 | |
| Author | Robert Greene |
|---|---|
| Subject | Self-help |
| Published | 1998 (Viking Press) (HC); 2007 (HighBridge Audio) CD |
| Publication place | United States |
| Pages | 480 |
| ISBN | 0670881465 (HC); ISBN 978-1598870923 (CD) |
| OCLC | 39733201 |
| 303.3 21 | |
| LC Class | BD438 .G74 1998 |
| Followed by | The Art of Seduction |
The 48 Laws of Power (1999) is a self-help book by American author Robert Greene. [1] The book is a New York Times bestseller, [2] [3] selling over 1.3 million copies in the United States. [4]
Greene initially formulated some of the ideas in The 48 Laws of Power while working as a writer in Hollywood and concluding that today's power elite shared similar traits with powerful figures throughout history. [5] In 1995, Greene worked as a writer at Fabrica, an art and media school, and met a book packager named Joost Elffers. [6] [7] Greene pitched a book about power to Elffers and six months later, Elffers requested that Greene write a treatment. [6]
Although Greene was quite unhappy in his job, he was comfortable and thought that writing a proper book proposal was too risky in his situation. [8] However, at the time Greene was rereading his favorite biography about Julius Caesar and took inspiration from Caesar's decision to cross the Rubicon River and fight Pompey, thus inciting Caesar's civil war. [8] Greene wrote the treatment, which would later become The 48 Laws of Power. [8] He would note this as the turning point of his life. [8]
The 48 Laws of Power has sold over 1.3 million copies in the United States and has been translated into 24 languages. [6] Fast Company called the book a "mega cult classic", and the Los Angeles Times noted that The 48 Laws of Power turned Greene into a "cult hero with the hip-hop set, Hollywood elite and prison inmates alike". [6] [9]
The book has been reported to be much requested in American prison libraries. [5] [10] Rapper 50 Cent stated that he related to the book "immediately", and approached Greene with the prospect of a potential collaboration, which would later become The 50th Law , another New York Times bestseller. [11] Busta Rhymes and Derrius Jackson used The 48 Laws of Power to deal with problematic movie producers. [7] The 48 Laws of Power has also been mentioned in songs by UGK, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Central Cee, MF DOOM, and Drake. [12] [13] [14] [15] Dov Charney, founder and former CEO of American Apparel who would be terminated by that company in 2014, frequently quoted the laws during board meetings, has given friends and employees copies of the book, and appointed Greene to the board of the now defunct American Apparel. [6] [16] [17] Former Cuban President Fidel Castro is also claimed by the book's author to have read the book. [6] The book has been banned by several US prisons. [18]
The 48 Laws of Power has been referenced or bought by 50 Cent, Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes, Michael Jackson (who wrote in the margins [19] ), Courtney Love (who was photographed carrying it on the way to court when facing a drug charge [20] ) and Will Smith. [5] [21] [22] [23]
In response to the popular reputation of his work as an unethical book, Greene himself responded by saying that he "could count maybe four or five laws that are overtly manipulative" and there are "44 others that are not manipulative at all". He then continues by saying that people cherry pick the "chapters that are most egregious". [24]
Carol Kennedy, writing in Director magazine, states "some of Greene's 'laws' seem contradictory" and the work is "plodding and didactic". [25] Jerry Adler, writing in Newsweek , lists ways the laws contradict one another and states, "Intending the opposite, Greene has actually produced one of the best arguments since the New Testament for humility and obscurity." [26] Kirkus Reviews said Greene offers no evidence to support his world view, that his laws contradict each other, and that the book is "simply nonsense". [27]
The 48 Laws of Power has been studied at Millsaps College and Ramapo College. [28] [29] Jeffrey Pfeffer of Stanford University said that Greene's so-called laws are based on isolated examples, and not on solid research. [5]
UGK was an American hip hop duo from Houston, Texas, more specifically an outskirt called Port Arthur, Texas, formed in 1987, by Bernard "Bun B" Freeman and Chad "Pimp C" Butler. They released their first major-label album, Too Hard to Swallow, in 1992, followed by several other albums charting on the Billboard 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts, including the self-titled Underground Kingz album, which contained their single "International Players Anthem " and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, in August 2007. The duo has also been featured on hit singles by several other artists, such as "Big Pimpin'" by Jay-Z and "Sippin' on Some Syrup" by Three 6 Mafia. Pimp C founded UGK Records in late 2005. On December 4, 2007, Pimp C died in his West Hollywood, California hotel room.
Robert S. McElvaine is Elizabeth Chisholm Professor of Arts and Letters and Chair of the Department of History at Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi, and the author of eight books and the editor of three. He is considered one of the world's leading historians of the Great Depression. McElvaine is also known for his work on the centrality of misperceptions of differences and inequality between the sexes in the unfolding of human history.
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Dov Charney is a Canadian entrepreneur and clothing manufacturer. He was the CEO of Yeezy in 2023, and the founder of American Apparel, which was one of the largest garment manufacturers in the United States until its bankruptcy in 2015. Charney was fired from American Apparel due to numerous allegations including sexual harassment, racism, and sexual assault. Charney subsequently founded Los Angeles Apparel.
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This article summarizes the events, album releases, and album release dates in hip hop music for the year 2009.
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Robert Greene is an American author of books on strategy, power, and seduction. He has written seven international bestsellers, including The 48 Laws of Power, The Art of Seduction, The 33 Strategies of War, The 50th Law, Mastery, The Laws of Human Nature, and The Daily Laws.
The 50th Law is a New York Times bestselling book on strategy and fearlessness written collaboratively by rapper 50 Cent and author Robert Greene. The book is a semi-autobiographical account detailing 50 Cent's rise as both a young urban hustler and as an up-and-coming musician with lessons and anecdotes from historical figures such as Abraham Lincoln, Sun Tzu, Socrates, Napoleon, Malcolm X, and James Baldwin.
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