The 33 Strategies of War (Joost Elffers Books)

This book offers a very Machiavellian look at strategy, with an ethos of "the end justifies the means" and the attitude that anything anyone is ever trying to achieve is a war, and can benefit from the perspective of these "rules of war" - a very neutral, objective analysis of the strategies' effectiveness, without regard for their morality, hence an often disturbing book. Valuable perspectives, but one would have to be sociopathic to implement all these strategies.

Although an interesting compendium of other writer's wisdom and insight, Greene too often cherry picks isolated examples to support his far too general assertions. For expample, LBJ's 1936 victory in his first congressional election is provided as an example as a viable strategy to success. Fair enough, but LBJ used that same strategy in an attempt to 'glad hand' Ho Chi Minh in negotiations after the US Army crushed the Tet offensive. Do yourself a favor and borrow this book from an adversary. Use it to generate a shopping list of books to buy, e.g., The Art of War by Sun Tzu. These source texts contain profound pearls of wisdom. Then return Greene's book to the owner, making sure to praise the contents. Hopefully, your adversary will use this book as the basis for strategy, ultimately losing to all opponents - you included.

Robert Greene's books are deep and they are for thinkers. If you want a breezy beach read or airplane read, this is not that book.

You'll read this book once, get to the last page and go back to page 1 and start reading again. There are literally hundreds of ideas in this book.

I especially like the way the author has made the book applicable to your life, the business or the battlefield.

As a former soldier, I deeply appreciate the detailed review of war strategies and found the book so compelling, I'm buying copies for all of my friends who are in the military and currently deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq.

If you only read one business or self improvement book this year, read this one. If you read three, read the author's other two books, The 48 Laws of Power and The Art of Seduction.

Read the 48 laws of power, fantastic book 5/5. I wanted to buy this because I wanted to continue the narrative of the first, or maybe it would touch up the original book.

I do not like this book at all, very cheesy writing. The connection between the principle taught i.e "a strategy of war" and the piece of history used to support it is not connected well. I enjoyed the history part more than the psychological lesson behind it. The author consistently uses phrases like "destroy your enemies, envelop him in smoke" on and on and on. Its basically stuff like this and no substance. It just does not sound PRACTICAL for the real world like the 48 Laws of Power does. I found some useful points, but not many. Again, the history is cool to read but I wouldn't use this too much as a personal self-improvement tool.

First the disclaimer - I am not a fan of Machiavellian philosophy and when I tried reading Robert Greene's first book: The 48 Laws of Power, I found it full of deceit and strategies that conflicted with my value system and so I could never finish reading it and thought of not touching any of his works again. Turns out I was pleasantly surprised by reading this one.

What I really like:
- "Everything is fair in love and war"
This book is a collection of war stories & strategies employed by some of history's greatest rulers and gives you an insight on what makes them truly "great". It is sort of a mini-biography of these great personalities giving you a well laid out picture of their circumstances and choices that worked & didn't work for them.

- "The moment you aim for results, you are in the realm of strategy"
This book is a mind opener as it broadens your thinking and makes you realize certain similarities in your everyday life situations with those used in this book. It makes general statements about present day life and you will find your mind automatically making subtle connections with your personal situations and sometimes even realizing how things could have been done differently.

- Those of you who have an interest in History or like watching the shows on History Channel will admire the way these stories have presented. Although this is a large book, it has been divided into 33 smaller chapters each of which talks about a specific war strategy making it easier to read. You can also read chapters from in between as most of the text makes sense even when read in isolation from other chapters.

- The book is very well researched and it feels like you are reading a summary of important lessons from other well written books on military warfare. All in all, you will find the stories interesting to keep turning the pages and wanting yourself to complete the end of a chapter in every sitting.

What I don't like:
- At places, the book contains fairly long quoted texts from other great warfare books in the middle of an interesting story (specially true for kindle edition) that interrupt the flow and take you away from original text

- Certain chapters are fairly long and borderline slightly boring with too much details which can be avoided. The book itself is also quite heavy read.

I only gave it two stars because I find Greene style of writing annoying, he is constantly telling stories from history, which I can see why would work but I just dislike his style. For those of you who don't mind that then this is a good book.

I actually bought this book because my boss was telling entertaining stories from it. The book is actually very interesting and worth it just for all the historical anecdotes (provided you like history) from both Eastern and Western Culture. Interesting to note is that it doesn't just include strategies employed by the greats like Napoleon and Alexander the Great, though these certainly feature, but also includes recent pop culture, sports, and Hollywood...Hitchcock, Mae West, etc. Note that Hitler and Giap get billing too as those who have succeeded (and sometimes failed) at war. The strategies are well thought out and presented in easy to understand language that describes the idea, how it worked, the principles of applying it, and often how it would be applied in the modern world where overt aggression is not often seen as a good thing. The one thing that kind of threw me for a loop at first was that it didn't seem to consider "ethical" or "moral" concerns for any of what it presented. This made perfect sense though when (1) I saw on the back cover this is part of the "amoral trilogy" (Not immoral...just amoral w/o judging) (2) morality changes over the course of history and perspective to perspective so honestly, any thrown in would present a certain "lens" that colors it in a way that may not reflect all cultures or all points in history and (3) this book is astoundingly like a modern day version of Machiavelli's "The Prince". In fact there is a chapter that describes Machiavelli's use of his novel to influence that is decidedly funny in light of the fact that this book is so similarly written! I thought it was worth my time...in fact I've ordered the other two books.

While there were some redeeming historical components in the same vein of quality found in "The 48 Laws of Power", this book was dull at times and lackluster. I found myself skipping whole paragraphs and some pages due to lack of interest.

"The 33 Strategies of War" is an interesting and accessible collection of various strategies and ways of understanding conflict. Easy to read it has a wealth of well organized information - to include the Greene's explanations of strategies, historical anecdotes to support his convictions and ideas to approach various situations. These approaches are much more than simply how to maneuver an army - one of the book's strong points is it's ability to help you understand and embrace conflict. It does this by clarifying what conflict is and demanding you to see it all around you as a sort of generative opportunity.
Of course everyone will take something different from this work - and with the multitude of history stories and quotes it has a lot to offer. The almost overwhelming resources contained within this book are well organized (unless you have a Kindle version in which case the quotes are highly disruptive, breaking into the text in what one could only hope was a completely unintentional manner).
Organization and an over abundance of sources make this a nearly encyclopedic collection of strategies, and the writing style aggressively asserts the importance of conflict in day to day life. At the same time, the interpretations and suggested strategies are often times nothing but a restatement of previous thinkers' strategies, which have just been quoted. These interpretations seem to have no applicability: they are not for people in day to day situations (dealing with motivating the troops, coordinating attacks ect.), and they are far too general to be of any use to either a business manager or a soldier.
One of the most glaring examples of this work's sloppy construction and over simplification marketed as wisdom and power is the sections in which the author himself supports and states arguments against learning strategy from a book.

