Cover page of a free version of the book
I have read many books and one thing that draws my attention to a book is when it has something to do with my area of interest.
I can read any book ranging from fiction to nonfiction but anyone that specifically talks about my area of interest, I make sure I read it.
Right from when I was young, I have loved leadership. Throughout my elementary school days, I served in one leadership position or the other. I later realized that I have the zeal to coordinate people to achieve certain objectives.
Leadership and power have a lot in common. A leader is most probably with some powers by virtue of his position.
I decided to be sourcing literature about power and I came across "48 laws of power" by Robert Greene. It explains what is expected of anyone with some forms of power.
The laws are 48 just as is indicated in the title. Each of the laws is explained explicitly. The laws started with "Never outshine your Master" and the 48th law is "Assume formlessness ". The first law explains how good it is for someone to make his superior feel good in his position. Masters should be made to appear more brilliant than they are. The last law advises one to assume a position whose form can't readily be predicted by the enemies. By doing so, you won't be prone to attack easily.
I find all the laws superb for one to be conscious of his safety as a leader. Law 3, "Conceal your intention" is one of the laws that I didn't adhere to and I paid dearly for it before reading more on the intrigues of human relationship and workings.
I was a type that saw nothing wrong with making people know about my plans and intentions but when it became a repeating occurrence for me to miss many of such plans after informing people about them, I knew that I wasn't doing something right. I learned my lessons the hard way.
Some of the laws look awkward from the title; example, law 14, "Pose as a friend, work as a spy", but reading deeper into the explanation will make one appreciate the message being passed by the author. I can continue to analyze the laws one after the other but one would appreciate it best if he spent some time reading the about 450 pages book.
I don't see the book going out of fashion because for as long as human relations exists, there will always be power play and you need not to keep yourself off guard.