Now that I know the true scope of the drive for power, I see the world through suspicious eyes. It is an entertaining and useful, yet highly disturbing book.
48 LAWS OF POWER PAGES HOW TO
This book would be more aptly titled: How to be a Psychopath: Strategies of Manipulation and Deceit. Treat this book as a great collection of interesting historic stories, but do NOT expect that you will receive a practical advice on how to influence others and achieve your goals. However, unless you're a student of history and know enough history to recognize the names from these stories and put them in context, if you're like most, you'll forget 95% of these stories the moment you move on to the next chapter.
The book is definitely worth reading if you just want to hear a bunch of entertaining historic anecdotes. Some were generous and that helped them succeed, others were greedy and ruthless. Others got to the top by being secretive and never seen in public. Some people lied to get to the top, some were articulate and said a lot and tried to be in the public eye. What's presented as "Laws" is is a collection of random, often mutually exclusive observations. All you will be able to recall a day later that someone killed or betrayed someone, or lied, or spread rumors, or did something else Machiavellian. However, after several chapters, all those stories blur into an easily-forgettable flood of dates, names, and facts. Interesting stories blur into a useless floodĪs I wrote in my review, The book is a compilation of very interesting stories. Rather learn the laws of power to attain mastery over your own spirit, and to defend against those who would prey upon your honesty and integrity. This is a fool's errand, and ends in your annihilation. Don't use this book to grow in power for power's sake. If you're an honest person and if you think rewards and status should be earned by merit and not by raw power or deception, then your reputation and character will go before you and these laws of power will walk behind you. But I sure as hell like to watch the people who DO live like it's a game spin their wheels as they try and fail to pin me down and make themselves look totally incompetent in the process. I don't like to play the game myself I don't think power is a game. At the most, you will be able to spot when someone else is playing "the game" and use their techniques against them. At the very least, it will keep you from making poor moves that will cause you to fall out of favor with others.
But that is not an excuse to avoid encountering the incredibly valuable information in this book. I'm an idealist myself - I like to see the good in everyone and I don't like to think of myself as someone who wants "power" over other people. If you really are a power-hungry maniac, this book will do just as much to help you reach your goals as it will if you are an average joe with no ambitions. It will warn you about going too far in your quest for power. It will tell when to give more to your employer, or when to tone down your enthusiasm. It will help you to tell your true friends apart from people who just want to use you. You don't have to be a psychopath to like this. Yes, it could help you recognize times when others may be trying to exert control or power over you, but that’s about where its usefulness stops. Which is it? Yes, the points are well taken when it comes to these paradoxical principles, but mostly you’re left to ask, “So WHEN do I exercise one law over another one?” In summary, this is primarily an interesting historical read. One law tells you to take all the credit for performance while another encourages you to give your master the credit. This is a book of contradictions (although it refers to several “paradoxes” of power). I find it interesting that the manuscript quotes several times from the Bible yet teaches a philosophy that is so directly opposed to what is taught there. While many of the points brought out through history are fascinating (and do provide some insights into what others may be doing to exert control or power over you), I certainly wouldn’t want to use this book as a guide for my life simply because it lacks any substance that would help you create and sustain a “real connection” with another human being. Perhaps the best title for this book should be “A Con Man’s Primer” or “The Unabridged Encyclopedia of Selfishness.” An interesting look at cons and power plays throughout history, this book takes a totally amoral look at how to win at all costs.
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