INTRODUCTION

At a Glance

This book is an extended review of The 48 Laws of Power, a best seller whose author, Robert Greene, looks at three thousand years of history and distills forty-eight laws for gaining and keeping power from the stories of people who climbed to positions of power. The author provides readers with a kaleidoscope of tales that illustrate these laws, drawing on figures as diverse as P. T. Barnum, Genghis Kahn, French monarch Louis XIV (a favorite of the author’s), con man Joseph “Yellow Kid” Weil, Casanova, Sun Tzu, French diplomat Charles Talleyrand, Otto von Bismarck, Henry Kissinger, and other power players throughout world history. Greene uses their stories to illustrate the use of each particular law and how it can lead to power or how not using it can lead to ruin.

In this book, the laws of morality are suspended and replaced by the laws of obtaining and keeping power. Greene himself calls his book amoral and defends its premise by pointing out that, in his view, society is not based on morality, but rather on obtaining power and keeping it. To believe otherwise, he says, is a path to personal disaster, because those who seek and obtain power will crush those who stand in their way.

This review begins with a brief presentation of the book and its author. You’ll learn about Greene’s inspiration for The 48 Laws of Power, as well as about his life and work. Then a short digest of readers’ responses to the book presents the good and the not so good, from professional reviewers as well as from bloggers and other interested readers.

The next two sections of this review offer a synopsis of Greene’s book and a detailed discussion of its key concepts. You’ll find examples of the key concepts in practice, along with ideas for applying them to your own life.

Finally, the main points of this review are briefly restated, in a way that may well leave you eager to get your own copy of the book and see for yourself what has made this book so popular—and so controversial. A list of recommendations for further reading round out this review.