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Penguin Books

The 48 Laws of Power

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Format: Paperback


Description

Amoral, cunning, ruthless, and instructive, this multi-million-copy New York Times bestseller is the definitive manual for anyone interested in gaining, observing, or defending against ultimate control – from the author of The Laws of Human Nature. In the book that People magazine proclaimed “beguiling” and “fascinating,” Robert Greene and Joost Elffers have distilled three thousand years of the history of power into 48 essential laws by drawing from the philosophies of Machiavelli, Sun Tzu, and Carl Von Clausewitz and also from the lives of figures ranging from Henry Kissinger to P.T. Barnum. Some laws teach the need for prudence (“Law 1: Never Outshine the Master”), others teach the value of confidence (“Law 28: Enter Action with Boldness”), and many recommend absolute self-preservation (“Law 15: Crush Your Enemy Totally”). Every law, though, has one thing in common: an interest in total domination. In a bold and arresting two-color package, The 48 Laws of Power is ideal whether your aim is conquest, self-defense, or simply to understand the rules of the game. Read more


Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books; First Edition (September 1, 2000)


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Paperback ‏ : ‎ 452 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0140280197


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 97


Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up


Grade level ‏ : ‎ 12 and up


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.64 pounds


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #12 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #1 in History & Theory of Politics #1 in Success Self-Help #3 in Popular Social Psychology & Interactions


