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The 48 Laws of Power

Audiobook
0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 14 weeks
0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 14 weeks
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 forty-eight 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. The 48 Laws of Power is ideal whether your aim is conquest, self-defense, or simply to understand the rules of the game.
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    • Publisher's Weekly

      August 31, 1998
      Greene and Elffers have created an heir to Machiavelli's Prince, espousing principles such as, everyone wants more power; emotions, including love, are detrimental; deceit and manipulation are life's paramount tools. Anyone striving for psychological health will be put off at the start, but the authors counter, saying "honesty is indeed a power strategy," and "genuinely innocent people may still be playing for power." Amoral or immoral, this compendium aims to guide those who embrace power as a ruthless game, and will entertain the rest. Elffers's layout (he is identified as the co-conceiver and designer in the press release) is stylish, with short epigrams set in red at the margins. Each law, with such allusive titles as "Pose as a Friend, Work as a Spy," "Get Others to Do the Work for You, But Always Take the Credit," "Conceal Your Intentions," is demonstrated in four ways--using it correctly, failing to use it, key aspects of the law and when not to use it. Illustrations are drawn from the courts of modern and ancient Europe, Africa and Asia, and devious strategies culled from well-known personae: Machiavelli, Talleyrand, Bismarck, Catherine the Great, Mao, Kissinger, Haile Selassie, Lola Montes and various con artists of our century. These historical escapades make enjoyable reading, yet by the book's conclusion, some protagonists have appeared too many times and seem drained. Although gentler souls will find this book frightening, those whose moral compass is oriented solely to power will have a perfect vade mecum. BOMC and Money Book Club alternates. Author tour.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      If you're one of those people who gets sand kicked in your face even when you're not at the beach, you may find the 48 laws in this book helpful, particularly Law 15, "Crush Your Enemies Totally." Bob Greene has built a career as the "Machiavellian Dale Carnegie," and his latest offering is more of the same. This time he sums up all the cunning and ruthless principles we've come to associate with reality game show winners. If "Pose as a Friend, Work as a Spy" (Law 14), "Play a Sucker to Catch a Sucker" (Law 21), and "Strike the Shepherd and the Sheep Will Scatter" (Law 42) all seem like sound advice to you, you may enjoy Don Leslie's confident reading of Greene's work. R.W.S. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

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  • English

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