The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene

About the Book: The 48 Laws of Power 1st Edition

A moral, cunning, ruthless, and instructive, this piercing work distils three thousand years of the history of power into forty-eight well-explicated laws. As attention-grabbing in its design as it is in its content, this bold volume outlines the laws of power in their unvarnished essence, synthesizing the philosophies of Machiavelli, Sun-tzu, Carl von Clausewitz, and other great thinkers, Some laws require prudence ("Law 1: Never Outshine the Master"), some stealth ("Law 3: Conceal your Intentions"), and some the total absence of mercy ("Law 15: Crush your Enemy Totally"), but like it or not, all have applications in real-life situations. Illustrated through the tactics of Queen Elizabeth I, Henry Kissinger, P T Barnum, and other famous figures who have wielded - or been victimized by - power, these laws will fascinate any reader interested in gaining observing or defending against ultimate control.

Contents:

Never outshine the master

Never put too much trust in friends, learn how to use enemies

Conceal your intentions

Always say less than necessary

So much depends on reputation - guard it with your life

Court attention at all cost

Get others to do the work for you, but always take the credit

Make other people come to you - use bait if necessary

Win through your actions, never through argument

Infection: avoid the unhappy and unlucky

Learn to keep people dependent on you

Use selective honesty and generosity to disarm your victim

When asking for help, appeal to peoples self-interest, never to their mercy or gratitude

Pose as a friend, work as a spy

Crush your enemy totally

Use absence to increase respect and honor

Keep other in suspended terror: cultivate an air of unpredictability

Do not build fortresses to protect yourself - isolation is dangerous

Know who youre dealing with - do not offend the wrong person

Do not commit to anyone

Play a sucker to catch a sucker - seem dumber than your mark

Use the surrender tactic: transform weakness into power

Concentrate your forces

Play the prefect courtier

Re-create yourself

Keep your hands clean

Play on peoples need to believe to create a cultlike following

Enter action with boldness

Plan all the way to the end

Make your accomplishments seem effortless

Control the options : get others to play with the card you deal

Play to peoples fantasies

Discover each mans thumbscrew

Be royal in your own fashion: act like a king to be treated like one

Master the art of timing

Disdain things you cannot have : ignoring them is the best revenge

Create compelling spectacles

Think as you like but behave like others

Stir up waters to catch fish

Despise the free lunch

Avoid stepping into a great mans shoes

Strike the shepherd and the sheep well scatter

Work on the hearts and minds of others

Disarm and infuriate with the mirror effect

Preach the need for change, but never reform too much at once

Never appear too perfect

Do not go past the mark you aimed for, in victory, learn when to stop

Assume formlessness