In conclusion this book is short, easy to read with a multitude of sources and information - ultimately providing an experience that is too general to prove particularly beneficial for any one person or group. However, it does have some strengths in it's collection of general tenets and approaches. The only real benefit you should be able to claim after reading this book (unless supplemented by personal knowledge and investigation) is a wider understanding of some of the elements and aspects of conflict and warfare.

As a soldier and academic I can't help but personally feel that this is an uppity self-help book with little to offer the professional soldier or business person who would be better reading a more detailed, better applied, and more reasonably and thoughtfully argued analysis of applicable methods of dealing with material, personnel, adversity, confrontation and outright conflict.
The average reader, with no particular needs or demands, may still find this an interesting, perhaps helpful book (I don't mean to disparage this audience) but the seeming simplicity of 33 turns into expansive sources and glossed over analyses of partial strategies leaving the reader with a mound of partially formed ideas of questionable relevance and applicability.

So Ive read "Power" & "Mastery" and will be finishing "War" today. Its a great book but at the same time I am glad to be done with it. It was sort of like a weird experiment for me in that right after I started reading it I was instantly more combative in my day to day life. It was like a vacation from my normal easy going self and I had inhabited the body and personality of a total no holds barred hard head. Kind of in a good way, but looking back over the past two weeks Ive been both at work and in my personal life incredibly pressing and dominating in my arguing. I just read the book as it goes, I didnt study it or highlight anything, just read it. But it is 450 pages and each line is "attack, attack, attack" albeit providing different matters of doing so (some more aggressive than others). But in reading the book the theme of "attack" totally seeped into my behavior. Its probably just me. Read it. Start some trouble. Enjoy the fireworks.

I only gave it two stars because I find Greene style of writing annoying, he is constantly telling stories from history, which I can see why would work but I just dislike his style. For those of you who don't mind that then this is a good book.

While there were some redeeming historical components in the same vein of quality found in "The 48 Laws of Power", this book was dull at times and lackluster. I found myself skipping whole paragraphs and some pages due to lack of interest.

"The 33 Strategies of War" is an interesting and accessible collection of various strategies and ways of understanding conflict. Easy to read it has a wealth of well organized information - to include the Greene's explanations of strategies, historical anecdotes to support his convictions and ideas to approach various situations. These approaches are much more than simply how to maneuver an army - one of the book's strong points is it's ability to help you understand and embrace conflict. It does this by clarifying what conflict is and demanding you to see it all around you as a sort of generative opportunity.
Of course everyone will take something different from this work - and with the multitude of history stories and quotes it has a lot to offer. The almost overwhelming resources contained within this book are well organized (unless you have a Kindle version in which case the quotes are highly disruptive, breaking into the text in what one could only hope was a completely unintentional manner).
Organization and an over abundance of sources make this a nearly encyclopedic collection of strategies, and the writing style aggressively asserts the importance of conflict in day to day life. At the same time, the interpretations and suggested strategies are often times nothing but a restatement of previous thinkers' strategies, which have just been quoted. These interpretations seem to have no applicability: they are not for people in day to day situations (dealing with motivating the troops, coordinating attacks ect.), and they are far too general to be of any use to either a business manager or a soldier.
One of the most glaring examples of this work's sloppy construction and over simplification marketed as wisdom and power is the sections in which the author himself supports and states arguments against learning strategy from a book.

In conclusion this book is short, easy to read with a multitude of sources and information - ultimately providing an experience that is too general to prove particularly beneficial for any one person or group. However, it does have some strengths in it's collection of general tenets and approaches. The only real benefit you should be able to claim after reading this book (unless supplemented by personal knowledge and investigation) is a wider understanding of some of the elements and aspects of conflict and warfare.

As a soldier and academic I can't help but personally feel that this is an uppity self-help book with little to offer the professional soldier or business person who would be better reading a more detailed, better applied, and more reasonably and thoughtfully argued analysis of applicable methods of dealing with material, personnel, adversity, confrontation and outright conflict.
The average reader, with no particular needs or demands, may still find this an interesting, perhaps helpful book (I don't mean to disparage this audience) but the seeming simplicity of 33 turns into expansive sources and glossed over analyses of partial strategies leaving the reader with a mound of partially formed ideas of questionable relevance and applicability.

So Ive read "Power" & "Mastery" and will be finishing "War" today. Its a great book but at the same time I am glad to be done with it. It was sort of like a weird experiment for me in that right after I started reading it I was instantly more combative in my day to day life. It was like a vacation from my normal easy going self and I had inhabited the body and personality of a total no holds barred hard head. Kind of in a good way, but looking back over the past two weeks Ive been both at work and in my personal life incredibly pressing and dominating in my arguing. I just read the book as it goes, I didnt study it or highlight anything, just read it. But it is 450 pages and each line is "attack, attack, attack" albeit providing different matters of doing so (some more aggressive than others). But in reading the book the theme of "attack" totally seeped into my behavior. Its probably just me. Read it. Start some trouble. Enjoy the fireworks.

This is the philosophy of the Saviors in The Walking Dead.
You will look like Negan if you use these rules when dealing with others.
After listening to the whole book, I believe this is only useful for military or
competitive sports and games requiring strategy.
I understand it's NBA star Chris Bosh favorite book.
Makes sense in a very competitive game like basketball.
Using them for normal human relations and business will only lead to distrust if discovered.
I read and listen to the audible version of the book.
Being a former US Marine, I enjoyed the historic stories of battles.
The funniest being the Spartans not wanting to fight during a holiday but will send forces after their celebration.
If you are in a situation like Dallas, Big Brother, or Dynasty then by all means use the tactics.
But don't use them on unsuspecting people just trying to get through life.
It will only lead to bad blood.
World has enough conflict then to add more to it.
Semper Fi

(Now, I will note here that I actually read the Korean translation of this book and not the original, but really, there isn’t much of a difference anyway.)

I ran into this book by chance in my school library and the interesting title just seemed to grasp me into reading it. I was later surprised at how easily the pages turn and despite the book being, basically, a neat arrangement of historical events and analysis, each story has their own taste and a unique appeal that just makes you want to read further. The book is filled with past war records to recent political maneuvers, featuring wide and various collection from different culture around the globe. It includes famous events such as Napoleon’s epic in conquering Europe and many others, allowing the readers to be provided with the strategic analysis of events they might already be familiar with.

The book is divided into 5 Parts, categorizing the 33 strategies into relative groups. Each Part then has strategies that relate to the overall theme of the part, and each strategy has two, and sometimes three historical evidence of its devastating use. This allows this book to be an ideal way to spend leftover times, since reading a single strategy or a single event will not take much time. I personally have gone over the book multiple times, because it takes a long period to finish a book this long when you are inching forward by one event every read. The pages turn easily, but the overall quantity is a lot, making me forget the earlier parts of the book by the time I get through it half way. Granted, one will eventually get tired of this book if you read it to the extent of memorizing almost 100 historical events and their analysis, but until that time comes, I am sure I will always reach out for this book if I have some spare reading time to kill.

