• 33 Strategies of War

  • By: Robert Greene
  • Narrated by: Donald Coren
  • Length: 27 hrs and 30 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (4,590 ratings)

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33 Strategies of War

By: Robert Greene
Narrated by: Donald Coren
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Publisher's summary

33 Strategies of War is a comprehensive guide to the subtle social game of everyday life, informed by the most ingenious and effective military principles in war. It's the I-Ching of conflict, the contemporary companion to Sun Tzu's The Art of War, and is abundantly illustrated with examples from history, including the folly and genius of everyone from Napoleon to Margaret Thatcher, Hannibal to Ulysses S. Grant, movie moguls to samurai swordsmen.

©2007 Robert Greene and Joost Elffers (P)2015 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

What listeners say about 33 Strategies of War

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Great for thinkers

What I like most about this book and its counter part the 48 laws of power is the style in which the author delivers a ton of information. The stories he tells are real and are from the lives of many different well known and influential people from different time periods. Its like having someone piece together twenty or thirty biographies of interesting peoples lives and getting just the good parts. I enjoyed 48 laws of power more but the principles in this book make you think a lot. I found myself looking inward and asking myself how I acted in certain social situations in and outside of the work place.

It is a very interesting and well done work!

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98 people found this helpful

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terrifyingly good

this book nails so many things it's hard to cover it all in a review. just BUY THE BOOK
if you enjoy history buy the book
if you enjoy drama buy the book
you you like conflict buy the book
if you like practical applications buy the book

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81 people found this helpful

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Strategy for Life

Required Reading for Entrepreneurs and anyone who wants to understand human nature and social dynamics

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35 people found this helpful

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Very good especially for the history savy

Overall I loved the book. It is written in the traditional Robert Greene fashion, with lots of examples which are repeated in order to prove different points or different stages of a process. I personally love this style as he does not hurry up to draw a conclusion.

However it is packed full of examples from ancient history, and for me personally it would have been better to use more modern day examples. This is why I found myslef wandering of at times and had to rewind. But for someone who loves ancient history this is a 5 star book, no doubt about it. And the voice of the narrator is top notch. Would highly recommend the book to anyone interested in the matter or strategy but be prepared with patience as the book is long and tackles a lot of ideeas and stories.

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29 people found this helpful

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Impressive array of moves, stories, coaching

This book is very qualitative: it mostly describes possible moves or approaches, in fairly plain terms, to challenging situations, posed as war or conflict, with stories spliced in from history (and occasionally literature) to back each one up. There is not some deep analytical means to opt for one move versus others. Likewise it is not excessive in its humility -- the basic tone is, you can do it. Grasp this, understand this, dare that. (It does, however, counsel a calm, deliberate, self-critical, and self-aware approach.) It thus hits a nice balance, being energizing, but not overly risk-obsessed. I find it very pleasant and uplifting to pass time (as on a commute or a walk-run) letting this endless sort of breeze of coaching tips stream over my ears and mind. I like a book that can stand up to that sort of shifting environment and still be understandable. This is one of those few books I may very well listen to multiple times. I like this author a lot and will check out his other titles.

Alongside more of Napoleon than I ever heard, this author has a great appreciation for east Asian strategies of indirection and seeming retreat or "not-doing." For example, there are ideas of trading space for time, both from European tacticians and Chinese in different eras. There are many great mind-stretchers here along these lines. And how about that Joan Crawford! What a tactician! The author reaches in many unexpected directions and opens vistas and bios I would never have thought of.

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28 people found this helpful

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A Must Read for Self-Empowerment

This is the most empowering book I've ever read. "Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it." This book tells you how to react.

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Excerpts

This is a execellent audio book of advice, the narrators matter of fact voice and the odd representation of the world shines a new light on everything with its excerpts quotes and stories from fables and real world occurrences. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who has free time.

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26 people found this helpful

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It's just okay

I normally like Robert Greene's books, but this felt a little too dry for me. I couldn't finish it. But I do love and recommend his other book: 48 laws of power

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24 people found this helpful

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good listen while driving......... .

good listen while driving. use this or defend against it. I ended up reading more about each person in the story

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Foundations

I read this book many years ago and remember feeling like it would change my life. Having not reviewed it in the many years that passed, I’m amazed by how little i remembered. Between the two readings, there were countless opportunities to capitalize on the wisdom collected here. In fact, I should have read the section on passive-aggression last year.

The strategies are important because there is a very real war for power or influence being waged around us. If you’re like me, you prefer to go through life trying to be the best version of yourself and rely on your integrity to win the day. Unfortunately, we are few and far between. Others are using conscious and unconscious forms of strategy to win the battlefield. We have to be able to recognize their efforts and know how to respond. Otherwise, we lose.

Robert’s analysis of the Vietnam Conflict is spot on. America failed to understand the enemy and their strategy out maneuvered our politicians with public opinion through press coverage, the hamstrung our military forces through political maneuvering, and ultimately crafted a narrative that painted our nation with shame.

Read this book. It’ll open your eyes to strategies at all levels, from marriage to world war.

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18 people found this helpful