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Open Library readers: 4.03 / 5 from 1,208 ratings. Separate from ratings here.Catalogue checked 2026-10-02.
Amoral, cunning, ruthless, and instructive, this piercing work distills three thousand years of the history of power in to forty-eight well explicated laws. As attention—grabbing in its design as it is in its content, 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"), the virtue of stealth ("Law 3: Conceal Your Intentions"), and 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…
Amoral, cunning, ruthless, and instructive, this piercing work distills three thousand years of the history of power in to forty-eight well explicated laws. As attention—grabbing in its design as it is in its content, 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"), the virtue of stealth ("Law 3: Conceal Your Intentions"), and 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 reader interested in gaining, observing, or defending against ultimate control.
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Bibliographic source: Open LibraryThe 48 Laws of Power is by Robert Greene. The catalogue records its first publication in 1998. A later edition may have a different publication date on its copyright page.
The catalogue records 452 pages for a representative edition. Pagination varies with the publisher, format, type size and translation, so check the edition you intend to read.
Compare the publisher, publication date, language, format and ISBN in the editions section. If you need a particular translation or a matching book-club copy, confirm those details with the seller. A work-level page brings different editions together; its first-publication year does not identify your individual copy.
Check a copy's editionCreasy Spines ratings come from readers here. The separate Open Library score is 4.03 out of 5 from 1,208 ratings in our catalogue snapshot. It belongs to a different reader community and is not combined with our ratings.
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Look for a copyThe 48 Laws of Power
Penguin USA, Inc., 2009 / Ebook
ISBN 9781101034965
The 48 Laws of Power
HighBridge Company; Abridged, 2007 / Audiobook, 1 pp.
ISBN 9781598870923
The Concise 48 Laws of Power
Profile Books, 2002 / Paperback, 208 pp.
ISBN 9781861974044
The 48 Laws of Power: A Joost Elffers Production
Profile Books Ltd, 2000 / Paperback, 463 pp.
ISBN 9781861972781
The 48 laws of power
Penguin Books, 2000 / 452 pp.
ISBN 0140280197
Power: The 48 Laws
Hachette Australia, 1999 / 182 pp.
ISBN 9780733612275
The 48 Laws of Power (A Joost Elffers Production)
Profile Books, 1998 / Hardcover, 452 pp.
ISBN 9781861971340
48 LAWS OF POWER
Greene Robert, 1998
ISBN 9781598870923
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