There is nothing too special about this book aside from the dedication of research and professional analysis on each strategy mentioned, and amassing such quantity of it in a single work. The book is a perfect choice even for those with no interest in history, since who doesn’t like life advices that will make you successful. This book taught me that strategies are not just a military term that one would see in play during war, but everyday maneuvers one could pull off to achieve a goal. This book was very helpful, and I hope who reads this book will read repeatedly: it is too much to read once and forget about it.

I have read and re-read this under-valued, but brilliantly written book and get more out of each time. That's because it really has more information, insight, intuition and practical psychology then I can absorb in one reading. This book in truth has little to do with war in the formal definition. But insofar as life is essentially endless struggle, for all humans at all times, the book's subject matter relates to everyone. If "How to win friends and influence people" (Carnegie) is the definitive guide to winning people to your side the friendly way, this book is the other side of the coin: it is about understanding the meaning and application of psychological warfare on a personal level in such a way as to influence people and even events in your favor. Put more bluntly it is about the fine science of manipulation, deception, and the application of force, without actual force, and winning your battles bloodlessly using those means. Anyone who is or aspires to be a leader at any level of society will find this book intriguing and eye--opening.

The 33 Strategies of War by Robert Greene is Greene's followup to The 48 Laws of Power and The Art of Seduction. The 33 Strategies of War is Greene's attempt to filter wars and history into specific types of strategies. As with his other books, the book is ultimately about the interaction between people and how everything in the world, from power, war, politics is ultimately about how we as humans interact with each other.

I really like this book. Being interested in history the examples and the analysis is very captivating and Greene chooses his subjects very carefully. The strategies are sound as well as I've seen many of the ideas mentioned in many other books. One of the great things of this book is that it doesn't limit itself to the field of war. It also deals heavily with politics and daily life which doesn't seem like they have a lot in common with war. But strategy is on another abstract level and applies for every situation in life.

One of the things that disappointed me a little about this book is the lack of self-reflection. Greene spends most of the time in the book building a convincing case for the strategies. After each section there's a reversal section which often isn't used at all (saying that this strategy cannot be reversed) or simply stating that sometimes the strategy can't be used without specifying why that is. While I cannot specifically find a counterexample, I am sure there must be some.
Another point is the very bad formatting used in the books. There's often small snippets from other books that are an example of the strategy but it's written in the margin where it makes it hard to read because of the numerous line breaks.

Overall though it's a good read and I can highly recommend this along with Greene's other book, The 48 Laws of Power.

First the disclaimer - I am not a fan of Machiavellian philosophy and when I tried reading Robert Greene's first book: The 48 Laws of Power, I found it full of deceit and strategies that conflicted with my value system and so I could never finish reading it and thought of not touching any of his works again. Turns out I was pleasantly surprised by reading this one.

What I really like:
- "Everything is fair in love and war"
This book is a collection of war stories & strategies employed by some of history's greatest rulers and gives you an insight on what makes them truly "great". It is sort of a mini-biography of these great personalities giving you a well laid out picture of their circumstances and choices that worked & didn't work for them.

- "The moment you aim for results, you are in the realm of strategy"
This book is a mind opener as it broadens your thinking and makes you realize certain similarities in your everyday life situations with those used in this book. It makes general statements about present day life and you will find your mind automatically making subtle connections with your personal situations and sometimes even realizing how things could have been done differently.

- Those of you who have an interest in History or like watching the shows on History Channel will admire the way these stories have presented. Although this is a large book, it has been divided into 33 smaller chapters each of which talks about a specific war strategy making it easier to read. You can also read chapters from in between as most of the text makes sense even when read in isolation from other chapters.

- The book is very well researched and it feels like you are reading a summary of important lessons from other well written books on military warfare. All in all, you will find the stories interesting to keep turning the pages and wanting yourself to complete the end of a chapter in every sitting.

What I don't like:
- At places, the book contains fairly long quoted texts from other great warfare books in the middle of an interesting story (specially true for kindle edition) that interrupt the flow and take you away from original text

- Certain chapters are fairly long and borderline slightly boring with too much details which can be avoided. The book itself is also quite heavy read.

Although I couldn't get my book because of address problems. They still handled the issue very well by contacting me and letting me know what the problem was. So I'm rating them on good customer service
A+ Thanks a lot :)

Much like The 48 Laws of Power, this is a well-researched and unflinching guide to applying self-discipline to get what you want and maneuver in the world of power politics. Tells it like it is. it's morally neutral, just like The 48 Laws of Power. If you want to learn how to be more effective at achieving goals and dealing with other people with strategy instead of just tactics and to fine tune your judgement by reducing the polluting influence of emotion, this is a book you should read. If you find yourself often at the receiving end of the power plays and manipulations of others in your career and professional life, this is a book you should read.

Be warned though, this isn't an Anthony Robbins positive thinking self-improvement book, Prepare to be hit with truth bombs left and right. This is a cold and brutal analysis of the way things really work and how to better work them to your advantage. It's not a guide on how to be a nice person, but if you are honest with yourself you will see the truth in it and become much more aware of what other people do to try to manipulate circumstances to their own advantage, You will see the common mistakes other people, and you, yourself make and learn how to correct them. If you're trying to climb the corporate ladder or run a business with stiff competition or ascend to a position of authority, this book is a valuable tool.

Good book. I didn't like the formatting of this book, with all the extra stuff in red in the margins of each page. This book is too drawn out (compared to The 50th Law which I read first) but the examples are quite interesting. Some say Greene's books are pure evil. I can see why some say this. This book is about the reality of human interaction. I don't believe everyone is as manipulative as Greene would say they are, but there are some. While I couldn't see myself using most of his recommendations, some people do use his techniques, either knowingly or unknowingly. The most useful section to me in this book is the defensive strategies. Whether you like it or not, at sometime in your life someone will use these techniques on you. It would be in your best interest to understand what's going on and defend yourself strategically. I've read more books on positive human interaction, but as with everything, you should have balance. Also, you shouldn't get all your information from one source. Greene's work is the other side of the coin for me, and definitely has it's place.

Whoa!

Here come Mister Greene again with another masterpiece.

This book is deeper and requires more concentration than his previous "48 Laws". As we're talking about strategies, it's necessary to be more "cold-blooded" than simply following some rules. I took double the time to read it, and still I have to read it again.

This book seems more empowering since he gives us the tools and we're solely responsible for how and when to apply them! It goes way beyond war, it's a far-reaching book.

KEYS TO WARFARE:

The greatest power you could have in life would come neither from resources nor skills in strategies. It would come from clear knowledge of those around you - the ability to read people like a book. Given that knowledge you could distinguish friend from foe, smoking out snakes from the grass. You could anticipate your enemies' malice and take defensive action. Armed with that knowledge, you could make them tumble into traps and destroy them.

