Abundantly illustrated with examples from history, including the folly and genius of everyone from Napoleon to Margaret Thatcher, Shaka the Zulu to Lord Nelson, Hannibal to Ulysses S. Grant, as well as movie moguls, Samurai swordsmen, and diplomats, each of the 33 chapters outlines a strategy that will help you win life's wars. Learn the offensive strategies that require you to maintain the initiative and negotiate from a position of strength, or the defensive strategies designed to help you respond to dangerous situations and avoid unwinnable wars.
The great warriors of battlefields and drawing rooms alike demonstrate prudence, agility, balance, and calm - and a keen understanding that the rational, resourceful, and intuitive always defeat the panicked, the uncreative, and the stupid. An indispensable guide, The 33 Strategies of War provides all the psychological ammunition you will need to overcome patterns of failure and forever gain the upper hand.
Listen to the companion audiobook, The 48 Laws of Power.
©2006 Robert Greene and Joost Elffers; (P)2007 HighBridge Company
"Greene's compendium offers inspiration and entertainment in equal measure." (Publishers Weekly)
I am an avid listener. I listen between 75-100 hours per month on my iPhone: 60% fiction to 40% non-fiction.
"A very intesting read with great examples"
Yes. The book offers a concise set of war strategies which are appilable to today and histroical politics as well as business.
When I made the connection that this book applied to politics, business and personal interactions. There are many lessons to be learned.
A good exercise is to create a mind-map of the strategies. If you do this, your appreciation for how these strategies reinforce each other will deepen.
"Classic"
The narrator has the perfect voice for this book. You will find your self assessing every situation like a military strategist with an objective or goal to reach. Every strategy is explained and presented with historical examples. A must read/listen.
"Better Book Than Audiobook"
No. I listened to the audiobook and I just finished the print version. The print/kindle version is superior. I found myself losing interest quickly in the audiobook, party due to the overly dramatic narration.
Great book, but a much better read than audiobook. The 50th Law, narrated by Robert Greene himself is a much more engaging listen with similar stories and themes.
"wow"
this sad b*st*rd has never seen war. he seems to like to think that all life is some grand war-like conflict whereby simple daily disagreements and personal interactions are akin to combat & the movements of armies with the winner as the one who "gets what he wants." ...strangely uninteresting at best. he sounds like a man trying to create his own religion, one based on .. duh dum dum.... warfare. which thing he obviously has never seen. would he had he might take his assumptions to the logical conclusion made well by anyone who's ever been in one --> it's not possible to win at war, it's a damn ugly affair of carnage (which thing he must not realize, for it would seem to refute his purpose of writing the book... which appears to be some form of education on living life as an analogy to war). would like to be able to appreciate his understanding of the history of warfare, but it seems he mixes it in directly with his philosophical assumptions about life (which philosophies he spells forth in noxious quantities) & can't seem to refrain from pushing his assumptions onto everyone else: using the word "you" more than a motivational speaker. geez, get to the part where we learn something. his outlook on the world is bleak and poorly founded, completely speculative and subjective. he's of the shark tank mentality & seems quite afraid of everything. the first 10 minutes are spent in justifying his grim philosophical outlook (which flimsy thing certainly will not be the case for him within 5 years of writing it, for his conclusions are all wrong & it's only a matter of time before they disasspoint him enough to steer him elsewhere). additionally, he goes to great trouble to connect dots between reality and warfare that do not exist. don't need to hear it, just wanted to get some "33 strategies of war". to top it off his intolerably annoying folly is the persistent assumptions that: 1) anybody would agree with his views of humanity and 2) that anybody cares what his views of humanity are. Just wanted to get some hx of war, don't need the vague gross mis-generalizations. disappointing purchase, most disappointing thing is that it got so many stars, what in the world? can't believe anyone actually believes this crap or finds it commendable. my review is biased though, i couldn't make it base the fifteen minute mark. there's no saving this one, unless he were to write in the last chapter that all his first chapter conclusions were utterly misplaced. sucked.
not this guy
good to go
the author
"Not worth it"
This book is not worth the download. This is a trite scare book, spoken in ominous overtones by a voice encouraging paranoia and megalomania. To listen to the author, we should all be fearful that 'everyone' is out to take from us; that everyone else is 'weak' and we are strong, and that all people should be our utilities. This is a silly book. I'm disappointed I downloaded it.
"Life is a war...really?"
The theme of this book is that everyone and everything in life manifests as some sort of conflict or war. Everyone is an opponent or potential enemy. Trust no one. Politic and scheme against everyone. Really? What kind of life is that? What about altruism? Faith? Meaning? I am a veteran of Iraq and an executive in a large company. I don't think like this and I would not hire someone who does. Greene fails at human relationships. It is the good in these that we thrive on and not war. The narration is OK, not great. Leslie sounds elitist which does not help me swallow the text.
"Okay, I guess"
Didn't seem to fit together with a coherent theme. Lacked transition between the 33 strategies. There seemed to be confusion between tactics and strategies.