The 48 Laws of Power

By: Robert Greene

Narrated by: Don Leslie

Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins

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

Not for those who refuse to put down their moral compass

The narration sounds kind of cheesy at first until you realize how dry this work would be without that. That being said, this is probably one of the more disturbingly accurate books I have listen to.

Once you take the angel off of your shoulder and put him in your pocket, you'll find many tools that will help you to control those around you.

If you have been successful in life either professionally or personally you will probably notice that you have followed some of these laws already.

A bit too much but good for Corp America

My moral compass cant put most of the books “laws of power” to use in real life but I get the point of them. It is very useful to know this, especially for Corporate America where everyone is trying to watch you fail so they can rise up in your ashes. You get a bit cynical at first thinking every good deed someone is doing is for another purpose (as stated in the book), but then you learn most people are bad. If you are in a highly competitive job like finance/consulting you best believe everyone is using these laws of power to gain more power, so watch out.

great narration!

i could get thru this book mainly because of the excellent narration. the voice modulation and story-telling is one of the best of audible i've heard so far!

Great Book

Would you listen to The 48 Laws of Power again? Why?

Yes, this book give great guidelines on life with others

What does Don Leslie bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Well spoken

Any additional comments?

I did not like the fact that this audio book has NO BOOK MARK. There is no way the listen only one lay or chapter at the time

Fascinating perspective, historical references...

Made for most informative read and upon completion lol wished there had been 49 laws so not to end an excellent book.

Must listen

Great book, it's a must listen!! The stories are a bit ancient but still relevant.

Excellent for Leaders

Would you listen to The 48 Laws of Power again? Why?

Yes. Because in it lies several techniques on how to manuaver and cover all terrains of the any human relationship.

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

The authors careful disection.

What about Don Leslie’s performance did you like?

I liked his delivery, his pauses were acurate and dramatic.

What’s an idea from the book that you will remember?

The concept of power has been diluted by our need to be "civilized", but it still very much exerts a powerful force over our society.

Any additional comments?

This book was friggin' awesome. I reconmend it to anyone, anywhere.

Good Phychology Lesson

This book is a historic analysis of power psychology...and it's awesome! It makes you think about your relationships, helps clarify social dynamics and conflict into manageable predictability through awareness, and offers tried-and-true transferable how-to's. Rad.

Very Interesting, very unique.

I would say that this is a very insightful look into the things that help powerful people to gain and keep power. Obviously though, those with scruples will naturally shy away from many of these techniques. I'm not sure if a book exists that shows someone how to rule the world morally. However, I guarantee that every reader, ethical readers included, will find many useful strategies in this book, which they can use to help them achieve their goals in life. Definitely worth the time!

one of my all time favorite books. a must read. 👍

this books takes wisdom from the ages and show us how nothing really changes overtime.