1: Declare war on your enemies: Polarity
You cannot fight effectively unless you can identify them. Learn to smoke them out, then inwardly declare war. Your enemies can fill you with purpose and direction.

3: Amidst the turmoil of events, do not lose your presence of mind: Counterbalance
Keep your presence of mind whatever the circumstances. Make your mind tougher by exposing it to adversity. Learn to detach youself from the chaos of the battlefied.

10: Create a threatening presence: Deterrence
Build a reputation for being a little crazy. Fighting you is not worth it. Uncertainty can be better than an explicit threat. If your opponents aren't sure what attacking you will cost, they will not want to find out.

11: Trade space for time: Nonengagement
Retreat is a sign of strength. Resisting the temptation to respond buys valuable time. Sometimes you accomplish most by doing nothing.

12: Lose battles, but win the war: Grand strategy
Grand strategy is the art of looking beyond the present battle and calculating ahead. Focus on your ultimate goal and plot to reach it.

26: Deny them targets: The Void
The feeling of emptiness is intolerable for most people. Give enemies no target to attack. Be dangerous and elusive, and let them chase you into the void. Deliver irritating but damaging side attacks and pinpricks bites.

28: Give your rivals enough rope to hang themselves: One-upmanship
Instill doubts and insecurities in rivals, getting them to think too much and act defensive. Make them hang themselves through their own self-destructive tendencies, leaving you blameless and clean.

33: Sow uncertainty and panic through acts of terror: Chain Reaction
Terror can paralyze a people's will to resist and destroy their ability to plan a strategic response. The goal is to cause maximum chaos and provoke a desperate overreaction. To counter terror, stay balanced and rational.

I read other books from this author (The 48 Laws of Power, Art of Seduction), and I loved them all, and recommended them to my friends. This book is no exception.

The author tells a story of how someone won a victory, and then interprets this as how one can use such a strategy in his daily life to vanquish his enemies. We all have enemies: people who envy us, for example, and are ready to see us destroyed.

I loved the stories of how generals won wars. The stories are very entertaining, educational, and helpful. I loved how Hannibal won his wars, and almost marched on Rome; Napoleon's strategies of war; Hitler's demise, and the reasons for it; DeGaul's ingenuity; Dali's captivating character; Hitchcock's unconventional directing skills; Mao's march against all odds; Gandhi's strategy on non violence, to name just a few.

Though this book can be regarded as a self help book, it is much more than that. You will learn about many important historical battles that shaped the world, and the people behind them. If you like history books, then you will love this book. If you just want to be entertained by beautiful stories well told, then you will also love this book.

As a side note, and nothing really to do with the topic of this book, I don't like how history sometimes glamorizes men of war. War is a terrible thing, spreading death and suffering upon many. Napoleon wanted to conquer Russia just to teach them a lesson. Isn't that a selfish reason? Hundreds of thousands died because of his selfish intentions. Similarly, Hitler wanted to conquer Europe, and millions died as a result. A serial killer is shunned by society and put to death for killing a few dozens, and sometimes less. Genghis Khan killed thousands, yet is regarded as a great warrior. Can anyone say that Manson is a Great serial killer? It is one thing to defend one's country, and die for it, but another thing to wage war against other countries for greed, power, or personal vendetta. As much as one man can do so much good for so many, one man can set havoc on so many!

The above aside, this is among the best self-help books out there. A lot of strategies mentioned you can use in your daily life. Some strategies might be beyond us, but it is good to know of them, for our enemies might use them against us.

I highly recommend this book. In fact, I bought about 20 copies to give away to my friends!

I actually bought this book because my boss was telling entertaining stories from it. The book is actually very interesting and worth it just for all the historical anecdotes (provided you like history) from both Eastern and Western Culture. Interesting to note is that it doesn't just include strategies employed by the greats like Napoleon and Alexander the Great, though these certainly feature, but also includes recent pop culture, sports, and Hollywood...Hitchcock, Mae West, etc. Note that Hitler and Giap get billing too as those who have succeeded (and sometimes failed) at war. The strategies are well thought out and presented in easy to understand language that describes the idea, how it worked, the principles of applying it, and often how it would be applied in the modern world where overt aggression is not often seen as a good thing. The one thing that kind of threw me for a loop at first was that it didn't seem to consider "ethical" or "moral" concerns for any of what it presented. This made perfect sense though when (1) I saw on the back cover this is part of the "amoral trilogy" (Not immoral...just amoral w/o judging) (2) morality changes over the course of history and perspective to perspective so honestly, any thrown in would present a certain "lens" that colors it in a way that may not reflect all cultures or all points in history and (3) this book is astoundingly like a modern day version of Machiavelli's "The Prince". In fact there is a chapter that describes Machiavelli's use of his novel to influence that is decidedly funny in light of the fact that this book is so similarly written! I thought it was worth my time...in fact I've ordered the other two books.

This book has changed my life without a doubt. I read the art of war and will purchase Mushashi's book of Five rings soon, but this book is just simply amazing. If you haven't read either of these books I'd start with this one.

The book is about strategic thinking. It teaches the reader how to solve day to day problems by adapting different military strategies to the problem. It also helps you to learn how your enemies think, and how to defeat them. It accomplishes this by presenting 33 strategies of doing war and how to counter act them.

Because some of the strategies counteract each other it can be confusing if you take everything presented in it as gospel. For example, it speaks about the value of an offensive approach to solve a problem and promotes it as the best way, but then says that fighting defensively i.e. avoiding problems is a better way.

I think the best way to use the knowledge presented in this book is to read and know all the strategies then tailor them to your personality or the specific problem. The book is NOT a book about tactics. Its not an army field manual, its a guide to train your mind how to think and solve problems more effectively.

The author has done extensive research into the topics he has presented. The book itself is ram packed with quotes from the greatest Military minds of all time. It is also filled with very interesting stories that literally keeps the reader glued to the book for hours.

It was well worth the money I paid for it and the impact it has had on my life and how I view the world is tremendous.

Though the author's writing style is very simple and engaging,you may have to read over some chapters to fully grasp the concepts being presented.

A very interesting and detailed book concerning the strategies of war that gives great examples in the history of the World. It gives characteristics of different leaders and different countries and determines why they failed or succeeded in their battles in war. It shows the relationships that combined to win battles or lose battles. This book shows great intellect and wisdom in the strategies of wars and the expertise in particular historical wars in the Roman Empire, the British Empire and the Napoleonic Empire by Robert Greene. The only criticism is the long in depth analysis that makes it a bit strenuous to read in one go but with such great knowledge it is worth reading even if it takes a bit longer.

Robert Greene writes in a powerful and concise manner with a focused topic. Previously, he wrote the "48 Laws of Power", an amazing book which took forms of power and breaks down the use and methodology of power with historical cases. He does the same here but with Warfare. The topic is not limited for use by real warriors. Indeed, if Clausewitz said that "War is diplomacy by another means," then one would have to ask if "Diplomacy is War by another means." If so, then the diplomatic exchanges that we all have every day in business, politics, personal relations (not all are positive!) are indeed a form of warfare with the stakes being our present and future circumstances.

