The 48 Laws of Power

August 31, 1998
Greene and Elffers have created an heir to Machiavelli's Prince, espousing principles such as, everyone wants more power; emotions, including love, are detrimental; deceit and manipulation are life's paramount tools. Anyone striving for psychological health will be put off at the start, but the authors counter, saying "honesty is indeed a power strategy," and "genuinely innocent people may still be playing for power." Amoral or immoral, this compendium aims to guide those who embrace power as a ruthless game, and will entertain the rest. Elffers's layout (he is identified as the co-conceiver and designer in the press release) is stylish, with short epigrams set in red at the margins. Each law, with such allusive titles as "Pose as a Friend, Work as a Spy," "Get Others to Do the Work for You, But Always Take the Credit," "Conceal Your Intentions," is demonstrated in four ways--using it correctly, failing to use it, key aspects of the law and when not to use it. Illustrations are drawn from the courts of modern and ancient Europe, Africa and Asia, and devious strategies culled from well-known personae: Machiavelli, Talleyrand, Bismarck, Catherine the Great, Mao, Kissinger, Haile Selassie, Lola Montes and various con artists of our century. These historical escapades make enjoyable reading, yet by the book's conclusion, some protagonists have appeared too many times and seem drained. Although gentler souls will find this book frightening, those whose moral compass is oriented solely to power will have a perfect vade mecum. BOMC and Money Book Club alternates. Author tour.

If you're one of those people who gets sand kicked in your face even when you're not at the beach, you may find the 48 laws in this book helpful, particularly Law 15, "Crush Your Enemies Totally." Bob Greene has built a career as the "Machiavellian Dale Carnegie," and his latest offering is more of the same. This time he sums up all the cunning and ruthless principles we've come to associate with reality game show winners. If "Pose as a Friend, Work as a Spy" (Law 14), "Play a Sucker to Catch a Sucker" (Law 21), and "Strike the Shepherd and the Sheep Will Scatter" (Law 42) all seem like sound advice to you, you may enjoy Don Leslie's confident reading of Greene's work. R.W.S. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine