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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
The 33 Strategies of War by Robert Greene is Greene's followup to The 48 Laws of Power and The Art of Seduction. The 33 Strategies of War is Greene's attempt to filter wars and history into specific types of strategies. As with his other books, the book is ultimately about the interaction between people and how everything in the world, from power, war, politics is ultimately about how we as humans interact with each other.
I really like this book. Being interested in history the examples and the analysis is very captivating and Greene chooses his subjects very carefully. The strategies are sound as well as I've seen many of the ideas mentioned in many other books. One of the great things of this book is that it doesn't limit itself to the field of war. It also deals heavily with politics and daily life which doesn't seem like they have a lot in common with war. But strategy is on another abstract level and applies for every situation in life.
One of the things that disappointed me a little about this book is the lack of self-reflection. Greene spends most of the time in the book building a convincing case for the strategies. After each section there's a reversal section which often isn't used at all (saying that this strategy cannot be reversed) or simply stating that sometimes the strategy can't be used without specifying why that is. While I cannot specifically find a counterexample, I am sure there must be some.
Another point is the very bad formatting used in the books. There's often small snippets from other books that are an example of the strategy but it's written in the margin where it makes it hard to read because of the numerous line breaks.
Overall though it's a good read and I can highly recommend this along with Greene's other book, The 48 Laws of Power.
I really like this book. Being interested in history the examples and the analysis is very captivating and Greene chooses his subjects very carefully. The strategies are sound as well as I've seen many of the ideas mentioned in many other books. One of the great things of this book is that it doesn't limit itself to the field of war. It also deals heavily with politics and daily life which doesn't seem like they have a lot in common with war. But strategy is on another abstract level and applies for every situation in life.
One of the things that disappointed me a little about this book is the lack of self-reflection. Greene spends most of the time in the book building a convincing case for the strategies. After each section there's a reversal section which often isn't used at all (saying that this strategy cannot be reversed) or simply stating that sometimes the strategy can't be used without specifying why that is. While I cannot specifically find a counterexample, I am sure there must be some.
Another point is the very bad formatting used in the books. There's often small snippets from other books that are an example of the strategy but it's written in the margin where it makes it hard to read because of the numerous line breaks.
Overall though it's a good read and I can highly recommend this along with Greene's other book, The 48 Laws of Power.
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
challenging
informative
slow-paced
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
informative
reflective
fast-paced
An amazing book detailing the strategies one can use in war, the various methods and splitting it into offensive, defensive and unconventional warfare which is brilliant.
Also, I find it interesting as the examples aren't just about war but also careers too.
Also, I find it interesting as the examples aren't just about war but also careers too.
I am so unsure what to actually rate this... Sticking with a 4 stars for now, but I feel like some of these lessons or strategies were kind of repetitive and maybe even amoral.
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-paced
. We should have had a more varied list of public figures that these strategies be applied to rather than the same handful appearing throughout the entire book. That’s really my only problem. It’s not a big deal but it is. You know?
I heavily admire the structure that the strategies are written in. There’s all kinds of war strategies that can be applied to anyone in everyday life.
I heavily admire the structure that the strategies are written in. There’s all kinds of war strategies that can be applied to anyone in everyday life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Murder, Toxic friendship
Alred Hitchcock, Shinkage,
"The 33 Strategies of War" basically assumes you're a member of the fucking Borgias family--everyone you meet is an enemy or a stragtegic friend, and both groups will likely undermine you. I feel like Robert Greene has read way too much Machiavelli, and now sees his entire life in those terms.
While I found the Game of Thronesy political/strategic angle entertaining, it becomes wearisome after 200 pages or so. Green's prose isn't awful, but he's very repetitive. On the plus side, he throws in a lot of interesting military history to illustrate his "principles".
Read this if you're a high-powered exec. looking for a book to justify your amoral/psychopathic worldview.
While I found the Game of Thronesy political/strategic angle entertaining, it becomes wearisome after 200 pages or so. Green's prose isn't awful, but he's very repetitive. On the plus side, he throws in a lot of interesting military history to illustrate his "principles".
Read this if you're a high-powered exec. looking for a book to justify your amoral/psychopathic worldview.