I need to read it now, after I finish The Selfish Gene, of course.
The contents make me feel both wise and dirty.
48 Laws of Power is a seductive, charismatic book of evil and villainy.
READ IT AT YOUR OWN PERIL
"GOOD" people will take 3d6 damage from handling it.
Quote from: Cramulus on November 06, 2008, 08:43:02 PM
48 Laws of Power is a seductive, charismatic book of evil and villainy.
READ IT AT YOUR OWN PERIL
"GOOD" people will take 3d6 damage from handling it.
:lulz:
I guess you can pick and choose those aspects that best suit your morality, and discard the rest.
To be clear: I LOVED 48 laws of power.
In retrospect, it helped me become more manipulative
but it's all about getting what you want, right? :p
I was in a bookstore, flipping through the 30-some-odd Laws of Seduction. There was a section which basically said, "Note: keep in mind this book is about seducing people, not forming healthy relationships. If you're trying to find a wife, disregard almost all of this advice." IMPORTANT TO NOTE, and there's definitely a correllary when it comes to the 48 Laws of Power.
Once you are already in a healthy marriage, would it have good advice to continue the seduction, though? :)
also, must check out 48LoP....
does it have the same timeless feel as the prince and art of war? Do you think it will become a notorious classic?
Cain has talked about it here before, but I haven't found a thread about it alone, so I made another one. Hes also talked about the 33 laws of war and the art of seduction.
Quote from: Cramulus on November 06, 2008, 09:07:54 PM
To be clear: I LOVED 48 laws of power.
In retrospect, it helped me become more manipulative
but it's all about getting what you want, right? :p
I was in a bookstore, flipping through the 30-some-odd Laws of Seduction. There was a section which basically said, "Note: keep in mind this book is about seducing people, not forming healthy relationships. If you're trying to find a wife, disregard almost all of this advice." IMPORTANT TO NOTE, and there's definitely a correllary when it comes to the 48 Laws of Power.
Like I said, its a completley amoral book. The tools are things to note about power, and how you can get it. Its a
toolkit of ideas. You could use it for good or evil, depending on how you pick and choose. It will also help you notice these laws in the MOs of other people.
I am now reading 48 Laws of Power and was just talking with a friend about it. Shes reading the same book, but she has more of a buddhist bent. She says that if your intent is to help people, you can still use the 48 laws; people still operate with the same jelousies, insecurities, and weaknesses as before, and having power means you can help them and change them, using power for good so to say. I'm not sure I believe all of it, but some of what she is saying is interesting. Would any of you be interested if I posted her stuff on here?
Sure, why not? it'd be interesting to hear various takes on this book.
I just went with the boy to B&N to get the monthly copy of small arms review and picked a copy of 48LoP while i was there. interesting.
I like the red text in the margins giving notes and examples. Makes it kinda look like that's the parts that Jesus said.
Did you guys get the hulking big version, or the tiny pocket version?
Also, I would not say the book is entirely amoral. It exemplifies Machiavellian virtù, as opposed to Judeo-Christian virtue. For example, read his part on despising the free lunch, and his explanations of money as a weapon. He clearly has no liking for the sadist personality, though his reasoning is somewhat different from the normal.
Quote from: Iptuous on November 07, 2008, 12:10:03 AM
Sure, why not? it'd be interesting to hear various takes on this book.
I just went with the boy to B&N to get the monthly copy of small arms review and picked a copy of 48LoP while i was there. interesting.
I like the red text in the margins giving notes and examples. Makes it kinda look like that's the parts that Jesus said.
Yeah, I thought that too. :)
As an overview, she said that to help people you have to know how people think, you have to know about their weaknesses and insecurities, their shortcomings, and you need to know about how people struggle for power. To do good things with the 48 laws you don't have to cheat, steal, lie or anything like that.
First law: The people above you in power have jealousy and insecurities. This doesn't make them bad people though they may do things that hurt others. If you are trying to help people in general, it ruins your work to build up their weaknesses. In general, if you are humble you will affect these weaknesses less and allow you to do what you need to.
