the laws successfully over long periods of time. One must realise that while the future is similar to the past, the future also presents several unique features. So do read the laws, but realise that the arena keeps changing. Success depends on understanding the arena and the level of intelligence of your adversaries, not by blindly applying the past to the present and the future. This book is definitely a good place to start understanding power. I would also recommend reading The Art of Seduction by the same author.
Finally, to those who say that this book is not a "real" guide to power, I would just like to say that in the market for books there is most probably not a single book that will reveal the true account of how manipulation is actually being done in the contemporary world. While they may offer sketchy glimpses, the crystal clarity will never be manifest to the layman. This is because the actual reality of such transactions is just too valuble to be provided openly for mass consumption. In fact those who really want to have power understand that nobody can or will--if the person did know--actually reveal the real deal about a profitable venture. Tell me how many people are publicly teaching techniques to get around the
128-bit-encryption barrier to thrash electronic security of top organisations? Do you actually think that reading a 500-page or 600-page book on power will actually qualify you to replace the top powerbrokers of the world? The best teacher for that is direct experience, and how much you understand will ultimately depend on your own ingenuity and perceptiveness.
I have read Orson Scott Card's book Ender's Shadow, and though it appears that the general opinion is that Ender's Game was Card's best book, I feel that it was Ender's Shadow--the story of Bean--that impressed me the most. In fact, Bean more than Ender is the bearer of brute creativity. Bean saw what the teachers were doing wrong and what they were doing right, while the rest of the children saw no wrong in the teachers' methods.I was really impressed by one of the notions that Bean expressed : he said that whenever he realised that the teacher was wrong he did not follow that idea even when the rest of the children accepted it. That way he became better than the other students, because while they followed without much thought what they had learned from the teachers, Bean only followed the option he reasoned was right. That was why he became more powerful than the rest, for he knew the right course of action. I think this questioning of every notion--perhaps the 49th law--is the backbone of every other law.
Book Review: Terrific synopsis of the classic historical writings on power.
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is a no holds barred open discussion of raw power, entertainingly presented. It took me a little while to get over the almost completely amoral tone of the book, but I eventually got the sense that the amoral tone is there for a purpose: to clue you in to the fact that people who practice power at this level can often be completely amoral themselves. In that sense, the book truly gives the reader a sense of the mindset of those who will do anything to stay in power. There is a sense as one reviewer pointed out, that the book could have been written without this amoral tone, but then one would miss out on the opportunity of being immersed in its sense of amorality, which is an education in itself. Experiencing the amorality is a wakeup call that offers insight into how some of the world's ills have come to pass, though you may find yourself wanting to shower afterward. After reading it, you will definitely be more aware of the laws being played out on the world stage, and you will begin to recognize people in government who seem to be using it as a playbook. Some laws are even applicable in personal relationships...a scary thought.
By reading this, you will get an overview of the major philosophical writings on power, who as sources likely include at the very least Machiavelli, Han Fei Tzu, and Sun Tzu, though the authors do not identify the sources of the material for each law. This is one thing I wish they had done. That would have made it more useful to those wishing to put these laws and their development into some kind of historical framework. The authors have done a nice job however of blending together into one seamless volume the writings of these philosophers, whose works are also written in this amoral tone.
One of the most intriguing and worthwhile aspects of the book, are the many historical vignettes that the authors paint of how each law of power has been implemented, along with how failure to follow the law can be one's undoing. It is like two books in one in that sense. Not only do you get an understanding of raw power, but you get a very entertaining history lesson as well. The authors are also very careful to point out exceptions to the laws, and how they may backfire, making it read like a very thorough treatment of the subject for general readership.
One particularly interesting vignette has vivid application for our current situation in the war on terror, wherein we find ourselves exposed by going it alone without a substantial alliance while the rest of the world looks on. The vignette concerns a law which states that in seeking to increase power, let your rival do your fighting for you. The authors discuss how Mao Tse Tung suggested he and his rival Chiang Kai Shek set aside their differences and form an alliance in order to defeat the Japanese in World War II. Chiang Kai Shek agreed. Mao then suggested Chiang send his army in first, promising that he would follow Chiang into action by sending his army in as replacements. Once Chiang Kai Shek's army was committed, Mao held his army in abeyance and let Chiang Kai Shek take a beating. Then when Chiang's army was weakened, Mao's army was able to defeat him and exile him to Taiwan.
The warning for our own national campaign in the war on terror is that hopefully we will not allow ourselves to dissipate our national resources and become foolishly weakened by going it alone at the same time as other rival countries are growing stronger at our expense. The grandiosity of thinking we can go it alone makes us vulnerable to even more severe threats by potentially predatory nations who pretend to be sympathetic now, but who secretly revel in watching us deplete our national will, our troops and our treasury.
"The 48 Laws of Power" is a fascinating read, though except for a few of the laws, I can't imagine how it could actually help the average person's career unless you were a political operative or someone who had already accumulated a lot of political power and were predisposed to bend towards the amoral. But to build background knowledge and be able to recognize shadowy abuses of power while learning a little interesting history, I heartily recommend it.
Book Review: Learning the Game of POWER
Summary: 5 Stars
+++++
This book, by editor and playwright Robert Greene, gives a fascinating account of power in human interactions. Greene elaborates:
"[These] laws are based on the writings of men and women who have studied and mastered the game of power. These writings span a period of more than three thousand years and were created in civilizations as disparate as ancient China and Renaissance Italy; yet they share common threads and themes, together hinting at the essence of power that have yet to be fully articulated. [These laws] are the distillation of this accumulated wisdom, gathered from the writings of the most illustrious strategists...statesmen...courtiers [an attendant of a royal court]...seducers...and con artists in history."
Who inspired Greene to write this book? Greene answers this question:
"To those people in my life who have so skillfully used the game of power to manipulate, torture, and cause me pain over the years, I bear no grudges and I thank you for supplying me with the inspiration for [this book]."
What is the premise of this book? Answer: "Certain actions almost always increase one's power...while others decrease it and even ruin us."
Generally each law (that has its own chapter) is explained using five sections:
(1) Judgment: is a brief explanation of the law.
(2) Transgression of the law: a historical example of how the law was broken and the consequences that followed.
(3) Observance of the law: a historical example of how the law was used properly.
(4) Keys to power: explaining why the law works.
(5) Reversal: what you can do to make the law work smoothly and situations where the law can backfire. (A very important section.)
Each law has a word picture that the author calls an "image" to help you remember the law. There is also a quotation from an "authority," a person the author considers to be a power expert (like Machiavelli or Napolean). Each chapter also has fables, short stories, letter extracts, quotations from philosophers, etc. to illustrate the importance of the law. Note that the image, authority, fables, etc. are in red print.
This book seems to be meant for two kinds of people: those who want power or those who want to defend themselves against power (like myself). Many of these principles are easy to use but some are more difficult to use. The greatest asset of this book, I feel, is defending yourself against power.
Some of these laws are manipulative and difficult to execute. For such laws, I would just know how they work in case someone tries to use such a manipulative law on you. Also, don't fool yourself into thinking that all other people are ethical and moral. Machiavelli (1469 to 1527) elaborates:
"Any [person] who tries to be good all the time is bound to come to ruin among the great number who are not good. Hence a prince [or princess] who wants to keep his [or her] authority must learn not to be good, and use that knowledge , or refrain from using it, as necessity requires."
Finally, some of these laws may seem contradictory. Remember that these are not laws of physics but laws of human interaction. Laws of human interaction change depending on the situation & on the circumstances and thus have to be selectively used.
In conclusion, this is a fascinating book that will give the reader valuable insight into human power and its laws.
(first published 1998; preface; 48 chapters; main narrative 430 pages; bibliography; index)
+++++
Book Review: A Prison Bestseller!
Summary: 1 Stars
I'm an educator in a prison. This is easily the most stolen book in our library. Probably not the endorsement the author would want.
We stopped restocking it because it would get stolen so often. All the resident felons seem to have a copy of this one in their room, too. So one day, I decided to see what all the fuss was about. It turns out, not very much. The book's mostly a series of 48 plagiarized quotes extolling egoism arranged like a self-help book written by an author who seems to have never held any real power himself. I'm assuming he lives in the suburbs somewhere where he doesn't get to see the cycle of poverty and violence he's managed to help perpetuate against poor minorities. Basically, it's the same thing as the Satanic Bible, except poorly written and openly plagiarized. At least LaVey had a sense of humor about this kind of thing.
I think it really fails on 4 accounts. The first is you won't attain much power this way, unless your goal in life is to be a thuggish gang leader or control the TV on the prison tier. The second is that it's so naively egoistic it doesn't even make sense - since extreme self interest of this kind is antisocial and will quickly alienate people from you and probably get you hurt or locked up. Third, it's also heavily plagiarized and not very well. If you want to know Sun Tzu and Machiavelli, read them. Fourth, it's immoral. Just flagrantly immoral. This is how cult leaders and thugs behave, it would lead to the destruction of society if people who acted like this weren't dealt with by the law. Most of the people reading the book probably don't care about that last part, though.
You know the mantra - live by the sword, die by the sword. If you live this way, expect to die alone, probably with a bullet courtesy of one of your acquaintances.
Solely recommended for those who are aspiring felons, but if you really want power that extends beyond a prison tier or a block in your neighborhood, look elsewhere. Try The Essential Writings of Machiavelli (Modern Library Classics), The Art of War, Rules for Radicals.
If you want to read about rational egoism try The Ego and His Own: The Case of the Individual Against Authority (Dover Books on Western Philosophy), or dare I say it Atlas Shrugged or The Satanic Bible
If you want to make money, read The Intelligent Investor: The Definitive Book on Value Investing. A Book of Practical Counsel (Revised Edition), Trump: The Art of the Deal or get educated. These are how some real winners think. There is no "easy money" in life and most criminals don't make very much, especially considering the risks.