The 48 Laws of Power Hardcover β 1 September 1998
by
Joost Elffers
(Author),
Robert Greene
(Author)
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- Print length452 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication date1 September 1998
- ISBN-100670881465
- ISBN-13978-0670881468
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Product details
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 452 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0670881465
- ISBN-13 : 978-0670881468
- Best Sellers Rank: 296,891 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 859 in Social Psychology
- 1,214 in Government
- 1,253 in Ethics & Morality
- Customer reviews:
Customer reviews
4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
50,978 global ratings
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A book recommended by others, haven't tried reading it yet but hope the content is good.however book came damaged, seller please wrap it with some bubble wrap before sending
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Top reviews from Singapore
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Reviewed in Singapore πΈπ¬ on 27 November 2022
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More of a trivia-esque read. Well written and interesting though.
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Reviewed in Singapore πΈπ¬ on 30 June 2022
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A book recommended by others, haven't tried reading it yet but hope the content is good.however book came damaged, seller please wrap it with some bubble wrap before sending

A book recommended by others, haven't tried reading it yet but hope the content is good.however book came damaged, seller please wrap it with some bubble wrap before sending
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Reviewed in Singapore πΈπ¬ on 14 October 2021
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Encyclopaedic in its composition. A fascinating and though provoking read. Youβll certainly be more self-conscious having read this book. For good and bad.
2 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in Singapore πΈπ¬ on 16 February 2021
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Recommended to All level
Reviewed in Singapore πΈπ¬ on 5 October 2022
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Quality is absolutely disappointing. Not that I have anything from India, but it is scummy to sell a book at a retail price with the quality of a badly used product made from a less developed country. Stains on the cover and the sides as shown in the pictures. Disgusting smell as well.

1.0 out of 5 stars
Garbage quality and smell
Reviewed in Singapore πΈπ¬ on 5 October 2022
Quality is absolutely disappointing. Not that I have anything from India, but it is scummy to sell a book at a retail price with the quality of a badly used product made from a less developed country. Stains on the cover and the sides as shown in the pictures. Disgusting smell as well.
Reviewed in Singapore πΈπ¬ on 5 October 2022
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Reviewed in Singapore πΈπ¬ on 6 January 2023
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It's not the actual famous book 48 laws of power. It's a ripoff.
Reviewed in Singapore πΈπ¬ on 15 August 2022
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Poorly printed & glued. Illegal copy -- probably from India.
Purchased from third party seller Unique Split. Best to ensure the seller is AMZ SG and/or US.
Purchased from third party seller Unique Split. Best to ensure the seller is AMZ SG and/or US.
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Reviewed in Singapore πΈπ¬ on 18 April 2022
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Completely regret wasting my money and buying it. If youβre unsure of whether to buy or not, borrow it from the library first.
Top reviews from other countries

