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A review by wintrovia
The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
1.0
It’s very rare that I’d give a book a one-star review because I’m happy to give up on books if I’m not enjoying them. This book is an exception though, it was so bad that I couldn’t stop reading it. The advice inside this book is horrible, as though it was written to help an aspiring panto villain.
The central idea is that if you follow these 48 simple rules you too can become some sort of evil mastermind and take over the world. You’ll have crushed everyone that you ever loved and will be a hollowed out shell of a human, but you’ll have won power and that’s all that matters.
If you’re interested in power at all costs and don’t care how you get it then this book is for you. Maybe ask the prison librarian if they can order it in for you. Or just steal it at knifepoint if you’re not yet incarcerated. I can confidently predict that most people that enjoy this book have a strong chance of being locked up in their near future.
I read this book because it was recommended on a YouTube video I was watching. I had some misgivings about it when I read the synopsis but I gave it the benefit of the doubt. At first, I thought I was reading a parody of self-help books, but as I realised that the advice inside was serious I started to see that this is the kind of book you read when you’ve got ambitions to rule the world and attach lasers to sharks in your mountain lair.
I don’t just wish that I hadn’t read this book, I also wish that it hadn’t been written. Its philosophy is hateful and there isn’t a glimmer of humanity in any of “tips” that are dispensed. Just lots of suggestions on how to exploit your fellow man in the pursuit of power.
The thing I found strange was that the book never tries to tell you what you should do with the power that you fight so hard to capture. If you’re using the techniques described in the book then it’s almost impossible to ever be satisfied and happy. Maybe you just keep on accumulating power until you control the world.
I’m genuinely worried at the number of people that have read this book and left positive reviews. I understand that with literature there are as many opinions as there are readers and it’s enjoyment is subjective but this book, if consumed at face value, is sick. So, if you read this and feel like you’ve come away with a strategy to live your life by, you’re likely to be sick yourself.
One thing I will say about this book is that it’s an interesting insight into every knobhead that I’ve ever known. If you’ve dealt with a scumbag at some point in your life then the lessons included in this book will resonate with their behaviour.
Each rule listed in the book is illustrated with real-life, historic examples of how this rule has proven to be true. The tricky thing is that most people reading this book are middle-management types, not kinds of European countries, so the suggestions of crushing your enemies and wiping out their family aren’t quite as easy to put into practice.
I’m not sure why I finished reading, aside from a grim determination to see just how fundamentally abhorrent each rule was. And each and every one of the rules in the book is terrible and the exact opposite of how you should conduct yourself if you want to be part of a society that values decency and being even slightly good.
If you want an alternative book that treads similar ground, I’d recommend [b:The Meaning of Things: Applying Philosophy to Life|343492|The Meaning of Things Applying Philosophy to Life|A.C. Grayling|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1365236945s/343492.jpg|1790548]The Meaning of Things by A.C Grayling. It’s a philosophy book rather than a how-to book but it provides a thoughtful counterpoint to the effluent contained within the pages of this book.
I think this might be the worst book that I’ve ever read to the end. After reading it I felt like I wanted to rub my skin with a cheese grater and take a bath in bleach to get it off my skin, I worry that the ideas inside my have permeated into me and I might suddenly become some sort of power-crazed idiot.
So, as you’ve probably guessed by now, I’d not recommend this book to many people. Perhaps if you’ve got ambitions to enslave the world and bend it to your will.
The central idea is that if you follow these 48 simple rules you too can become some sort of evil mastermind and take over the world. You’ll have crushed everyone that you ever loved and will be a hollowed out shell of a human, but you’ll have won power and that’s all that matters.
If you’re interested in power at all costs and don’t care how you get it then this book is for you. Maybe ask the prison librarian if they can order it in for you. Or just steal it at knifepoint if you’re not yet incarcerated. I can confidently predict that most people that enjoy this book have a strong chance of being locked up in their near future.
I read this book because it was recommended on a YouTube video I was watching. I had some misgivings about it when I read the synopsis but I gave it the benefit of the doubt. At first, I thought I was reading a parody of self-help books, but as I realised that the advice inside was serious I started to see that this is the kind of book you read when you’ve got ambitions to rule the world and attach lasers to sharks in your mountain lair.
I don’t just wish that I hadn’t read this book, I also wish that it hadn’t been written. Its philosophy is hateful and there isn’t a glimmer of humanity in any of “tips” that are dispensed. Just lots of suggestions on how to exploit your fellow man in the pursuit of power.
The thing I found strange was that the book never tries to tell you what you should do with the power that you fight so hard to capture. If you’re using the techniques described in the book then it’s almost impossible to ever be satisfied and happy. Maybe you just keep on accumulating power until you control the world.
I’m genuinely worried at the number of people that have read this book and left positive reviews. I understand that with literature there are as many opinions as there are readers and it’s enjoyment is subjective but this book, if consumed at face value, is sick. So, if you read this and feel like you’ve come away with a strategy to live your life by, you’re likely to be sick yourself.
One thing I will say about this book is that it’s an interesting insight into every knobhead that I’ve ever known. If you’ve dealt with a scumbag at some point in your life then the lessons included in this book will resonate with their behaviour.
Each rule listed in the book is illustrated with real-life, historic examples of how this rule has proven to be true. The tricky thing is that most people reading this book are middle-management types, not kinds of European countries, so the suggestions of crushing your enemies and wiping out their family aren’t quite as easy to put into practice.
I’m not sure why I finished reading, aside from a grim determination to see just how fundamentally abhorrent each rule was. And each and every one of the rules in the book is terrible and the exact opposite of how you should conduct yourself if you want to be part of a society that values decency and being even slightly good.
If you want an alternative book that treads similar ground, I’d recommend [b:The Meaning of Things: Applying Philosophy to Life|343492|The Meaning of Things Applying Philosophy to Life|A.C. Grayling|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1365236945s/343492.jpg|1790548]The Meaning of Things by A.C Grayling. It’s a philosophy book rather than a how-to book but it provides a thoughtful counterpoint to the effluent contained within the pages of this book.
I think this might be the worst book that I’ve ever read to the end. After reading it I felt like I wanted to rub my skin with a cheese grater and take a bath in bleach to get it off my skin, I worry that the ideas inside my have permeated into me and I might suddenly become some sort of power-crazed idiot.
So, as you’ve probably guessed by now, I’d not recommend this book to many people. Perhaps if you’ve got ambitions to enslave the world and bend it to your will.