[.ca] The 48 Laws of Power (ISBN 1598870920)

From Amazon.com:
"Learning the game of power requires a certain way of looking at the world, a shifting of perspective," writes Robert Greene. Mastery of one's emotions and the arts of deception and indirection are, he goes on to assert, essential. The 48 laws outlined in this book "have a simple premise: certain actions always increase one's power ... while others decrease it and even ruin us." The laws cull their principles from many great schemers--and scheming instructors--throughout history, from Sun-Tzu to Talleyrand, from Casanova to con man Yellow Kid Weil. They are straightforward in their amoral simplicity: "Get others to do the work for you, but always take the credit," or "Discover each man's thumbscrew." Each chapter provides examples of the consequences of observance or transgression of the law, along with "keys to power," potential "reversals" (where the converse of the law might also be useful), and a single paragraph cleverly laid out to suggest an image (such as the aforementioned thumbscrew); the margins are filled with illustrative quotations. Practitioners of one-upmanship have been given a new, comprehensive training manual, as up-to-date as it is timeless.

The 48 Laws Of Power:
I would highly recomend this book to anyone in sales as a career, or anyone interested in further understanding of selling yourself. Alot of the principles I have found in many other places previously, but never so condensed in one book. The precepts in this book will definately prove useful to anyone planning global domination/local domination, whether seen or not seen, noticed or un-noticed. Definately worth a read atleast twice through.

Silly book.:
I have to admit that I read only about half the book. I am a patient reader but this book was too lame to waste my time on. Techniques in this book may have applied centuries ago but definitely not in the current working environment promoting collaboration, team work and positive attitude. Being mean in corporotes, as I have seen many times, gets you nowhere.

A must own business title:
This title makes you pump your fist and feel like Caeser in his prime. An alternate title could be the Devil's Guide to Success. Anyone who has ever felt tired of being manipulated and played by smooth words (and discovering it far too late), will tear through these pages. It is a clear bombshell into analyzing effective influence and deception, via lessons learned from recent to centuries past. Psychological warfare in the business world is a very real thing, and you can either uses the tools to your advantage, or get taken to the cleaners. The choice is yours, and this book will break down every facet in great detail. The author writes with good intentions, and arms you with protecting yourself from being a victim, and selectively using the skills to your advantage.

Power Games Machiavellian style:
This book is focused predominantly on Machiavellian strategies of power. As such, it is a very interesting read. Each "law of power" is illustrated with sample stories and some of the stories may be too much for the faint of heart - they are utterly ruthless. Power is so seductive - the effects of it like chasing, fighting for and owning the "one ring that rules them all" from Talkien's "Lord of the Rings". It seems so irresistible, so sweet, but watch out how far you go, because while setting a trap for another, you can find yourself unnoticeably getting caught in it. There is a saying that the absolute power corrupts. That is not exactly true of the "real" power - but the "real" power is not based on fear, only the perceived power is based on fear and that is what Machiavellian power is based upon. After all his motto was that it is better to be feared than to be loved. And if you invest yourself totally in being feared, one day you just find yourself ending all alone. There is yet another and better way - but that one takes another route. It is based on higher knowledge. I am glad that Robert Green has added the "reversals" - the way you can find this double edged sword of power stuck in your own back if you're not careful. This book is a lovely compendium of use and abuse of power with plenty of stories drawn from history. It is nice to be aware of possible consequences when using the laws of power before you become power crazy and find yourself in a ditch. With great power comes great responsibility. Another reviewer mentioned that there is no "how to" in this book - well, even each heading clearly points out the modus operandi, which is further illustrated through the stories. And not all the laws in the book are devious, even thought that may seem to be the main flavor of the book. Some of the laws are good common-sense advice as in "avoid free lunch", "plan all the way", "concentrate your forces", "master the art of timing", etc. As you read this book, I'll just like to mention a story of a man who felt rather shy and powerless and who figured that the best way out for him to feel like somebody would be if he gets other people to be afraid of him. He found a book on mind-power and sat down to practice. It didn't take long, before he was apparently wielding power and people around him felt rather anxious in his presence. Eventually they all began finding excuses for staying away from him and in the end he was all alone - no one wanted him around. So, when you engage into experimenting with these laws of power, temper them with love and wisdom - else you may not be too happy with your creation. Machiavelli, too, ended up in exhile and all alone.

Interesting and Informative!:
I thought this book was both interesting and informative. Try it and judge for yourself.