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tonyreadsbooks 's review for:
The 48 Laws of Power
by Robert Greene, Joost Elffers
Widely recognized as the spiritual successor to Machiavelli’s The Prince, The 48 Laws of Power claims to provide the reader with the secrets to maximize their power and success in life, be it in business or in love. This book has often been described as “evil” (just look at the top reviews for this book, positive and negative) yet I will argue that the great majority of the content is not evil, but it is framed as such. This book is divided into 48 sections, each covering one of the laws of power. Why there are 48 laws instead of 47 or 49 is something I can’t explain. Regardless, the style of Robert Greene’s writing heavily indicates that he wants the reader to be impressed by his cold and calculated demeanour but is his advice actually so evil?
Like many self-help and “business-adjacent” books, The 48 Laws of Power doesn’t actually say anything truly controversial (except at like a couple of sections but I’ll cover that in a second). Most of the advice is actually quite obvious or even “nice”, which is not expected from a “dark” and “evil” book. For example, one of the laws given by Greene boils down to being nice to your enemies to disarm them and reduce their anger. This isn’t bad advice and it is actually quite useful for conflict management training. Greene frames it as a super manipulative tactic that makes you superior to your enemy as it allows you to control their feelings. I mean if you look at it that way then yeah sure technically you’re being manipulative but more accurately, you’re being a decent person. Being nice to someone who is mean to you isn’t a secret machiavellian technique, it’s called turning the other cheek. In fact, Greene quotes the “turning the other cheek” verse from the bible as a form of authority. I think it’s quite funny that Greene would quote Jesus in a book about manipulating people as a way to convince the reader that this is the secret to success. In the end he’s just giving the same advice that your pastor would give you. Of course, this isn’t all the advice in the book. Most of the laws of power are obvious psychological or strategic tricks that no-one would actually think are “evil” or “manipulative”. They just are framed that way by the author as a way to create a mystical aura to his book (which funnily enough, is one of the 48 laws of power). However, I will note that Greene does give a relatively detailed guide on how to start a cult in one of the chapters which I found odd. Of course, a book this long doesn’t fill its pages only with psychological tricks. Greene gives credibility to his ideas by providing examples from history of “observances” or “transgressions” of the laws. Basically, he tells a story of something that happened in the past with a historical figure and then he relates the story to the law that he’s explaining. Surprisingly, Greene is actually a good storyteller. He tells those stories in a captivating way and at many points this book felt more like a history book than anything else. The reason why my rating for this book is so high is because I did honestly enjoy reading the “historical” sections or the anecdotes provided in the book. I have to give credit to Greene for doing a significant amount of research for this book.
In the end, I think this is a book with a reputation that far exceeds its actual content. There are few controversial ideas in the book and I think that most people who were strongly affected by his book either positively or negatively are simply deluded (or dare I say manipulated) by the author’s tone. This is not a bad book but it won’t give you the secrets to success in life and it definitely isn’t some evil document that must be banned to protect the world. There are some cool stories in there though so you should read it if you have an interest in history (mainly military or strategy). 3/5.
Like many self-help and “business-adjacent” books, The 48 Laws of Power doesn’t actually say anything truly controversial (except at like a couple of sections but I’ll cover that in a second). Most of the advice is actually quite obvious or even “nice”, which is not expected from a “dark” and “evil” book. For example, one of the laws given by Greene boils down to being nice to your enemies to disarm them and reduce their anger. This isn’t bad advice and it is actually quite useful for conflict management training. Greene frames it as a super manipulative tactic that makes you superior to your enemy as it allows you to control their feelings. I mean if you look at it that way then yeah sure technically you’re being manipulative but more accurately, you’re being a decent person. Being nice to someone who is mean to you isn’t a secret machiavellian technique, it’s called turning the other cheek. In fact, Greene quotes the “turning the other cheek” verse from the bible as a form of authority. I think it’s quite funny that Greene would quote Jesus in a book about manipulating people as a way to convince the reader that this is the secret to success. In the end he’s just giving the same advice that your pastor would give you. Of course, this isn’t all the advice in the book. Most of the laws of power are obvious psychological or strategic tricks that no-one would actually think are “evil” or “manipulative”. They just are framed that way by the author as a way to create a mystical aura to his book (which funnily enough, is one of the 48 laws of power). However, I will note that Greene does give a relatively detailed guide on how to start a cult in one of the chapters which I found odd. Of course, a book this long doesn’t fill its pages only with psychological tricks. Greene gives credibility to his ideas by providing examples from history of “observances” or “transgressions” of the laws. Basically, he tells a story of something that happened in the past with a historical figure and then he relates the story to the law that he’s explaining. Surprisingly, Greene is actually a good storyteller. He tells those stories in a captivating way and at many points this book felt more like a history book than anything else. The reason why my rating for this book is so high is because I did honestly enjoy reading the “historical” sections or the anecdotes provided in the book. I have to give credit to Greene for doing a significant amount of research for this book.
In the end, I think this is a book with a reputation that far exceeds its actual content. There are few controversial ideas in the book and I think that most people who were strongly affected by his book either positively or negatively are simply deluded (or dare I say manipulated) by the author’s tone. This is not a bad book but it won’t give you the secrets to success in life and it definitely isn’t some evil document that must be banned to protect the world. There are some cool stories in there though so you should read it if you have an interest in history (mainly military or strategy). 3/5.