Listen free for 30 days

  • The 48 Laws of Power

  • Written by: Robert Greene
  • Narrated by: Don Leslie
  • Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (99 ratings)

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The 48 Laws of Power cover art

The 48 Laws of Power

Written by: Robert Greene
Narrated by: Don Leslie
Try for $0.00

$14.95 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $25.69

Buy Now for $25.69

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.

Publisher's Summary

Amoral, cunning, ruthless, and instructive, this piercing work distills 3,000 years of the history of power into 48 well-explicated laws. 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 teach the need for prudence ("Law 1: Never Outshine the Master") and the virtue of stealth ("Law 3: Conceal Your Intentions"); many demand the total absence of mercy ("Law 15: Crush Your Enemy Totally"). But like it or not, all have applications in real life. Illustrated through the tactics of Queen Elizabeth I, Henry Kissinger, P. T. Barnum, and other famous figures who have wielded, or been victimized by, power, these laws will fascinate any listener interested in gaining, observing, or defending against ultimate control.
©2000 Robert Greene and Joost Elffers (P)2007 HighBridge Company

What listeners say about The 48 Laws of Power

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    76
  • 4 Stars
    11
  • 3 Stars
    10
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    58
  • 4 Stars
    11
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    59
  • 4 Stars
    7
  • 3 Stars
    8
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

After you read it, throw it all out

It has some powerful stories of triumphs and failures. It's interesting how the last law meshes into all the others.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Essential listening

It’s a master class in how sociopaths think. Essential listening for anyone wanting to survive and thrive in a vipers pit. Horrific and unsettling, but good to know because many managers and employers use these strategies.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Why is knowledge power? Find out.

This is a challenging book. It divides you knowing how it can corrupt at first. However using historical events and characters helps you gain perspective. That perspective allows you insights not to cross that corruptive line. Power is an advantage when used for those in your life and others. "Use it wisely" is commonly heard. I think that is true when you study those this book borrows from our human history.
It opens up your curiosity to investigate history also to know how not to repeat it.
My recent history listening to this Audible presentation will have me repeating listening to this as many times in my future.
I think you will too.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Power

You will learn how to control people.
After reading this book, you will need to learn new skills to be able to control people.
For example: Master your emotions

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

First time listening

Great book. I had previously tried reading but never got through it. I just finished listening to it and will again in a few months. Worth your time and money

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

There is a reason this book is being banned.

One of the most important books of all time. Help yourself understand the world around you, learn what others try to hide.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Depending on the reader

If you strive for nothing more than power in life no matter the sacrifice of relations or morals. Then this may be a good book for you.
Otherwise, it’s a very olden way of looking at life.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Enjoyed it but it actually does NO favours to edification of life.

If you’re listening to this for enjoyment then great. Take it’s like watching a thriller. However this is not true teaching.
www.GodsWarPlan.com
Greene’s laws contradict each other, and the book is “simply nonsense”. 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." Director magazine notes "some of Greene's 'laws' seem contradictory" and the work is "plodding and didactic". There has been no empirical research that any of the laws actually achieve positive social results.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Book, abridged version

I love this book, the performance was great, however I did not realize this is the abridged version.

I would have chosen the unabridged version if I had have realized.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful