Dimensions
172 x 235 x 29mm
The bestselling book for those who want power, watch power, or want to arm themselves against power.
Some play with power and lose it all by a fatal mistake. Some go too far or not far enough. And yet others make all the right moves and are able to draw power unto themselves with an almost superhuman dexterity. Throughout the ages, writers and philosophers have asked themselves: What are the lessons to be learned from the successes and failures of our predecessors?
Although the various writings on power span a period of more than three thousand years, common threads and themes are repeated, ones that hint at an essence of power and suggest properties that regulate its increase and decreased. The 48 laws are timeless and definitive.
Amoral, cunning, ruthless, and instructive, this piercing work distills three thousand years of the history of power into 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 require prudence ("Law 1: Never Outshine the Master"), some stealth ("Law 3: Conceal Your Intentions"), and some the total absence of mercy ("Law 15: Crush Your Enemy Totally"), but like it or not, all have applications in real-life situations.
Illustrated through the tactics of Queen Elizabeth I, Henry Kissinger, PT Barnum, and other famous figures who have wielded - or been victimised by - power, these laws will fascinate any reader interested in gaining, observing, or defending against ultimate control.