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Top Amazon Reviews

    • 4.0 out of 5 stars DANGER: read at your own risk
Review Image by J.S. Bach J.S. Bach
there seems to be a lot of love and hate surrounding this book, so if you are curious but unsure, this review should help you decide whether or not to buy the book, and how it will impact you First, to understand the 48 laws of power, you must know two key ideas 1. you CAN NOT escape the power game. thinking you can "not participate" is as foolish as thinking that you could somehow escape gravity or make the sun stand still. Robert Greene explains why in the intro with some excellent examples 2. the 48 laws of power are neither good nor evil; they are just LAWS. If someone pushed a man off a cliff would you blame gravity for for his demise? This is the mindset you must adopt in order to learn a lot from this book. Things I Liked - NEW PARADIGM after reading the 48 laws, you will never see the world the same way again. once you understand some of these laws you will see many underlying currents and motives you did not see before. - INCREASES POWER one of the main reasons to buy the book. you wil become exponentially more powerfull by knowing and understanding these laws -CRYSTAL CLEAR every law is clearly outlined with "transgression" of the law, "observance" of the law, keys to power, and a "reversal" -GREAT STORIES the 48 laws are packed with mindblowing and sometimes humorous stories of people in history practicing these laws. this is helpful as some of the concepts are quite abstract. What I didn't like -RISKY an old proverb says " A man who plays with snakes will eventually be bitten". If you begin to use the 48 Laws improperly, you could get yourself in some dangerous situations, lose friends, piss off a lot a people, and destroy relationships - REQUIRES DISCERNMENT if you you are looking for a highly concrete book that the says "do xyz and you will accomplish vyx" look elsewhere. the Laws require good judgement and and and prospecting nature to practice and apply -NOT FOR EVERYONE If you are aghast at the idea of manipulation and deceit then read with caution. OVERALL: If you want to have more power or a better understanding of why different situations turn out the the way they do, you should definitely read the 48 laws of power by Robert Greene. If you want to be naive, easily manipulated, weak, you should ignore this book and go watch some netfilx. Thanks for reading ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2017 by J.S. Bach J.S. Bach
    • 4.0 out of 5 stars It's Adultrated
It provides a loosely fit framework for how you can approach the social status hierarchy without shooting yourself in the feet all the time. I think it opened my eyes, but the worlds definitely changed a lot. And for most people, like a friend is just a friends, an enemy is just a coworker you think is lazy... No one scheming around looking to back stab their friends, manipulate their knitting club leader, lure their neighbor into a trap because his dog kept barking, etc. I shouldn't say that, because I know people who are sociopaths, or it could be they just read this book and took it way too literally. Anyways for those people, they put an exhausting amount of effort into this exact type of thing and they get nothing for their efforts, except everyone secretly wondering wtf is wrong with them, "why don't they just like communicate like the rest of the world," or, "I bet they're just doing it to seem 'mysterious'," which is hilariously on point and another issue people are way to smart for this now a days. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on May 1, 2023 by Kyle
    • 5.0 out of 5 stars It's A Doggy Dog World, Will You Fall Behind Or Thrive In It?
Many of us are told growing up that the world is a utopian place and to adjust our behaviors accordingly. We told to "treat others how you want to be treated", "turn the other cheek", "everything happens for a reason and works out in the end" and "pardise awaits us after we die". Most people realize that this view of the world, especially once they leave the nest, is in fact false. There is suffering and death occurring on scales at the moment that are beyond human comprehension (nature has a 99% extinction rate). People are, and quite willing, to hurt and use you for their own ends. And that if you expect to get anywhere in the world you have todo more than work hard and be kind, you must hustle, be lucky and sometimes use and push people aside. Robert Greene in "The 48 Laws of Power" is first and foremost making you aware of the way the world is. Not as we want it to be but as it is. He goes through 48 "laws", which are really just techniques/actions, that people use to protect themselves, advance their own interest and "gain power". Each chapter starts with short description of the law and then proceeds to detail the law through accompanying stories and reasoning. Overall I feel the author has created an absolute masterpiece. He's engaging, articulate, funny and smart in his writing. Personally once I really got into the book I couldn't put it down. I found myself reflecting back on my own experiences, those close to me and society at large and I saw people utilizing the laws all the time (whether they know they are is a different story). I was also suprised, in a good way, at just how diverse and applicable they were to so many different areas of your everyday life. The only real downsides I found with the book is that it is long (probably unnecessarily so) and a bit depressing (since the laws can and often are used for evil). But that's a complaint about human nature, not the authors fault. So what is the real purpose of the book, what do people take away from and use it for? Well the laws are really just like a diverse tool kit to be used at different times in your life. So first and foremost it's about awareness and protecting yourself. Even if you don't use the laws, or at least don't intend to use them in a bad way, other people will try to use them on you and you can adequately defend and protect yourself. As they say "a ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" to any problem/conflict. Second it's about using them to advance your own interests. And this where the negative reviews are entirely unwarranted. Any weapon or tool, such as a car, is not itself good or evil. Only the person wielding it is. So you can use them for good or evil. And at the end of the day really is their anything wrong with protecting and advancing you own interests (if they are noble)? The answer is no and if you want to do anything meaningful in life you must both defend and attack. Another thing, for those still hesitant on reading the book, is this. In recovery from any major problem there is typically five steps people go through (whether they know they are going through them or not). They are "Denial", "Anger", "Bargaining", "Depression" & "Acceptance". This is what you will likely go through with this book. At first you'll "deny" the laws, you'll become "angry" as you see that they are in fact true and be utilizing people (how awful they are for doing so), you will start to use them for yourself and see results ("Bargaining"), "depressed" as you come to terms that they really work and used for evil in some cases (why does it have to be this way) and lastly you'll "accept" that this is just how the world works and your better of knowing about them and using them for both defense and offense. Do you want to be a victum the rest of your life and be used, abused and hurt and left behind? Or do you want to Man (or Woman) Up to the world so you can survive and thrive in it? The answer is obvious. I have seen people, including myself, get used, abused and hurt (in some cases ending in death) because they were unaware of these laws or refused to let go of the utopian/disney view of the world. Grow up or get left behind. As Saint Paul said "When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.". I would recommend you check out Greene's other books in particular "The 33 Stratgies of War" and the "The 50th Law" (with 50 Cent). The help complete your personal technique arsenal for effective defense and offense. My last piece of advise is to follow the unwritten "49th law" which is "to not talk about the laws of power". It is to your advatge for others not to know this stuff as they will often use it agaist you or they will resent you because they may think your using it on them. (This is the real motivation behind a lot of the negative reviews, they don't want you to know them because they put themselves at a disadvantage). I would only educate perhaps your children and a long term significant other as you want them to be protected and thrive as well. However if you can be sure you safe from harm you may want to pass it on (as someone likely did to you since your reading this review). But again be wary, when so many other people suck it makes it easier for you to stand out. As they say a good magacian never revels their secrets. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2016 by Phoenix9
    • 5.0 out of 5 stars BEST BOOK EVER
haven’t read a single page yet but after reading a few pages my perspective on everyday life is different
Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2023 by Benjamin
    • 4.0 out of 5 stars Very descriptive
This book is a very good book indeed because of how specific and how it goes deep into details to show examples. I would recommend this to people, and also the book came in perfect condition.
Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2023 by Jacqueline Vargas
    • 5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Book
Some of the great tips to survive today's work politics or even your day to day life. Highly recommend for all the new grads!
Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2023 by syed arafath
    • 5.0 out of 5 stars Very informative
Good book. Very informational and mindful.
Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2023 by Luik Garcia
    • 5.0 out of 5 stars Good.
Lots of knowledge reading this..
Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2023 by Latifah Coleman

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