Greene has a somewhat weird reputation amongst the bookish. Some scoff at him for being a self-help entrepreneurial guru, and therefore not serious. This is misguided, even though I suppose that he is technically a self-help type of guy. I happen to enjoy the historical tangents and analogies and I think he makes broad and dense subjects digestible to newcomers and neophytes. This isn’t something to scoff at, as most of us are neophytes or amateurs at most things.

The second criticism leveled at Greene is that he is a cynical and ruthless Machiavellian. This one is a little more plausible, but one could argue that we live in a world run by cynical Machiavellians, so, therefore, it behooves us to know what they are up to. Description of the world as it is isn’t necessarily an endorsement of its ways, and so on.

I subscribe to the latter view. Whatever Greene believes morally (and I’m sympathetic to him and think he seems a fine person) it is useful for us to see the world and power for what it is, which is what this book does, and the main reason for its enduring popularity.

يا ليتني قرأته قبل يومي هذا

I think this is a horrible book. Written well enough, sure, whatever, but just so very, very wrong, unless you have no morals. At least with Machiavelli you could make the excuse that he wasn't so much advocating what he said, but merely describing reality. This guy is advocating evil. As I read it I couldn't help wondering how many politicians actually think this way.

If I ever met someone who actually liked this book and wanted to live their life according to it, I would never hire that person, never work for that person, never do business with that person, and would try to avoid any and all relationships with that person. I would like to be quite remotely located physically from any such person.

The sad part is I think the author is just plain wrong. Sure, you can find powerful people who have engaged in the behaviors he espouses (I think it's hard to call them "laws") and have been successful, but how many people live life this way and merely end up in the gutter with no friends, no money, and no power?

True power comes from being good, not to mention being happy, which is philosophically quite a bit more important than being powerful, although ultimately they are one and the same.

The book is little more than a collection of conflicting laws that are supported only by anecdotal evidence. Good for entertainment and historical vignettes but no real substance or takeaways here.