In the book that People magazine proclaimed "beguiling" and "fascinating," Robert Greene has distilled three thousand years of the history of power into 48 essential laws by drawing from the philosophies of Machiavelli, Sun Tzu, and Carl Von Clausewitz as well as the lives of figures ranging from Henry Kissinger to P.T. Barnum. Some laws teach the need for prudence ("Law 1: Never Outshine the Master"), others teach the value of confidence ("Law 28: Enter Action with Boldness"), and many recommend absolute self-preservation ("Law 15: Crush Your Enemy Totally"). Amoral, cunning, ruthless, and instructive this multi-million-copy New York Times bestseller is the definitive manual for anyone interested in gaining, observing, or defending against ultimate control.