Drawn from 3,000 years of the history of power, this is the definitive guide to help readers achieve for themselves what Queen Elizabeth I, Henry Kissinger, Louis XIV and Machiavelli learnt the hard way. Law 1: Never outshine the master Law 2: Never put too much trust in friends; learn how to use enemies Law 3: Conceal your intentions Law 4: Always say less than necessary. The text is bold and elegant, laid out in black and red throughout and replete with fables and unique word sculptures. The 48 laws are illustrated through the tactics, triumphs and failures of great figures from the past who have wielded - or been victimised by - power.
The 48 Laws Of Power (A Joost Elffers Production)
and over 1.5 million other books are available for Amazon Kindle . Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £3.61
Trade in The 48 Laws Of Power (A Joost Elffers Production) for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £3.61, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Learn more
|
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Amazon Review
"Learning the game of power requires a certain way of looking at the world, a shifting of perspective," writes Robert Greene. Mastery of one's emotions and the arts of deception and indirection are, he goes on to assert, essential. The 48 laws outlined in this book "have a simple premise: certain actions always increase one's power...while others decrease it and even ruin us."
The laws cull their principles from many great schemers--and scheming instructors--throughout history, from Sun-Tzu to Talleyrand, from Casanova to con man Yellow Kid Weil. They are straightforward in their amoral simplicity: "Get others to do the work for you, but always take the credit," or: "Discover each man's thumbscrew." Each chapter provides examples of the consequences of observance or transgression of the law, along with "keys to power," potential "reversals" (where the converse of the law might also be useful), and a single paragraph cleverly laid out to suggest an image (such as the aforementioned thumbscrew); the margins are filled with illustrative quotations. Practitioners of one-upmanship have been given a new, comprehensive training manual, as up- to-date as it is timeless. --Amazon.com --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
'Invaluable manual on the use and abuse of power... indispensable and often-cited influence on many of America's most successful rappers' -- Sunday Times Magazine
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
88 of 89 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I was brought up, probably like most people, that the right way to treat people is to be nice and pleasant to everyone at all times. Unfortunately, not everyone you come into contact with has similar views.
All too frequently, I have been subjected to behaviour and attitudes from some others that I have not understood or what motivates them. In short, I was naive in some aspects of the way of the world and resulting in my being ineffective far too often for my own good.
Whilst it is good to learn from your mistakes, too often have I made the same mistake again and again.
Life is too short and too complex to learn everything about human interactions, but this is the best book by far that I have read to help 'nice' people to get switched on to the less wholesome aspects of some human behaviour.
I have made the mistake of trying to improve my interactions with people by reading books of a spiritual nature of which there are many.
Whilst I have learnt much from them I have had to accept that I have been laughed at by the more basic and worldly-wise people with whom I have come into contact.
In my opinion, I have 'got wise' many times quicker after reding this book a couple of times than I have done during 20 years of reading the spiritual books. Sad, but true.
All too frequently, I have been subjected to behaviour and attitudes from some others that I have not understood or what motivates them. In short, I was naive in some aspects of the way of the world and resulting in my being ineffective far too often for my own good.
Whilst it is good to learn from your mistakes, too often have I made the same mistake again and again.
Life is too short and too complex to learn everything about human interactions, but this is the best book by far that I have read to help 'nice' people to get switched on to the less wholesome aspects of some human behaviour.
I have made the mistake of trying to improve my interactions with people by reading books of a spiritual nature of which there are many.
Whilst I have learnt much from them I have had to accept that I have been laughed at by the more basic and worldly-wise people with whom I have come into contact.
In my opinion, I have 'got wise' many times quicker after reding this book a couple of times than I have done during 20 years of reading the spiritual books. Sad, but true.
48 of 50 people found the following review helpful
By David Askew
Format:Paperback
I can't really fault the book at all.
Robert Greene has established 48 laws of power, and they are all very interesting, powerful and fact based. Throughout the book I feel as if Robert knows completely what he's saying and he's done acres of research.
This book however, is to be taken very carefully. It doesn't seem as if he has written the book to any moral guidelines. If books can have age restrictions on a person buying them, I would definately give this one an 18. I could definately see someone young, greedy or just suggestable obsessing over the book and becoming a pretty immoral person. I believe it takes a certain level of maturity and moral understanding to be aquired in order to not abuse information in the book.
The 48 laws of power, generally focuses around methods you can use and themes you can engrain into your personality, in order to get things. Whilst the book is absolutely brilliant at delivering this, the fact is that if everyone applied all the laws to themselves (or even just a handful), the world would be almost at a standstill... as an example one of the rules is to "Get others to do work for you but always take the credit" - is this really a mode people should follow for the good of the world? If everyone was doing that, there would be no work to take credit for and economies would halt. Imagine a planet full of conmen, what a great place to live that would be... hmmm... not.
Robert Green indicates some key resources he's used and one to mention is the famous "The art of war by sun tzu" - I believe Robert is extremely interested in books like these and he's only gone and made pretty much, a brilliant book himself.
It's a very good buy, for it's purpose. But can you really find true happiness by being powerful? Well, I'll leave that question for you to perhaps answer, but for me, without any doubt at all, the 48 laws of power is an incredible buy.
I hope my opinion has been helpful to you.
Robert Greene has established 48 laws of power, and they are all very interesting, powerful and fact based. Throughout the book I feel as if Robert knows completely what he's saying and he's done acres of research.
