Amoral, cunning, ruthless, and instructive, The 48 Laws of Power, written by Robert Greene and designed by Joost Elffers, is a penetrating distillation of three thousand years of the history of power. A synthesis of deep research into the philosophies of each of the great thinkers such as Machiavelli, Sun-Tzu, and Carl von Clausewitz and the legacies of statesmen, warriors, seducers, and con artists throughout the ages, The 48 Laws of Power is the definitive study of power and the essential guide to modern manipulation.

In a bold and elegant text, displayed in black and red and packed with fables and sculptures built from unique words, the laws are illustrated through the tactics, triumphs, and failures of figures as astute as Queen Elizabeth I, statesman Henry Kissinger, showman P. T. Barnum, and many others who have wielded — or fallen victim to — power.

The laws teach the need for prudence (Law 1: Never Outshine the Master), the virtue of caution (Law 3: Conceal Your Intentions), the power of seduction (Law 43: Work on the Hearts and Minds of Others), the need for discipline (Law 48: Assume Formlessness), and many demand the total absence of pity (Law 15: Crush Your Enemy Totally). The 48 laws provide an understanding of the strategies used by others, and the tactics to elude them — or to live.

At work, in relationships, on the street, or in the 6 a.m. news: These laws apply everywhere. Whether your interest is conquest, self-defense, or simply being an educated spectator.

Law No. 1: Never Outshine the Master

Always strive to make those above you in the hierarchy feel comfortable with their sense of superiority. Do not let your desire to please or impress them lead you to flaunt your talents and abilities, as this can produce the opposite of the desired effect, that is, inspiring fear and insecurity in your superiors. Always make them appear more brilliant than they really are… and you will reach the summit of power.

Law No. 2: Never Put Too Much Trust in Friends, Learn How to Use Enemies

Distrust your friends; they are usually the first to betray you, since they easily fall prey to envy. They also tend to become disrespectful and tyrannical. Instead, employ someone who was once your enemy, and he will be more loyal to you than a friend, since he will have to make greater efforts to prove his allegiance. The truth is that you should fear your friends more than your enemies. If you have no enemies, find a way to create them.

Law No. 3: Conceal Your Intentions

Confound people and keep them in the greatest possible ignorance, without ever revealing the purpose of your actions. If they have no idea what it is you are trying to achieve, it will be impossible for them to prepare a defense. Lead them down the path of false assumptions, wrap them in a cloud of smoke, and you will see that, when they finally realize your true intentions, it will already be too late for them.

Law No. 4: Always Say Less Than Necessary

When you try to impress people with words, keep in mind that the more you say, the more vulnerable you will be and the less control you will have over the situation. Even when what you say is mere banality, it will seem an original idea if you put it forward in a vague, open, and enigmatic way. Powerful people impress and intimidate through their reticence. The more you talk, the greater the risk of saying something foolish.

Law No. 5: So Much Depends on Reputation, Guard It with Your Life

Your renown and prestige are the cornerstone of power. Prestige alone is enough to intimidate and win. However, once it declines, you will become vulnerable and be attacked from every flank. Turn your prestige into an impregnable fortress. Stay alert against any kind of potential attack and thwart them before they occur. At the same time, learn to destroy your enemies by breaching their reputation. Then step aside and let public opinion crucify them.

Law No. 6: Court Attention at All Cost

Everything is judged by its appearance; what is not seen does not count. Never accept being lost in the anonymity of the crowd or being buried by oblivion. Put all your strength into standing out. Become a magnet that concentrates the attention of others, showing yourself more attractive and more mysterious than the great, timid, anonymous mass.

Law No. 7: Get Others to Do the Work for You, but Always Take the Credit

Use the intelligence, knowledge, and physical labor of others to advance your own cause. That kind of help will not only allow you to save a great deal of time and energy, but will also confer upon you a divine aura of speed and efficiency. In the long run, your collaborators will be forgotten and everyone will remember you. Never do what others can do for you.

Law No. 8: Make Other People Come to You, Use Bait if Necessary

When you force another to act, you must be the one exercising control at all times. It is always better to get your opponent to come to you and, in the process, abandon his own plans. Lure him with fabulous gains… and then proceed to attack. You hold all the aces in your hand.

Law No. 9: Win Through Your Actions, Never Through Argument

Any circumstantial triumph you obtain through verbal argumentation is in reality only a Pyrrhic victory: the resentment and ill will it generates are more intense and lasting than any momentary agreement you may have achieved. It is far more effective to win others over to your side through your actions, without saying a word. Do not explain; demonstrate.

Law No. 10: Infection: Avoid the Unhappy and Unlucky

The misfortune of others can lead you to ruin: moods are as contagious and toxic as an infectious disease. Even if you feel you must lend a hand to someone who is sinking, the only thing you will achieve is accelerating your own downfall. Often, losers are the architects of their own misfortune and end up passing it on to whoever wants to help them. Avoid them and, instead, frequent winning and happy individuals.

Law No. 11: Learn to Keep People Dependent on You

To maintain your independence, it is essential that others want and need you. The more they trust and depend on you, the more freedom you will have. Make people depend on you for their happiness and prosperity, and you will have nothing to fear. Never teach others enough that they can get by without your help.

Law No. 12: Use Selective Honesty and Generosity to Disarm Your Victim

A sincere and honest gesture will compensate for dozens of attitudes dictated by hypocrisy and falseness. The gesture of frank, honest generosity lowers the guard of even the most distrustful individual. Once your selective sincerity has opened a breach in the other’s armor, you can manipulate and deceive him at will. A timely gift — a sort of Trojan horse — can serve the same purpose.