For the individual who wants to become a stronger `warrior' in today's world, this book is essential. One can become a warrior in a number of important causes: Freedom, Democracy, the Environment, Education, etc., It depends on one's interests, but the labrynthine corridors of power and strategy still apply. With this diverse perspective, Greene deftly uses strategists from various disciplines: Lyndon Johnson, Julius Caesar, Joan Crawford, Ted Williams, and more. These historical cases provide excellent studies for the student warrior. His story about Alfred Hitchcock (whom my aunt worked with in the film industry) was very telling in terms of his perceived detachment but total control.

"Qui desiderat pacem, praeparat bellum." An old Roman generals advice: "Whosoever desires peace, prepares for war." This is not an urge toward conflict but one of defense against complacency. I enjoyed Green's use of military terminology throughout, especially the use of grammar that suggests a timeless quality to his observations and truths. The format of the book is excellent. People from many backgrounds will appreciate its knowledge.

Michael Mandaville, Author "Stealing Thunder"

I purchased this book a couple of years ago wandering through the bookstore. Thumbing through the book it looked very good. I was not disappointed. This is an amazing book on strategy. The author takes the approach of utilizing stories from great military leaders in the past and putting it into a general concept that it can be applied in modern conflict. I enjoyed this book so much that I own it not only in the hardcover form but I purchased the audio version on Audible as well. This book is obviously received many positive reviews and I don't want to cover that same ground again. The only type of person that I see not getting value from this book is someone that does not like conflict and doesn't believe in the more Darwinist side of human nature.

Greene has written three other excellent books that all complement the 33 strategies of war if you enjoyed this one I would strongly suggest looking at the other three. The most controversy over is probably the 50th Law which I thoroughly enjoyed as well but because a key figure in the book .50 Cent is such a polarizing figure some people appear to be turned off by that book. I still think it's an excellent read.

My compliments to the author and the publisher for having text-to-speech enabled on the Kindle version. Owning this book in several forms I am delighted that this feature is enabled.

Among the other reviews here, there have been some comparisons between this book and the Art of War by Sun Tzu. I'd agree. Both are elegant and detailed instruction manuals on how to prepare yourself for conflict.

Once again, Green brings a tremendous body of research and historical insight to his writing, demonstrating the key points of each chapter through some of the greatest successes and mistakes from history.

But this isn't just a book about war. Greene repeatedly states that many of the strategies and tactics used to harden an individual for conflict (or conflict avoidance) apply equally well to business, politics and negotiation, and the examples come from everywhere from Hollywood to Ancient Rome.

The advantage this book has over the previous two is that his clarification of his strategies is more balanced and consistent. He goes vague less often here.

This book completes nicely Greene's cycle of historical self-improvement books: the first in how to woo others to your way of thinking, the second to deal with power structures, and the third for self-discipline and conflict resolution.

I rated "48 Laws of Power" and "Art of Seduction" of the author with five stars. I see no point why I should honor this less. They are all insightful, well written/organized/elaborated with vivid histories and teachings from masters like Napoleon, Sun-tzu, Machiavelli, Miyamoto etc that readers can understand, remember, choose and apply the right "strategies" in the right place at the right time towards the right one with relative ease. IMHO, they should be studied together as a trilogy so you can get the most in your work, love or even war. In short, a must-read.

p.s. Below please find two of my favorite passages in it for your reference.

Space I can recover. Time, never. - Napoleon Bonaparte pg140
Everything in this world conspires to put you on the defensive....By acting boldly, before others are ready, by moving to seizing the initiative, you create your own circumstances rather than simply waiting for what life brings you. Your initial push alters the situation, on your terms. People are made to react to you, making you seem larger and more powerful than may be the case. pg192

In politics, business, sports and the like, they all have elements of warfare. Even the game of chess can benefit from the concepts within this book. You have to know what you're reading and fine tune it towards your goal.

Like Robert Greene's 48 Laws of Power, this is also quite brutal in it's honesty. There is nothing amoral about this read or 48 Laws of Power. They are what they are. These strategies are used all the time in the real world and not always in war. You will find this book in the Business Section of any bookstore.

If you're easily unnerved by ideals associated with war, don't bother reading this book. But if you digest the information within the pages, you can protect yourself from being manipulated, taken advantage of and turn the tables on them

This book is a remarkable analysis of military strategies throughout history, and how similar strategies and tactics can, and have been, used by people for (non military) problem solving in day to day life. This book is what "The Prince" would be if it were written today instead of several hundred years ago, and ten times as useful to the average person. This book ought to be required reading in college.

I have read the other books by Robert Greene. There is no doubt that he is extremely intelligent and an expert in analysing political, military and social intrigues. I haven't given the book "The 48 laws of power" a good rating, not because the analyses was not good (indeed it was excellent) but because it didn't portray real power (see my review entitled "How to be a sycophant"). But in "The 33 strategies of war", the author focuses on laying out and studying the strategies in a very logical and pertinent manner. That's what he's very good at and hence this book lives up to its promise and reputation. All chapters are very well written and explained, however I think one chapter particularly stands out, entitled "lose battles but win the war", indeed deserves to be labeled 'grand strategy'.

I ran across this book by accident. Killing time in the bookstore and picked it up.

It was compelling from the 1st glance. I love the historical references. He uses examples from military history, but he also includes stories from people that have excelled in their chosen professions. Alfred Hitchcock, Muhammad Ali, Roosevelt.

This book has applications anyone that has to deal with other people can use everyday. Office politics can cause a great deal of stress, this book gives you tools to handle the situations we are all faced with.

Very good book. Packed full of good info.

I was intrigued by this book. I already own a concise version of the 48 Laws of Power, written by the same author.

However, for some reason I never really got too taken with his previous book, which I shall revisit.

I had a strong suspicion that this book would be essentially a rehash of the aforementioned 48 Laws, but the militaristic subject matter appealed.

Well, I can confirm that this book definitely stands on it's own as an individual work.

In appearance, it is very inviting, beautifully designed with a great cover design and highlighted extracts of text on the borders of most pages drawn largely from classic military writings throughout the ages.

This book has a sinfully charismatic quality about it, like a rich slice of chocolate cake that beckons in the most tempting manner.

However, beyond the design and look of the book, it definitely has meat on the bones.

The mainstream subject matter is how someone could draw on lessons from military history and strategy to employ in everyday life.

There are finely researched stories from throughout the ages that cite various approaches, ploys, plots, victories, defeats, as well as some non-military examples, such as Alfred Hitchcock.

Now I am not entirely sure that this is a self-improvement book as such. It is not exactly the same type of work as Covey's 7 Habits of Effective People, but I find it so much more enjoyable.

I have plenty of time for those who do not push the warm and fluffy approach to life that demands we smile at people in the elevator to spread our positive energy.