MJ
5.0 out of 5 stars
First depressing, then exciting, but always interesting.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom π¬π§ on 14 August 2018Verified Purchase
I have lost my innocence from reading this book and realised that there really are people who are out to get you (paranoia aside). People exist like the people described in this book who will manipulate the situation and use you for their own ends. While this book outright advocates that you do this (because other people are bound to be doing it so why don't you join them and get them before they get you, which is a highly flawed argument), this is clearly not always the best course of action.
However, this book has helped me in ways that I did not expect. I am more aware of what other people are doing, I am actually more concerned with the welfare of others, and I realised that it is important to at least have power over your own life so I am now a much more in control person who is more disciplined. I am also more excited about life somewhat, knowing that you can have fun improving yourself and your position in life and in the world.
I am not sure that I will follow each and every rule of the book, but it's an interesting read and some of the laws are fairly neutral such as being careful about what you say to people, not always showing all of your cards and never appearing or being smarter than those above you, especially in a professional work situation. Laws such as these are good for self-preservation, if nothing else.
But if you take everything in this book as gospel, then you may lose your humanity (as other reviewers have said) and/or you may realise that the heights of power are not what you wanted after all. Ultimately, take this book with a barrel of salt and maybe go for the more morally neutral laws, lest you be completely corrupted by the dark side of the world.
However, this book has helped me in ways that I did not expect. I am more aware of what other people are doing, I am actually more concerned with the welfare of others, and I realised that it is important to at least have power over your own life so I am now a much more in control person who is more disciplined. I am also more excited about life somewhat, knowing that you can have fun improving yourself and your position in life and in the world.
I am not sure that I will follow each and every rule of the book, but it's an interesting read and some of the laws are fairly neutral such as being careful about what you say to people, not always showing all of your cards and never appearing or being smarter than those above you, especially in a professional work situation. Laws such as these are good for self-preservation, if nothing else.
But if you take everything in this book as gospel, then you may lose your humanity (as other reviewers have said) and/or you may realise that the heights of power are not what you wanted after all. Ultimately, take this book with a barrel of salt and maybe go for the more morally neutral laws, lest you be completely corrupted by the dark side of the world.
335 people found this helpful
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Carlos Neto
5.0 out of 5 stars
Intriguing
Reviewed in the United Kingdom π¬π§ on 26 June 2019Verified Purchase
I don't recommend this book to everyone...in my opinion this books is very good for people that were used and kind hearted people...Not everyone will be able to understand the value of this book people might say it's a immoral book, however it's very helpful if you are a very altruistic person it will help balance your extremely kind personality...
180 people found this helpful
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Janaka Goonasekera
2.0 out of 5 stars
These rules of power that will get you alone, broke and turn you in to a loser/wanna-be abuser
Reviewed in the United States πΊπΈ on 14 October 2018Verified Purchase
All ethics, decency, courtesy and fairness falls out of the Golden Rule - "Treat others as you would like to be treated". So the question is what happens when we are all those things, for the best of our ability, but we get treated poorly by a narcissist that abuses our kindness. Do we the embrace the psychology of our abuser and accept that is how the world is and that it was OUR fault for being naive?
These rules are the revenge fantasy of a wounded child archetype. They are highly dysfunctional in any healthy community, relationship, friendships of family. If you practice them, you will end up losing the most valuable of friendships and other relationships that would have helped you out the most in life, and keep you in that hell.
If you want to be able to recognize psychopathic indicators in others, read up some books on modern psychology that addresses that directly. It is not very hard to recognize such people.
I heard this is the most popular book ordered in US prisons. That should tell you something.
These rules are the revenge fantasy of a wounded child archetype. They are highly dysfunctional in any healthy community, relationship, friendships of family. If you practice them, you will end up losing the most valuable of friendships and other relationships that would have helped you out the most in life, and keep you in that hell.
If you want to be able to recognize psychopathic indicators in others, read up some books on modern psychology that addresses that directly. It is not very hard to recognize such people.
I heard this is the most popular book ordered in US prisons. That should tell you something.
2,294 people found this helpful
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J.S. Bach
4.0 out of 5 stars
DANGER: read at your own risk
Reviewed in the United States πΊπΈ on 15 November 2017Verified Purchase
there seems to be a lot of love and hate surrounding this book, so if you are curious but unsure, this review should help you decide whether or not to buy the book, and how it will impact you
First, to understand the 48 laws of power, you must know two key ideas
1. you CAN NOT escape the power game. thinking you can "not participate" is as foolish as thinking that you could somehow escape gravity or make the sun stand still. Robert Greene explains why in the intro with some excellent examples
2. the 48 laws of power are neither good nor evil; they are just LAWS. If someone pushed a man off a cliff would you blame gravity for for his demise? This is the mindset you must adopt in order to learn a lot from this book.
Things I Liked
- NEW PARADIGM
after reading the 48 laws, you will never see the world the same way again. once you understand some of these laws you will see many underlying currents and motives you did not see before.
- INCREASES POWER
one of the main reasons to buy the book. you wil become exponentially more powerfull by knowing and understanding these laws
-CRYSTAL CLEAR
every law is clearly outlined with "transgression" of the law, "observance" of the law, keys to power, and a "reversal"
-GREAT STORIES
the 48 laws are packed with mindblowing and sometimes humorous stories of people in history practicing these laws. this is helpful as some of the concepts are quite abstract.
What I didn't like
-RISKY
an old proverb says " A man who plays with snakes will eventually be bitten". If you begin to use the 48 Laws improperly, you could get yourself in some dangerous situations, lose friends, piss off a lot a people, and destroy relationships
- REQUIRES DISCERNMENT
if you you are looking for a highly concrete book that the says "do xyz and you will accomplish vyx" look elsewhere. the Laws require good judgement and and and prospecting nature to practice and apply
-NOT FOR EVERYONE
If you are aghast at the idea of manipulation and deceit then read with caution.
OVERALL: If you want to have more power or a better understanding of why different situations turn out the the way they do, you should definitely read the 48 laws of power by Robert Greene. If you want to be naive, easily manipulated, weak, you should ignore this book and go watch some netfilx.
Thanks for reading
First, to understand the 48 laws of power, you must know two key ideas
1. you CAN NOT escape the power game. thinking you can "not participate" is as foolish as thinking that you could somehow escape gravity or make the sun stand still. Robert Greene explains why in the intro with some excellent examples
2. the 48 laws of power are neither good nor evil; they are just LAWS. If someone pushed a man off a cliff would you blame gravity for for his demise? This is the mindset you must adopt in order to learn a lot from this book.
Things I Liked
- NEW PARADIGM
after reading the 48 laws, you will never see the world the same way again. once you understand some of these laws you will see many underlying currents and motives you did not see before.
- INCREASES POWER
one of the main reasons to buy the book. you wil become exponentially more powerfull by knowing and understanding these laws
-CRYSTAL CLEAR
every law is clearly outlined with "transgression" of the law, "observance" of the law, keys to power, and a "reversal"
-GREAT STORIES
the 48 laws are packed with mindblowing and sometimes humorous stories of people in history practicing these laws. this is helpful as some of the concepts are quite abstract.
What I didn't like
-RISKY
an old proverb says " A man who plays with snakes will eventually be bitten". If you begin to use the 48 Laws improperly, you could get yourself in some dangerous situations, lose friends, piss off a lot a people, and destroy relationships
- REQUIRES DISCERNMENT
if you you are looking for a highly concrete book that the says "do xyz and you will accomplish vyx" look elsewhere. the Laws require good judgement and and and prospecting nature to practice and apply
-NOT FOR EVERYONE
If you are aghast at the idea of manipulation and deceit then read with caution.
OVERALL: If you want to have more power or a better understanding of why different situations turn out the the way they do, you should definitely read the 48 laws of power by Robert Greene. If you want to be naive, easily manipulated, weak, you should ignore this book and go watch some netfilx.
Thanks for reading
5,631 people found this helpful
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Jean-Luc Mauricette
1.0 out of 5 stars
Nothing more than a guide to manipulation and using others for your own personal gain.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom π¬π§ on 27 February 2020Verified Purchase
After reading parts of this book, it appears the author has several sociopathic tendencies. These aren't 'laws of power' but more so ways to manipulate, use others and abuse your position of trust/power where possible. If that's what you're after then sure, it's a great read but I couldn't enjoy such an unethical book.
78 people found this helpful
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