The 48 Laws of Power is what you get when you stir Machiavelli's ‘The Price’ ,Sun Tzu's ‘The Art of War’ , Musashi’s ‘The Book of Five Rings’, Clausewitz' ‘On War’, Garcian's ‘The Art of Worldly Wisdom’ & other similar works in a melting pot. It deals with the principles that one should adhere to in order to acquire or hold onto power. The most fascinating aspect of the book is Robert Greene's wide knowledge of history & human psychology. His way of presenting a law by judgment, transgression, observance, interptetation, keys to power & reversal organizes his writing & makes it easier for the reader to grasp the concept of the given law from all angles. Then he also adds valuable information as side notes in the form of fables, maxims and some great works from different cultures.
Some people go too far to brand Greene as a modern Machiaveli. He has borrowed a lot from Machiavelli but one major difference between their magna opera is that while Machiavelli wrote his book as a manual for the princes, Greene has targeted a much wider audience because power is no longer an exclusive domain of 'the princes' alone.
One flaw, however, seems to be that he has over-generalized the things by linking almost every human action to the acquisition of power. He has also heavily relied upon historical evidence to back his laws and in such cases there is always some possibility of the selective usuage of historical narrative to further one's argument.
On the whole, I had a good time expIoring some new ideas. It is a lengthy read but I found it to be well written and engaging.
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