a sycophant's bible
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Don't be fooled - this is really a nasty little book for selfish unashamed sycophants everywhere who will be ruthless enough to lick their way up and up until the boot they licked will kick them into pole position.
Based on Machiavelli's good tips for the unabashed autocratic ruler this book does give you tips on going straight to the top but with severe social and moral problems in tail. Never mind what friends and colleagues will call you behind your back, what they say to your face is probably as justified as your own smoke screens.
Morally I'd gove this tome a 0 but because it so wickedly does what it promises I had to give it a 5 rating... now, if that's not ironic.
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Pick the right battle and the
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This is a great read for anyone who doesn't know when to hold back. It teaches you to plan your thoughts and your actions. Fantastic for anyone who wants to win the war. Brilliant, but don't let your enemies get a hold of a copy!
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Fantastic for it's purpose
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I can't really fault the book at all.
Robert Greene has established 48 laws of power, and they are all very interesting, powerful and fact based. Throughout the book I feel as if Robert knows completely what he's saying and he's done acres of research.
This book however, is to be taken very carefully. It doesn't seem as if he has written the book to any moral guidelines. If books can have age restrictions on a person buying them, I would definately give this one an 18. I could definately see someone young, greedy or just suggestable individual obsessing over the book and becoming a pretty immoral person. I believe it takes a certain level of maturity and moral understanding to be aquired in order to not abuse information in the book.
The 48 laws of power, generally focuses around methods you can use and themes you can engrain into your personality, in order to get things. Whilst the book is absolutely brilliant at delivering this, the fact is that if everyone applied all the laws to themselves (or even just a handful), the world would be almost at a standstill... as an example one of the rules is to "Get others to do work for you but always take the credit" - is this really a mode people should follow for the good of the world? If everyone was doing that, there would be no work to take credit for and economies would halt. Imagine a planet full of conmen, what a great place to live that would be... hmmm... not.
Robert Green indicates some key resources he's used and one to mention is the famous "The art of war by sun tzu" - I believe Robert is extremely interested in books like these and he's only gone and made pretty much, a brilliant book himself.
It's a very good buy, for it's purpose. But can you really find true happiness by being powerful? Well, I'll leave that question for you to perhaps answer, but for me, without any doubt at all, the 48 laws of power is an incredible buy.
I hope my opinion has been helpful to you.
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Real life
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I think this book is very good indeed. It provides an interesting insight into the workings of a truly Machiavellian mind. Everyone can preach this books virtues (and there are a lot) and it is definitely worth reading. Perhaps the most annoying thing about this book is that whilst it is more relatable to than say the art of war it doesn't provide many direct comparisons to real life e.g. office situations or love affiliations. There are also several niggling inconsistencies within the rules themselves e.g. Let others do the work but take all the credit. All that said it is still highly useful and a great read, if very tricky to follow to the letter if you have any conscience at all(as I unfortunately do). Buy it!!
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Let them know who's boss - or not as the book suggests...
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Fantastic little book which explains how to keep the boss sweet without licking butt (i've never liked the flavour) and how to keep those cretins beneath you content with their situation. Fits perfect inside a suit pocket and should be read whilst taking a dump before a big meeting. It's my second all time favourite book and would recommend it to anyone (except I don't really want to recommend it to anyone I know - they might get the edge)
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