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

It’s a great history book.

I like the historical examples of how powerful people used the laws of power personally I think it’s also a good compliment to The Mystery Method by Eric Von Markovic.

Shortened story?

Would you try another book from Robert Greene and/or Don Leslie?

yes I would

Would you recommend The 48 Laws of Power to your friends? Why or why not?

Yes I would

Did Don Leslie do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Somewhat. Didn't like skipping pages.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

yes, I would

Any additional comments?

Didn't like how the audible file skipped through several parts of the book. That I wouldn't have known had I not had the printed copy.

A Good Book

A good book, full of history that relates to the idea of the chapter, yet a bit slow.

Must read if you want to run shit

A great book full of awesome lessons about how to act. Some of the examples are a little boring and old school but the points are still made very clearly. I learned tons about ways to manipulate relationships and situations for my benefit as well as my sides benefit. This book helped me out before I was even finished with it. I will definitely relisten to it down the road.

The force is strong with you

Powerful you will become. The stories and context in which this book was written from are ancient but the principles will forever remain the same throughout history. You will be able to walk into any room and own it! You will have the ability to read and forsee everyone's actions, which gives you the advantage.

48 Pervasive Laws and Limitations of Power

If you could sum up The 48 Laws of Power in three words, what would they be?

Power is power.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked the predictive structure of the book - how each chapter was broken into the following parts: 1) The identification of the Law of Power, 2) a description of the law, 3) an historical story demonstrating how the power has been applied in the past, in addition to the consequences of the power play, and 4) caution regarding how the law might backfire.

What about Don Leslie’s performance did you like?

I'm not drawn to practicing the 48 Laws of Power to gain personal or professional power, and because of that I didn't really enjoy Don Leslie's gravelly, sometimes sneering voice. However, I'm not sure that a better narrator could be chosen to convey the darkness/shadiness that power-hungry people can operate with. His sneering tone helped me to listen more closely, and to be mindful about how others might be trying to apply such laws of power to our personal/professional relationship, and when I pick up on such instances I sometimes "hear" Leslie's voice warning me to be cautious.

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

Having an awareness of another's attack plan is not unfair play.

Any additional comments?

Some might not like this book because they might see it only as an instruction guide about how to manipulate and hurt people. I would encourage people in this boat to re-read the book and try to use it as a manual about how to protect oneself from being manipulated and hurt. I have worked in a variety of industries - from retail to higher education, and production to social services - and I cannot think of an industry where the information shared would not be applicable. Politics are everywhere, and one can use the Laws of Power to gain political prowess, or at the very least to prevent others from holding them back.

Powerful book

Would you consider the audio edition of The 48 Laws of Power to be better than the print version?

I prefer the audiobook because this method provides the laws without the distractions of the print version

What was one of the most memorable moments of The 48 Laws of Power?

The laws that were very Makavelian

Which character – as performed by Don Leslie – was your favorite?

There were no characters

What did you learn from The 48 Laws of Power that you would use in your daily life?

All laws can be used in my search for power

Any additional comments?

I will listen to this book on long drives in the future as the laws are very applicable and the narration is inviting.

Very Valuable Insights; but HATED the Narration

What did you love best about The 48 Laws of Power?

I only agreed with about 60% - 70% of the content, but the parts I agreed with I thought were extremely valuable.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Don Leslie?

No idea. But I absolutely HATED the narration. The book's text definitely has a sinister tone at times (kind of cheezy in it's own right), but PUHLEEEAZE don't narrate the text in such a puke-inducing, over-acting way! It literally distracted me from the content of the book for the first few chapters.

Any additional comments?

I thought the content was pretty immature at some points. I thought all ideas might be valid (even life-saving) if I was living on the streets of Compton, in prison, in some back-stabbing corporate situation, or any other watch-your back, sleep-with-one-eye-open-24/7 kind of situation. But my life isn't like that.

Where I found value was knowing that some other glory-seeking sociopath might be listening to this audiobook and so it was good to have my eyes opened that other people might be thinking these ways.

That said, there were a few points, maybe 10-20 of the Laws where I really nodded my head and said: "YUP. That's reality." So in that respect it was good to remind me to keep my head up in numerous spots.

If you're looking for one special audiobook, this *isn't* it. If you listen to one audiobook per year, and need to make it absolutely count, don't listen to this.... you'll be disappointed for an entire year. Instead, go get sometime like "Good to Great" by Jim Collins. Or - if it were available in audio - "Winning Through Intimidation" by Robert J. Ringer, "Pitch Anything" by Oren Klaff, or any other number of proven winners.

But if you regularly listen to business, leadership, marketing, influence books, this is an excellent tier-2 option to help round out your on-going education. I'm glad I could cope with the terrible narration enough to get through this audiobook... there truly were a few gems that make it (overall) worthwhile.

Have listened to this at least 5 times now.

This is one of maybe 3 audible books I've listened to more than once. Easily one of my all time favorite books. The narration is top notch.

This book will help you navigate the murky waters that is life. Get all of Robert greene's books.

48 Laws Of POWER

one of the greatest books available on. audible its a must have Book .A Classic