Now I'm not advocating an opposite approach or use of the strategies outlined in this book, but my point is that the perspective is ironically refreshing.

The author obviously draws strongly on a familiarity with classical studies to summarise stories of ancient battles and conflicts, as well as such influential figures as Clausewitz, through to more recent conflicts.

Again, I am not quite sure what kind of book this is, as it could not be looked on as a pure work of military history, either.

However, whatever kind of strange animal it is, it is stylish, darkly charismatic and cynical.

If the 48 Laws of Power was a book made to sit on the bookshelves of our wealthy businessman uncle, then the 33 Strategies of War is the kind of book that would be found in the reading room of our Brigadier grandfather, albeit with a modern-day feel to it.

I certainly enjoyed this book and it added to my perspectives on military strategy.

For example, Sun Tzu advocates an approach of always allowing a desperate enemy force a route to escape - or they will fight to the death.

This book spun that perspective, advocating that to create a sense of desperation, urgency and drive in ourselves, that sometimes we should put ourselves on the "death ground", with no exits so that we are forced to rise up and overcome the challenge. Highly motivational.

To begin, I just want to say that the Art of War is an excellent book and one that ahs historical value. I only mention this because many people have disregarded 33 strategies of war because it similar to the art of war. The 33 strategies of war may have the same tactics as the Art of war, but the stories and legends of importantant historical figures, including humble figures, will capture your soul and help understand the capabilities of what a motivated person can do with these tactics. It is a more sophisticated book than the ar of war. Each chapter is a new strategy to learn. Each chapter uses important figures such as napoleon, Eisenhower, Churchill etc, to illustrate each tactic. In addition, it describes the strategies thoroughly and precise. Buy this book if your interested in gaining an advantage to your social life, career, and life tiself. Beware!!!! This book can have a major impact in a persons life, but givin to the wrong person can be dangerous!

Being a lover of history I think this is a great read. I enjoyed Greene's 48 Laws of power mainly because of all the historical examples he used. This one was no different in that regard.

However, I would caution anyone who considers this some kind of manual for competition and conflict. When reading some of the illustrations I often got the feeling the people involved were more lucky than calculated.

Also, there are so many things that can not be controlled by one person. It would be foolish to think a person could refer to this book and get detailed direction on what to do in a situation. First off, the person would have to correctly diagnose their situation and know which `law' to apply. Knowing which 'law' to apply in a given situation is not automatic.

For me, it is a great read that provides some mental stimulation. If you love history like I do then check this out. If you are looking for some kind of blueprint to wage 'war' on others you probably have already lost and do not know it.

As with all of Robert Greene's books, you have to read it with an open mind. They enlighten you and give you a taste of the world of power. These books can be used to protect you or take advantage of others. As with any form of knowledge, it's a matter of what you as an individual choose to do with it.

This book was very exciting for me because I am quite the history buff, and I also like short and precise quotes that can say so much in just one sentence. This book will name a strategy in one quote and you'll think, wow that really makes sense. By reading that one strategy you can learn a great lesson and apply it to your life and reap the benefits. But the author gives us historical examples which apply to each strategy he writes about, so as to confirm the point he's making for each one.
The order of the strategies is important as well, for in the end you are led to an interesting conclusion.
The strategies you'll learn in this book will help you in the work place, and will also help you in sports. Whatever goals you aim to reach, the wisdom to be gained from this book will help you reach them.

1

Strategy: Read Robert Greene's books lightly, dipping into them from time to time. Perhaps when you wake up in the morning, or before stepping out to go to work, or before going to bed. Don't read the books cover to cover in a few sittings. Let yourself absorb their lessons.

Reversal: Read lightly but pay attention. Don't think yourself above these strategies. Greene presents to a modern audience lessons from the classics of human literature. Do not dismiss the wisdom of ages lightly.

2

Strategy: Let the laws and strategies that Greene has sifted from the classics guide you in your everyday life. The lessons of the past have already been paid for. Do not reinvent the wheel.

Reversal: Do not insist on applying a specific strategy to a specific problem. Let a situation choose its own solution. Do not force a square peg in a round hole.

3

Strategy: Empathize. When asking someone for something, for instance when emailing Greene hoping for a reply, offer them something of value to them.

Reversal: Accept that anyone asked for something can refuse. Robert Greene receives too much email to reply to all messages.

Image: A library full of other books.

Vincent Poirier, Dublin

Yes, yes. I used the same basic review for all three of Robert Greene's books. That's OK. Robert Greene wrote the same basic book three times. But at least it's three times the same good book.

good book but can at times be painfully repetitive and contains some completely useless info- like how to use terrorist tactics on people (wtf am i isis?? :-). but for those who are willing to sift thru it all it does contain many gems that will help you strategize your way thru life..when used with 48 laws of power it creates a devastating impact on one's enemies..perfect for a Machiavellian rogue such as myself..overall well worth the 20 bucks.

I must declare a Robert Greene fan by now. I thought highly of his wit in the 48 laws of power - this book was very appealing to me due to its links with strategy. A very "down to earth" view on some of history's most prominent strategists, and fairly motivational too.

The book is also very accurate - matches all the facts that I have gathered through the years while researching the Napoleonic campaigns, the Spanish Chronicles or a few other examples that he has chosen to focus on.

Do not forget - must love history! - or good stories...

Although the title suggests the book focuses on war, it addresses all conflict - be it military, business or personal. In each of 33 chapters, he identifies a "principal of war", and gives several historical examples of how it was applied (or misapplied) with in depth analysis and commentary. One will learn as much about history as strategy from this.

After reading this I have thought back to past conflicts in my life. I now see strategic mistakes in how I handled in business. If I had read this book 15 years ago (obviously impossible as it was recently published), my professional life might have been more successful.

While the book is a great primer on winning conflicts, I also found it very readable and entertaining. It is quite long at 448 pages of small print, but it is one of few non-fiction books I will keep and reread. I also enjoyed his books "Rules of Power" and "Rules of Seduction", but thought this was his best work.

As a writer, success coach, consultant, and....COMBAT VETERAN and ex-Political Prisoner, who works with combat veterans adapting to life in the World, especially the entrepreneurial world, I'm always on the look out for great books that cover in detail the subjects I'm most interested.

I walked through Art of Seduction. I ran through The 48 Laws of Power. I FLEW through The 33 Strategies of War: it's all about the here and now, not "fighting the last war". This applies to war itself, but also negotiation, sales copywriting, marketing, and business development strategy.

Key word is strategy, as compared to just tactics, and Greene delivers this very well! Use tactics to fight the battle or hand to hand or CQB, use strategy to win the war.

Greene proves that even though war, sex, seduction, negotiation, persuasion and business have been written about by so many, there's always room for new points of view...buy a lot of highlighters before you start, and a notebook to record ideas to review later for your business and...campaigns!

