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Jan 16, 2016
The working theory of this book is that what everyone really wants is power and more of it. Greene even believes that those who think this idea is crude or outdated are in fact doing a power grab by expressing that. While I do think that part of his rationale for thinking this way is because if you write a book like this and it's goal is to get people to think about every aspect of gaining and keeping power, you can't do so with half measures. He provides no rationale argument against the yearning of power and probably wouldn't be interested in one. The only thing he does provide are reversals to his laws of power. These are examples of how you can mess up using the said rule. I started this book a while back and came back to it. A lot of it is a little off putting to me. I think I've managed pretty well so far without obsessing over how much control I have over people. Of course to Greene that statement would be a power play in itself. When I returned to the book and finished it, I had to reread the introduction. Greene says one of the uses of this book is really to absorb it and then reflect on your past mistakes and make sure you never make them again. Also that these rules will help you do that. That is the only reason I could digest all of it. The examples of power given are of various charlatans, dictators, con men, and a few people whom history has looked kindly upon, Lincoln and FDR for example. Only in the respect that the book endorses reflection of past mistakes and what I consider just tips to navigate everyday life instead of a rule book to make you the next Fortune 500 CEO can I recommend this book. If you think it's going to change your life and make you a success it won't. That's just one of the tricks Greene uses to promote the book as the charlatans he cites use their old snake oils.