The 48 Laws of Power

The 48 Laws of Power
Author Robert Greene
Country United States
Subject Self-help
Published 1998 (Viking Press) (HC); 2007 (HighBridge Audio) CD
Pages 452 pp.
ISBN 0-670-88146-5 (HC); 978-1-59887-092-3 (CD)
OCLC 39733201
303.3 21
LC Class BD438 .G74 1998
Followed by The Art of Seduction

The 48 Laws of Power (1998) is the first book by American author Robert Greene.[1] The book is a bestseller,[2][3] selling over 1.2 million copies in the United States,[4] and is popular with prison inmates and celebrities.[5][6][4][7][8][9]


Background

Greene initially formulated some of the ideas in The 48 Laws of Power while working as a writer in Hollywood and concluding that today's power elite shared similar traits with powerful figures throughout history.[5] In 1995, Greene worked as a writer at Fabrica, an art and media school, and met a book packager named Joost Elffers.[4][8] Greene pitched a book about power to Elffers and six months later, Elffers requested that Greene write a treatment.[4]

Although Greene was unhappy in his current job, he was comfortable and saw the time needed to write a proper book proposal as too risky.[10] However, at the time Greene was rereading his favorite biography about Julius Caesar and took inspiration from Caesar's decision to cross the Rubicon River and fight Pompey, thus inciting the Great Roman Civil War.[10] Greene would follow Caesar's example and write the treatment, which later became The 48 Laws of Power.[10] He would note this as the turning point of his life.[10]

Criticism

Professor Jeffrey Pfeffer said that Greene's so-called laws are based on isolated examples, and not on solid research.[5] Kirkus Reviews said Greene offers no evidence to support his world view, Greene's laws contradict each other, and the book is "simply nonsense".[11] Newsweek also points out ways the laws contradict each other and says "Intending the opposite, Greene has actually produced one of the best arguments since the New Testament for humility and obscurity."[12] Director magazine notes "some of Greene's 'laws' seem contradictory" and the work is "plodding and didactic".[13]

Reception

The 48 Laws of Power has sold over 1.2 million copies in the United States and has been translated into 24 languages.[4] Fast Company called the book a "mega cult classic," and The Los Angeles Times noted that The 48 Laws of Power turned Greene into a "cult hero with the hip-hop set, Hollywood elite and prison inmates alike."[4][14][15] The book has been mentioned in various lights in publications like CNN, Forbes, The Los Angeles Times, Entrepreneur magazine, The New York Times, The New Yorker, Newsweek, USA Today, The Guardian, Business Insider, Fast Company, ESPN, and Men’s Health.[5][4][7][8][10][14][16][17][18][19]

The 48 Laws of Power has been reported to be much requested in American prison libraries,[5][20] and is studied as a first year text in two US colleges.[21][22] Former drug dealer Curtis Jackson (now better known as rapper 50 Cent) stated that he related to the book "immediately," and approached Greene with the prospect of a potential collaboration, which would later become The 50th Law, another New York Times bestseller.[16] Busta Rhymes used The 48 Laws of Power to deal with problematic movie producers.[8] DJ Premier has a tattoo inspired from Law #5, "Reputation is the cornerstone of power", on his arm[6] and DJ Calvin Harris has an "Enter with boldness" arm tattoo based on Law #28.[23] The 48 Laws of Power has also been mentioned in songs by UGK, Jay Z, Kanye West, and Drake.[6][24][25] [26] Dov Charney, founder and former CEO of American Apparel, frequently quoted the laws during board meetings, has given friends and employees copies of the book, and appointed Greene to the board of American Apparel.[4] Former Cuban President Fidel Castro is also claimed by the book's author to have read the book.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Greene, Robert (2000). The 48 Laws of Power. New York, NY. p. 452. ISBN 0140280197.
  2. ↑ "Business Bestsellers". New York Times. November 8, 1998.
  3. ↑ Green, Hardy. "Best Selling List". BusinessWeek.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Chang, Andrea. American Apparel's in-house guru shows a lighter side. LA Times. August 30, 2011.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Blake, John. How to Master the ‘48 Laws of Power’. CNN. March 15, 2010.
  6. 1 2 3 Lee, Chris (July 12, 2006). "Laws for an Outlaw Culture". LA Times.
  7. 1 2 Tice, Carol. All’s Fair?. Entrepreneur. November 1, 2006.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Paumgarten, Nick. Fresh Prince. NewYorker. November 6, 2006.
  9. ↑ Bosh, Chris. Chris Bosh NBA Blog. NBA.com. April 10, 2007.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Perlroth, Nicole. Robert Greene on Power Ambition Glory. Forbes. June 16, 2009.
  11. ↑ "THE 48 LAWS OF POWER". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 12 Jan 2014.
  12. ↑ Adler, Jerry (1998), The Prince Wants a Word With You, Newsweek, retrieved 12 Jan 2014
  13. ↑ Kennedy, Carol (1999), The 48 Laws of Power By Robert Greene, Director Publications, retrieved 12 Jan 2014
  14. 1 2 Johnson, Lynn. The 50 Cent Bible. Fast Company. September 10, 2009.
  15. ↑ Bartley Kives (8 July 2012). "Wyatt the wild card". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  16. 1 2 Burkeman, Oliver (September 4, 2009). "When the gangsta rapper met the self-help guru". The Guardian.
  17. ↑ Wilson, Craig. 48 Laws on Winning at all Costs. USA Today. December 02, 2009.
  18. ↑ Groth, Aimee. Robert Greene Tells Us What People Don't Understand About Power. BusinessInsider. June 04, 2012.
  19. ↑ Shelburne, Ramona. Going From Good to Great. ESPN. January 5, 2010.
  20. ↑ Garner, Dwight. The Readers Behind Bars Put Books to Many Uses. The New York Times. October 19, 2010.
  21. ↑ "48 Laws of Power Syllabus" (PDF). Millsaps College.
  22. ↑ "The 48 Laws of Power Syllabus" (PDF). Ramapo College.
  23. ↑ Harris, Randy. "calvin says: enter with boldness". FMLY. Archived from the original on June 9, 2011. Retrieved May 31, 2011.
  24. ↑ "Kanye West – Primetime Lyrics". RapGenius.
  25. ↑ "UGK – Living This Life".
  26. ↑ "Drake – What I'm Thinkin' Right Now Lyrics". RapGenius.

External links

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