Having been a previous owner of "48 Laws of Power" and the "Art of Seduction" I was awaiting this foray into the art of warfare... and I have not been disappointed! After receiving this book as a birthday gift, I have not put it down in the last 10 days; managing it a piece at a time, and adding some highlighting to key phrases...

While some may consider the art of war (or even seduction or manipulation of power) to be an evil thing, Mr. Greene's take on the subject seems to be "its out there: learn about it to either use it or defend against it." How true this is. The anectdotes in this book are not just coverage of battlefields and generals - varying in scope from Alfred Hitchcock to Joan Crawford, to Cortez - this book has one for (almost) everyone. And while this may seem like Sun Tzu for the Jet Set, "33 Strategies of War" would find a welcome home on the bookshelf of a four-star general preparing for battle or a stay-at-home mom wanting to match wits with her unruly children...

As a business owner (and in life); you will be tested. You must be prepared to fight for yourself and go to WAR if needed. Must have book for entrepreneurs. Also in my top five books of all time! Another classic by Robert Greene.

I love this book. It is just as applicable to personal relationships as it is to business. It is full of exceptional ways to deal with people especially when it comes to mentally preparing and negotiating in order to succeed.

Good book to help you get through the conflicts of your work world. There are always conflicts no matter where you go, it's better to recognize them, and deal with them in an effective manner than pretending that they don't exist.

I got a top tier MBA, spent tens of thousands of dollars and two years, but didn't learn the important stuff. (And I was the valedictorian, and got some really great jobs). I really enjoyed Greene's book 42 laws of power (I can't remember if it's 42 or some other number), but this book is a great reminder and educator of the way things work behind the scenes, in people's minds, and at the macro level of every business and political dealing. I'm convinced that there is either a conspiracy in our educational system to make us dumb workerbees, 99% of our teachers just don't get it, or our measurement system for the quality and effectiveness of our eductional system is severely broken. (Or all the above!)

Much of the book rings a bell with my intuition, but there is a great deal which is so inciteful and informative. I would say I couldn't put the book down, but that's not true, I needed to take a rest every chapter or so. I love his mixing of explaning the principals then giving historical examples. The war stories have direct analogies to the business world.

I have also read Greene's "Art of Seduction", which I think is absolutely vile and disgusting. I don't think the book is vile and distigusting, I think the book simply tells the truth. Greene doesn't make the rules, he's just telling how many "successfull" people play the game, which is really just a clear illustration of the part of human nature which is cloaked behind good manners and grooming, and how people take advantage of our good nature, weaknesses, and need for connection and love--all of which applies to both our personal and business world. Better to know it than not know it, and know when to fight fire with fire if you think you can stay true to your principles. Maybe there should be a followup something like "Buddah's dance with Devil"

This book is going on my top shelf.

The 33 Strategies of War came at a period in my life when I had suffered the loss of a friendship and the loss of my stepfather - both relationships of nearly 30 years. I had repeatedly bailed out each of them during their lives, and in afterthought realized I had repeatedly been taken advantage of by them. It was one of the most hurtful times of my life, but with the aid of Mr. Greene I was able to utilize the 33 Strategies of War to implement my own ideas to seek justice on these individuals - not revenge but justice! I was actually able to formulate and conceive a 3-round match with a "Knockout" punch reserved for the final round should it be necessary. (So far it has been unnecessary - but should it becomes so I am prepared!!!)

Once I reached the conclusion that these relationships were sadly over I tried to leave on friendly terms. However, when these two men foolishly decided to "gang-up" on me and be vindictive with no reason there was no holds barred on the JUSTICE meted out to these individuals. By applying Mr. Greene's guidance I was able to formulate strategies and use the very "weapons" they had used against me to show their power and reflect it against them - talk about pouring salt in the wound!!! These strategies were EFFECTIVE and DEVASTATING!!! - ruining both of these men's personal and professional relationships - all by applying the legal system to work to my advantage. Costing them tens of thousands, ruining their credit and affecting their future job prospects forever - and ultimately they had no one to blame but themselves. Beautiful!

However, implementing these strategies did not come without a cost. Before acting on my strategies I had to envision the pros & cons that could occur if I took this course of action - with the expectation that some, or all, or the perceived possibilities could be the outcome. And I had to be prepared that I would lose additional friendships in the process. The reality became that ALL of the consequences I had envisioned came to pass - both good & bad - but due to the study of the 33 Strategies I had prepared myself for the responses that would follow and addressed them accordingly. The motto here is "if you go looking for blood, be careful because you might just find it"! I found it and it was worth it!

At the time I discovered these books I was attending school for a Master's Degree in Business Leadership. However, I learned Faaaaaar more in the study of the 33 Strategies of War than in my 16 month of studies for the graduate program. I am a former U.S. Marine and these men learned a hard lesson to betray a Marine with a background in law enforcement and access to these strategies!

The particular strategies I found most useful to my situation were:

DEFENSIVE WAREFARE

Perfect-economy - Pick your battles carefully: Consider the hidden costs of war: time, political goodwill, an embittered enemy bent on revenge. Sometimes it is better to undermine your enemies covertly.

Deterrence - Create a threatening presence: Build a reputation for being a little crazy. Fighting you is not worth it. If your opponents aren't sure what attacking you will cost, they will not want to find out.

Non-engagement - Trade space for time: Retreat is a sign of strength. Resisting the temptation to respond buys valuable time. Sometimes you accomplish most by doing nothing.

OFFENSIVE WARFARE

Grand strategy - Lose battles, but win the war: Grand strategy is the art of looking beyond the present battle and calculating ahead. Focus on your ultimate goal and plot to reach it.

Intelligence - Know your enemy: The target of your strategies is not the army you face, but the mind who runs it. Learn to read people.

Center-of-gravity - Hit them where it hurts: Find the source of your enemy's power. Find out what he cherishes and protects and strike hard.

Divide and conquer - Defeat them in detail: Separate the parts and sow dissension and division. Turn a large problem into small, eminently defeatable parts.

Turning - Expose and attack your opponent's soft flank: Frontal assaults stiffen resistance. Instead, distract your enemy's attention to the front, then attack from the side when they expose their weakness.

Exit strategy - Know how to end things: You are judged by how well things conclude. Know when to stop. Avoid all conflicts and entanglements from which there are no realistic exits.

UNCONVENTIONAL WARFARE

Ordinary-Extraordinary - Take the line of least expectation: Upset expectations. First do something ordinary and conventional, then hit them with the extraordinary. Sometimes the ordinary is extraordinary because it is unexpected.

The Void - Deny them targets: Give enemies no target to attack. Be dangerous and elusive, and let them chase you into the void. Deliver irritating but damaging side attacks and pinpricks.

Communication - Penetrate their minds: Infiltrate your ideas behind enemy lines, sending messages through little details. Lure people into coming to the conclusions you desire and into thinking they've gotten there by themselves.

