"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.

2008-09-24 48 laws...

Very interesting read. To put it simply it is a book with 48 laws on how to obtain power based on historical facts for each law on how people used that specific law to gain power. Take alot of it with a pinch of salt as some laws are set where you would have an army of some sort when going into battle but saying that most of the laws still apply to everyday situations. If you like your history then this will be of interest to you as it uses very famous figures such as Ghengis Khan and Ivan the terrible as examples. It is a classic book and if you are interested in how to obtain power then get this book. The author is intelligent and the layout is easy to understand, very accurate and a good read