This book however, is to be taken very carefully. It doesn't seem as if he has written the book to any moral guidelines. If books can have age restrictions on a person buying them, I would definately give this one an 18. I could definately see someone young, greedy or just suggestable obsessing over the book and becoming a pretty immoral person. I believe it takes a certain level of maturity and moral understanding to be aquired in order to not abuse information in the book.
The 48 laws of power, generally focuses around methods you can use and themes you can engrain into your personality, in order to get things. Whilst the book is absolutely brilliant at delivering this, the fact is that if everyone applied all the laws to themselves (or even just a handful), the world would be almost at a standstill... as an example one of the rules is to "Get others to do work for you but always take the credit" - is this really a mode people should follow for the good of the world? If everyone was doing that, there would be no work to take credit for and economies would halt. Imagine a planet full of conmen, what a great place to live that would be... hmmm... not.
Robert Green indicates some key resources he's used and one to mention is the famous "The art of war by sun tzu" - I believe Robert is extremely interested in books like these and he's only gone and made pretty much, a brilliant book himself.
It's a very good buy, for it's purpose. But can you really find true happiness by being powerful? Well, I'll leave that question for you to perhaps answer, but for me, without any doubt at all, the 48 laws of power is an incredible buy.
I hope my opinion has been helpful to you.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By Zhazha
Format:Paperback
First and foremost, this book is immense fun to read, because every point is exemplified with true stories from history - stories of the success wrought by adhering to each 'law' and, even more amusingly, stories of the consequences that followed from breaking the 'law' (a great example is the story of Louis XIV and his finance minister, Nicolas Fouquet. Voltaire is quoted at the end of this passage: "When the evening began, Fouquet was at the top of the world. By the time it had ended, he was at the bottom"). Why is seeing the powerful fall flat on their faces so heartening?
I have a slight reservation about its style. It is written in a way as if to advise the reader on how to attain power, rather like a PMA book. I took this style initially to be intended as tongue-in-cheek. Whether or not that was the intention (and I think it was), it definitely should be seen that way. The author does stress the point at the beginning that power is a game. The implication is that, as with all games, one should not become attached to the idea of power. He makes the point that having no power is misery, but that having power and not having peace of mind is pointless. Power therefore cannot be an end in itself, as many powerful figures have failed to discover.
I have noted that some reviewers do not agree with all the 'laws'. I don't feel able to comment as, so far, I have just been enjoying the idea that 'power' can be broken down in this way. If I do find, on reflection (as well as on finishing the book, as I'm barely past the first 100 pages), that I disagree with some of the 'laws' here, I will still have a view on an aspect of power that I wouldn't have otherwise had - in disagreeing with a principle, one makes up one's own. And remember, even the powerful can get it very wrong (poor Nicolas!). However, the author does recognize that there are exceptions to every rule and at the end of each chapter, cites further examples from history that are, what he calls, a 'reversal' of the law.
As well as being entertaining, I have certainly learned practically from this book. I don't think that I will ever view my disagreements with others in the same way again. But it should not be seen as some kind of gospel and therefore taken too rigidly (as one reviewer appears to have done). As I think I have shown, I don't believe the author intended it to be that way anyway. Lightness is the key.
I would love to see more editions of this book with further historical anecdotes. I agree with the person who said they were not particularly interested in history before - this book could really give you a taste for it.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 818 reviews
4.2 out of 5 stars
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating take on historical anecdotes.
The perfect browsing book for those interested in history or power. I have no hesitation in recommending it for all.
Published 1 month ago by Mr. Gordon J. McMillan
5.0 out of 5 stars
You want power? This is the book
i have never really been into books, but this is the oly book that I look forward to read; it is very well structred and the tips and advice really do work when you come to think... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Shad
1.0 out of 5 stars
beware of the mistic of the subject!
This book suffer from a crippling lack of credibility from the start, for who is Robert Greene? He is certainly a thorough scholar, he is not however a politician, or a king, a... Read more
Published 1 month ago by julien
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome work by an amzing Author
Wow....
That was the first word that came to mind when after I had read the first chapter of The 48 Laws of Power. Read more
That was the first word that came to mind when after I had read the first chapter of The 48 Laws of Power. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Hugues B
1.0 out of 5 stars
Put it back
An excellant book if you are paranoid and want to succeed at others expense and welfare.
If you are human however, best give it a miss.
If you are human however, best give it a miss.
Published 3 months ago by Mr. Sebastian E. Valencia
5.0 out of 5 stars
A book about empowerment
I bought this book for my son.
He had heard about this book, and it was a recomended read.
He has lent this book to other family members. Read more
He had heard about this book, and it was a recomended read.
He has lent this book to other family members. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Nancy Berney
5.0 out of 5 stars
GREAT MANUAL!
I wish I had read this book when it first came out. It is a permanent feature in my library and something I will keep reading. Read more
Published 5 months ago by FC
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great power
would recommend this book to anyone , contents are very helpful and backed up by excellent real world examples which make it easy to understand..
Published 5 months ago by atif bokhari
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thought-inspiring and entertaining
Even if you do not agree with the Machiavellian ethics that drive this book, it is still a very entertaining and thought inspiring piece, with lots of examples and anecdotes. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Tom
5.0 out of 5 stars
The 48 Laws for survival
I already have the hard cover version for this book along with the concise version. The Concise version is ideal to read what is really needed to read, digest and put into practice... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Bernie2111
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