I have to give "props" to the person that introduced me to the Robert Greene series of books! This man was someone I worked with who turned out to be quite a "sales snake". We had a conflict regarding some sales prospects in which he tried to outsmart me - however, I was able to recognize the strategies he was trying to employ and turn them against him by utilizing the company Code of Conduct - much to the surprise of the manager! He soon after tried to psychologically intimidate me - which again I was able to outfox him! By using his own words to turn the tide against him I made him look like a fool, nearly got him fired, potentially in trouble with the police, and put him on the radar for future complaints with the company. Ultimately this protected my job and I was promoted to management soon afterward! As you can imagine he was absolutely LIVID and has not spoken with me since - all the while I smiled and wished him well!

The 33 Strategies of War will change your outlook on life - making you realize that life truly is constant conflict and that only if we address those wishing us harm can we respond in an appropriate and effective manner - to quash the revolt and live in peace. You may lose a few people in your life after utilizing some of these strategies but if that's the case you're better off without `em!

For those who look to history for remedies to solve their life problem this book excellent. As pointed out in the introduction and a common them of Mr. Green is the ends justify the means approach.
FYI: The author is clearly biased towards the greatness of Napoleon although he lost the battle of water loo. Personally Julius Caesar or Alexander would be more admirable because they didn't ever lose a battle or war, but to each their own.

This book goes beyond the wars and strategies of the past, and reconsiders these events for the benefit of the reader to alter his or her mind for the coming battles of life. We all have our own personal battles, and this book can help you prepare for them.

After reading some first chapters of the book, i really can't put it down. There are soooooo many things to learn from this book. As a young professional, i now have an idea on how to run an organization or a group, that is, you can hone you leadership skill. The book (chapter 2) teaches you how to act, what things to do, avoid to make your group high-spirited, competent, and winner. The price i paid for the book is really worth the lessons you'll gonna learn on leadership. There are so many books out there that are really crap books. They don't present the reality and doesn't expose the true human nature in their books. This book really slammed me on the face on things i did wrong on directing on my subordinates. In addition, if you can interpret Sun-Tzu's art of war correctly, then don't buy this book. Personally, i think it's very dangerous to interpret Sun tzu on your own words. We need guidance to interpret it. For me, this book is the most detailed book to explain sun tzu since there soo-oo many illustrations and interpretations on each principle of war. Buy this and you'll not regret every penny you've paid.

if you've read anyhting by this author, the style and tone are similar. this book is definitely not for everyone.

the historical examples are fascinating. i'm already familiar with most of the events he uses as examples, although they've never been presented to me in such an entertaining light. the battle of canae, napoleon's campaigns, mae west... all very interesting in this book, but rather dull in others i've read. pick up this book for this reason alone.

agreed with most reviewers who enjoyed this book on the typical aspects.

one point of contention: the anecdotes on the side of each page are really distracting from the actual text. while some of these are rather interesting, i'd prefer another method of presentation.

This book could only be written by someone who is passionate about the topic. The fact that there are notes on the side of each page is proof of that. If one has had the experience of setting a goal and reaching for it - this book is a goldmine. An oasis. And for those who have been involved in business planning (or in the process of doing such), this book is really very interesting in a lot of ways. A page turner.

This is my third Joost Elffers book and along with the others, it is a great example of using historical references for learning how to become better. This can be a pleasure read, a historical text, or a self-help book. The quotes are very relevant and bias breaking, and the stories are taken from all types of civilizations and cultures. I am a big fan of this book as well as other Joost Elferrs books

I truly enjoyed this book. There are very few strategy books that are as detailed, yet readable. As part of my kendo training, I've read a number of Japanese strategy books such as Book of 5 Rings, which are essentially incomprehensible unless you have training. The best strategy book I've read prior to this was The Way and the Power by Lovrett, which is also readable and excellent.

As "an older professional" I am usually a bit cynical about books of this sort -- usually pretty superficial stuff. Not so with this book. Very well done, few errors, well written and thought provoking. I highly recommend it.

It's one of the best books i have read so far (normally i am a book worm). The author raised examples from the history to support each strategy and his key messages. Very well-written and well-organized. I am sure once you read this book.....you cannot put it down......very inspiring.

For anyone, power and when to use it is a challenge. Greene does an amazing job of bringing together the lessons of histories greatest leaders and how those lessons can be used in a modern world. Very applicable for the average person.

This book is a masterpiece. Filled with principles that will impact your daily life. Finally, a motivational book that has more meat than fluff!

As a Bible student, I also found many principles in this book that can be applied to the Christian. Though I am sure the author didnt intend it, but the strategies of war give insight into the culture of war in the old testament.

Amazing!

I thought it was a good book. Very interesting, just what an ambitious person should read. I liked the historical anecdotes/lessons which the book provided, it pulled on my interest of history and of obviously, power.

My girl friend got me this book for Christmas because I picked it up one day while walking around a book store. I started reading it and soon became aware of some things that I was not real keyed up on. The book breaks down into 33 chapters laying out each of the 33 strategies for war. Within these chapters there are stories and examples of the strategies to help explain how they work. Often these stories are historical but there are others. After that there are sections that reflect on the stories and try to explain how they can be applicable to your life. I am not a reader of self help books and a good 1/3 of these chapters are much like a self help book. If you like books that give you ideas about how to deal with situations at work or school this book is right up your ally. However if you are more like me and like books about history then this book may miss for you. The stories are good and I did finish the whole book but I did not read many of the sections. It got to be a little preachy some times.

The most disgusting product combining the most selfish strategies of human mind is concerntrated in this book from Robert Greene, and his other works. He and his beautifully articulated ideas of "extreme meanness of character" are the concentrated pool of thoughts that make our world an ugly, deceptive, competitive, and unhappy place.

Ok, I admit, the book was well researched and written well.. but just how many of us feel(or want) our days as a War to be won/lost as Mr Greene suggests in the book? All of us pretty much get what we expect in life otherwise known as the phenomenon of the self fulfilling prophecy. If this is the case, I shudder to think that a leader/manager of XYZ company considers his employees as mere soldiers in a War and the customers as enemies. Hmmm.. not very practical, if you ask me.

The most disgusting product combining the most selfish strategies of human mind is concerntrated in this book from Robert Greene, and his other works. He and his beautifully articulated ideas of "extreme meanness of character" are the concentrated pool of thoughts that make our world an ugly, deceptive, competitive, and unhappy place.

Ok, I admit, the book was well researched and written well.. but just how many of us feel(or want) our days as a War to be won/lost as Mr Greene suggests in the book? All of us pretty much get what we expect in life otherwise known as the phenomenon of the self fulfilling prophecy. If this is the case, I shudder to think that a leader/manager of XYZ company considers his employees as mere soldiers in a War and the customers as enemies. Hmmm.. not very practical, if you ask me.

I learned a lot of new things by reading this book! For example, in

chapter 22 Mr. Greene writes that "Afghanistan was rich in natural gas and other minerals and had ports on the Indian Ocean." Perhaps the 34th strategy of war should be studying the map before writing books on strategy and tactics.