Robert Greene - The 48 Laws of Power

Table of Contents

PENGUIN BOOKS

THE 48 LAWS OF POWER

Robert Greene has a degree in classical studies and has been an editor at Esquire and other magazines. He is also a playwright and lives in Los Angeles.

Joost Elffers is the producer of Penguin Studios bestselling The Secret Language of Birthdays, The Secret Language of Relationships, and of Play With Your Food. He lives in New York City.

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First published in the United States of America by Viking Penguin,
a member of Penguin Putnam Inc. 1998
Published in Penguin Books 2000

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Copyright Joost Elffers and Robert Greene, 1998

All rights reserved

A portion of this work first appeared in The Utne Reader.

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A Treasury of Jewish Folklore by Nathan Ausubel. Copyright 1948, 1976 by Crown Publishers, Inc. Reprinted by permission of Crown Publishers, Inc.

The Chinese Looking Glass by Dennis Bloodworth. Copyright 1966, 1967 by Dennis Bloodworth. By permission of Ferrar, Straus and Giroux.

The Book of the Courtier by Baldesar Castiglione, translated by George Bull; Penguin Books (London). Copyright George Bull, 1967.

The Golden Dream: Seekers of El Dorado by Walker Chapman; Bobbs-Merrill. Copyright 1967 by Walker Chapman.

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The Little Brown Book of Anecdotes, edited by Clifton Fadiman; Little, Brown and Company. Copyright 1985 by Little, Brown and Company (Inc.)

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The Histories by Herodotus, translated by Aubrey de Slincourt, revised by A. R. Burn; Penguin Books (London). Copyright the Estate of Aubrey de Slincourt, 1954. Copyright A. R. Burn, 1972.

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Fables from Africa, collected by Jan Knappert; Evan Brothers Limited (London). Collection 1980 Jan Knappert.

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Selected Fables by Jean de La Fontaine, translated by James Michie; Penguin Books (London). Translation copyright James Michie, 1979.

The Romance of the Rose by Guillaume de Lorris, translated by Charles Dahlberg; Princeton University Press.

The Complete Essays by Michel de Montaigne, translated by M. A. Screech; Penguin Books (London). Translation copyright M. A. Screech, 1987, 1991.

A Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi, translated by Victor Harris; Overlook Press. Copyright 1974 by Victor Harris.

The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha, revised standard version, edited by Herbert G. May and Bruce M. Metzger; Oxford University Press. Copyright 1973 by Oxford University Press, Inc.

Makers of Rome: Nine Lives by Plutarch, translated by Ian Scott-Kilvert; Penguin Books (London). Copyright Ian Scott-Kilvert, 1965.

The Rise and Fall of Athens: Nine Greek Lives by Plutarch, translated by Ian Scott-Kilvert; Penguin Books (London). Copyright Ian Scott-Kilvert, 1960.

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Tales of the Dervishes by Idries Shah. Copyright Idries Shah, 1967. Used by permission of Penguin Putnam Inc. and Octagon Press (London).

The Craft of Power by R. G. H. Siu; John Wiley & Sons. Copyright 1979 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

The Subtle Ruse: The Book of Arabic Wisdom and Guile, translated by Rene R. Khawam; East-West Publications. Copyright 1980 English translation East-West Publications (U.K.) Ltd.

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To Anna Biller, and to my parents
R. G.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First I would like to thank Anna Biller, who helped edit and research this book, and whose invaluable insights played a critical role in the shape and content of The 48 Laws. Without her, none of this would have been possible.

I must also thank my dear friend Michiel Schwarz who was responsible for involving me in the art school Fabrika in Italy and introducing me there to Joost Elffers, my partner and producer of The 48 Laws of Power. It was in the scheming world of Fabrika that Joost and I saw the timeless-ness of Machiavelli and from our discussions in Venice, Italy, this book was born.

I would like to thank Henri Le Goubin, who supplied me with many Machiavellian anecdotes over the years, particularly concerning the numerous French characters who play such a large role in this book.