Second law: Working with friends or having friends work for you means you may unknowingly cause them to feel jealousy or bitterness. If you want to cultivate good things in your friends its best not to work directly for them or over them. Keep your relationship with them outside your work. At the same time you are more likely to encounter enemies in your work. Move to befriend those people, as if you are trying to help people regardless. That way you can keep your friends and make new ones, without sacrificing either.
Third Law: Because intentions usually hold strong emotional charges, keep your intentions guarded. Speaking through strong emotions invariably leads to saying the wrong thing, or using wrong timing. Love is this way; if you tell someone you love them, even if you truly do, at the wrong time and place, revealing your intentions before the right time, it will hurt rather than help. If you are trying to help someone don't tell them you are trying to help them, because people don't want to be helped. You don't have to be dishonest or deceitful, rather, you just keep your caring guarded and your reasons subtle.
My version is the pdf from bookchan, which looks just like the large version.
A note: I'm summarizing what she said so some of it is probably not right, just remembering her points.
Quote from: Kai on November 07, 2008, 12:27:41 AM
My version is the pdf from bookchan, which looks just like the large version.
A note: I'm summarizing what she said so some of it is probably not right, just remembering her points.
Yeah, that is the large version. I have the small one in print, which loses a lot of the detail and stories he tells.
The one i just picked up is about 7" by 10" and 452pp.
is this the full sized version? is there content difference?
If you cannot fit it in your pocket, its the full sized one. And yes, the smaller one lacks some content you get in the full-sized one, which is why I advocate gettin the latter, though it does not seem to be a problem for you or Kai.
FTR, the version included in the Rogue Discordian Collection is the big 'un.
Quote from: Cramulus on November 06, 2008, 08:43:02 PM
48 Laws of Power is a seductive, charismatic book of evil and villainy.
READ IT AT YOUR OWN PERIL
"GOOD" people will take 3d6 damage from handling it.
I've been living by it since a month after it hit the shelves.
Good book. The stories in the margins are wonderful.
is it a bit of a slow starter? I just began reading it and it doesn't quite draw me in yet (page xviiii)
what is it with books that I never get past the preface ...
I thought about buying it, but wondered if I would really benefit from it.
I read a few more pages, and it is in fact getting better :)
I bought it.
Probably I will read half of it and it will go in the stack of half-read books by my bed.
It's a huge goddamn stack. I need to finish some books.
Quote from: Triple Zero on September 07, 2009, 09:23:36 PM
is it a bit of a slow starter? I just began reading it and it doesn't quite draw me in yet (page xviiii)
what is it with books that I never get past the preface ...
You aren't actually supposed to read the preface. I bet you eat that little garnish thing on the side of your plate at restaurants.
:(
... I do.
Quote from: Rev. Cram-His-What?! on November 06, 2008, 08:43:02 PM
48 Laws of Power is a seductive, charismatic book of evil and villainy.
READ IT AT YOUR OWN PERIL
"GOOD" people will take 3d6 damage from handling it.
good thing i'm tru neutral. :p
Quote from: Rev. Cram-His-What?! on November 06, 2008, 08:43:02 PM
48 Laws of Power is a seductive, charismatic book of evil and villainy.
READ IT AT YOUR OWN PERIL
"GOOD" people will take 3d6 damage from handling it.
I leveled up when I read it.
Am I fucked? :sad:
I have it on the way from Amazon
Should I really read it, though?
Quote from: Nigel on September 09, 2009, 08:19:35 AM
I have it on the way from Amazon
Should I really read it, though?
Read the table of contents, then read lightly into each chapter. The ones that interest you the most will draw you in.
I know of an unscrupulous bastard who might provide the audio book if you ask him.
i have read the first 1/4 of the ebook version, and would buy a dead tree copy just to have it based on what i have read..
(http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa261/broodwitch/FUCKING-CHECKBOOK.gif)
Does Robert Greene actually put these laws to play in his own life? Wiki seems sparse on details - how powerful is he?
Quote from: fictionpuss on September 10, 2009, 05:51:34 AM
Does Robert Greene actually put these laws to play in his own life? Wiki seems sparse on details - how powerful is he?
He's totally epic level.
Yeah, he's so awesome books write HIM now.
and and along with his "Art of Seduction" bitches now fuck his books too.
He's an editor for Esquire, IIRC.
However, his 33 Strategies of War, his latest book, was good enough that he was invited to talk about it by the US military. At West Point, IIRC.
Quote from: Nigel on September 09, 2009, 08:19:35 AM
I have it on the way from Amazon
Should I really read it, though?
Yes. It's a FUN read, and the sidebar stories are addictive as hell. I'm gonna disagree with Kai and say plough straight through the bastard. I still use it.
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on September 10, 2009, 06:37:16 PM
Quote from: Nigel on September 09, 2009, 08:19:35 AM
I have it on the way from Amazon
Should I really read it, though?
Yes. It's a FUN read, and the sidebar stories are addictive as hell. I'm gonna disagree with Kai and say plough straight through the bastard. I still use it.
It's up next, then.
Quote from: fictionpuss on September 10, 2009, 05:51:34 AM
Does Robert Greene actually put these laws to play in his own life? Wiki seems sparse on details - how powerful is he?
As far as I can guess he's probably Assuming Formlessness, Not Appearing Too Perfect, Using Absence To Create Respect And Honor and Concealing His Intentions :-)
i went looking for the "33 Strategies of War" and ended up reading this the "33 stratums of war" instead
http://rapidlibrary.com/download_file_i.php?qq=33%20strategies%20of%20war%20rapidshare&file=3121877&desc=the+33+stratums+of+war+.pdf
so far its good reading
I've only ever seen audio versions of the 33 Strategies online. Just so you know. It is worth buying in hardback though, as are all of his books.
Edit: just downloaded that. It seems to be a badly formatted, inferior copy of the 36 Strategems of War, a Chinese military and intelligence manual of uncertain providence.
lol i just unzipped the audio book from rapid share,
it broke at the end hopefully nothing was lost ...
i liked the 48 laws well enough to buy a copy so maybe next time i go book shopping i will get both..
the 33 srategems was a easy read, and worth downloading, it was made up of stories like this
QuoteFool the Emperor to Cross the Sea
Moving about in the darkness and shadows, occupying isolated places, or hiding behind
screens will only attract suspicious attention. To lower an enemy's guard you must act in
the open hiding your true intentions under the guise of common every day activities.
Japanese Folk Tale
There once lived a Samurai who was plagued by a large and clever rat who had the run of
the house. This annoyed the Samurai to no end so he went to the village to buy a cat. A
street vendor sold him a cat that he said would catch the rat and indeed the cat looked
trim and fit. But the rat was even quicker than the cat and after a week with no success
the Samurai returned the cat. This time the vendor pulled out a large and grizzled cat and
guaranteed that no rat could escape this master mouser. The rat knew enough to stay clear
of this tough alley cat, but when the cat slept, the rat ran about. Half the day the rat would
hide, but the other half he again had the run of the place. The Samurai brought the cat
back to the vendor who shook his head in despair saying he had given the Samurai his
best cat and there was nothing more he could do. Returning home with his money, the
Samurai happened upon a monk and sought his advice. After hearing the Samurai's story
the monk offered him the services of the cat that lived in the temple. The cat was old and
fat and he scarcely seemed to notice when he was carried away by the doubtful Samurai.
For two weeks the cat did little more than sleep all day and night. The Samurai wanted to
give the cat back to the temple but the monk insisted he keep him a while longer assuring
him the rat's days were close to an end. The rat became accustomed to the presence of the
lazy old cat and was soon up to his old tricks even, on occasion, brazenly dancing around
the old cat as he slept. Then one day, as the rat went about his business without any
concern, he passed close by the cat - who swiftly struck out his paw and pinned the rat to
the floor. The rat died instantly.
My local Barnes & Noble have put up a '48 Laws' display. Because of this thread I picked it up and browsed through it awhile.
Then I noticed that the author had penned a book called '50th Law'....with 50 Cent.
And then suddenly, it stopped seeming like such a good idea.
Quote from: Mangrove on September 14, 2009, 05:30:37 AM
My local Barnes & Noble have put up a '48 Laws' display. Because of this thread I picked it up and browsed through it awhile.
Then I noticed that the author had penned a book called '50th Law'....with 50 Cent.
And then suddenly, it stopped seeming like such a good idea.
...and began seeming like a GREAT idea!