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  • The 48 Laws of Power

  • By: Robert Greene
  • Narrated by: Don Leslie
  • Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (212 ratings)

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The 48 Laws of Power

By: Robert Greene
Narrated by: Don Leslie
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Publisher's Summary

Amoral, cunning, ruthless, and instructive, this piercing work distills 3,000 years of the history of power into 48 well-explicated laws. This bold volume outlines the laws of power in their unvarnished essence, synthesizing the philosophies of Machiavelli, Sun-tzu, Carl von Clausewitz, and other great thinkers. Some laws teach the need for prudence ("Law 1: Never Outshine the Master") and the virtue of stealth ("Law 3: Conceal Your Intentions"); many demand the total absence of mercy ("Law 15: Crush Your Enemy Totally"). But like it or not, all have applications in real life. Illustrated through the tactics of Queen Elizabeth I, Henry Kissinger, P. T. Barnum, and other famous figures who have wielded, or been victimized by, power, these laws will fascinate any listener interested in gaining, observing, or defending against ultimate control.
Listen to the companion audiobook, The 33 Strategies of War.
©2000 Robert Greene and Joost Elffers (P)2007 HighBridge Company

What listeners say about The 48 Laws of Power

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A frightening look into the dark side of life!

A frightening look into the dark side of life, made horrifically real by Don Leslie's sociopathic tone! Must be listened to twice because the first few hours are spent recoiling from the Machiavellian sociopathic nature of the content. Very quickly however one identifies as the victim of many a person's use of these laws,and you identify strategies to avoid manipulation and strengthen ones own position (without going to the dark side).

If however you find a sociopathic person reading this book, be afraid. Very afraid. Employing these laws for evil instead of good, constitutes a sociopaths 'how to guide'!

Overall though, in the top three business books ever.

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4 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
  • MRW
  • 21-08-2016

Very deceptive in nature

a guide to decieve and manipulate ruthlessly solely for personal gain. if thats your thing.

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2 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A great book which I'm sure I will return to again

Great book. Eye opening. I'd like to see more modern history examples though. Well written. Excellent concept.

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2 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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manipulation = power

More like laws to abuse power, this book came across as a guide to be a di**head and twist or trick people into giving you what you want. that might just be perspective I have a low tolerance for unkind practices and I couldn't sit through more than 1/4.

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Beware Of The Advice You Take

What disappointed you about The 48 Laws of Power?

It had some good tips and pointers in it, however I believe that alot of the advice he gives comes with little to no moral empathy for other people. It's like he is training you to deceive and manipulate other people in your life, even your loved ones. You get the impression that he has no morals at all. Full of deceit, backstabbing lessons that I found very, very hard to listen to. I wrote down 5 of the 48 lessons, as they were the only 5 that did not involve stabbing anybody in the back.

He needs to take a few lessons from 'how to win friends and influence people' by Napolian Hill and Steven Covey's book '7 habits of highly effective people'. I think the entire planet should read both these books to be honest! They teach us how to treat people the right way, without deceit and manipulation!

Any additional comments?

The stories are almost all based in medieval times and an absolute drainer to listen to. After 3 hours into the book, I decided to listen to the first 3 minutes and last 2 minutes of each chapter where it talks specifically about 'the laws' and skip the ancient stories that start to put me to sleep whilst driving.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

wonderfully Educational

Loved it, many usefull tactics for life and games. Worth a second listen
Recommended book for youth and adults

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    2 out of 5 stars
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Nothing but obvious and useless tactics

A history lesson here and there, but nothing of real value or substance to be gained. It talks of obvious and dramatic ways to be deceitful to get one over your enemy, and bases it on historical facts. Unless you are looking to carry out some industrial espionage in an episode of days of our lives you can save your time on this one.

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Enjoyable and easy to listen to

Great narrator! Great delivery - spoken in an ominous voice fit for the book. Loved it!

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    1 out of 5 stars
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Very manipulative

It just feels fake and misleading. I really didn’t believe a great deal of it

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An excellent audiobook

An excellent book , loved that they used music in the recording. highly recommend

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