Law No. 13: When Asking for Help, Appeal to People’s Self-Interest, Never to Their Mercy or Gratitude

If you need to resort to the help of an ally, do not bother reminding him of the support you gave him in the past or of your good deeds. The past is ignored or forgotten. If, instead, when you make your request for collaboration you show the elements that will benefit the other person and place great emphasis on them, your opponent will respond enthusiastically to your request, upon detecting the benefit he could obtain.

Law No. 14: Pose as a Friend, Work as a Spy

It is of fundamental importance to know everything about your rival. Use spies to gather valuable information that allows you to always maintain an advantage over him. And even better: play the spy yourself. Learn to probe people carefully in polite social encounters. Ask indirect questions to get the other to reveal his intentions and weaknesses. Every occasion is a good one to practice the art of espionage.

Law No. 15: Crush Your Enemy Totally

Beginning with Moses, all the great leaders of history knew that it was necessary to crush completely the enemy they feared. (On some occasions they learned this lesson by force of blows.) If a single ember is left burning, however weak it may be, there is always the risk that a fire will break out again. More has been lost to half-hearted annihilation than to total extermination: the enemy will recover and seek revenge. Destroy him completely, not only physically but also spiritually.

Law No. 16: Use Absence to Increase Respect and Honor

Too much supply reduces the price: the more they see and hear you, the less necessary others will consider you. If you have already established your position within a given group, a temporary withdrawal will make them talk about you more, and even admire you. You must learn when to withdraw. Remember that the scarcity of a resource increases its value.

Law No. 17: Keep Others in Suspended Terror: Cultivate an Air of Unpredictability

Human beings are creatures of habit and have an insatiable need to feel familiar with the attitudes of those around them. If you are predictable, you give others the feeling that they have a certain control over you. Reverse the roles: be deliberately unpredictable. Attitudes that apparently lack coherence or purpose will baffle others, who will exhaust themselves trying to explain your movements and actions. Taken to an extreme, this strategy can intimidate and terrorize.

Law No. 18: Do Not Build Fortresses to Protect Yourself, Isolation Is Dangerous

The world is a dangerous place and enemies lurk everywhere; everyone needs to protect themselves. A fortress presents itself as the safest alternative. But isolation exposes you more than it protects you from the dangers around you, since it cuts you off from valuable information and singles you out as a hard target for others. It is much safer to circulate, mingle among people, and seek allies. The crowd protects you from your enemies.

Law No. 19: Know Who You’re Dealing With, Do Not Offend the Wrong Person

There are many different kinds of people in the world, and you cannot assume that everyone will react the same way to your strategies. There are certain people who, if you manipulate or deceive them, will spend the rest of their lives seeking revenge. From the moment of the offense, they will be wolves in sheep’s clothing. Choose your victims and your opponents carefully, and never offend or deceive the wrong person.

Law No. 20: Do Not Commit to Anyone

Only fools always rush to take sides. Do not commit to any position or cause except your own. The fact of maintaining your independence makes you the master of others. Obtain benefits by setting people against one another.

Law No. 21: Play a Sucker to Catch a Sucker, Seem Dumber Than Your Mark

No one likes to feel more stupid than others. Therefore, the trick is to make your victims feel shrewd and intelligent and, above all, more shrewd and intelligent than you. Once you have convinced them of this, they will never suspect that you have hidden motives against them.

Law No. 22: Use the Surrender Tactic: Transform Weakness into Power

When you are the weakest, never fight merely to save your honor. Instead, choose capitulation. Surrendering will give you time to recover, time to torment and irritate the victor, time to wait for his power to wane. Do not give him the satisfaction of fighting and being beaten by him. Capitulate before you are defeated. By turning the other cheek, you will infuriate and baffle your opponent. Turn capitulation into an instrument of power.

Law No. 23: Concentrate Your Forces

Conserve your strength and energy by keeping them concentrated at your strongest point. You will gain more by discovering a rich vein and exploiting it deeply than by moving from one poor vein to another: intensity always triumphs over dispersal. When you seek sources of power that can advance you, always try to find the single key pattern, the cash cow you can milk for a long time.

Law No. 24: Play the Perfect Courtier

The perfect courtier, flattering and scheming, thrives and reaches his full potential in a world where everything revolves around power and political skill. He masters the art of indirection to perfection. He flatters, submits to his superiors, and reasserts his power over others in the most charming and gracefully indirect and false way. Learn to apply the laws of the courtier, and your rise within the court will know no limits.

Law No. 25: Re-Create Yourself

Do not accept the roles that society has foisted upon you. Forge a new identity that attracts attention and never bores the public. Be the master of your own image, instead of letting others define it for you. Incorporate dramatic elements into your gestures and public actions, and your power will be reinforced and your personality will grow astonishingly.

Law No. 26: Keep Your Hands Clean

It is necessary that, at all times, you appear as a paragon of propriety and efficiency. Your hands must never be dirtied by wrongdoing or carelessness. Maintain that impeccable appearance by using others as fronts or screens to hide, when necessary, your personal involvement in matters of this kind.

Law No. 27: Play on People’s Need to Believe to Create a Cultlike Following

People have an uncontrollable need to believe in something. Become the focal center of that need, offering them a cause or a new conviction to adhere to. Frame it in vague terms full of promises. Emphasize enthusiasm over clear, rational thought. Give your new disciples rituals to perform and demand sacrifices from them. In the absence of an organized religion and great causes they can believe in, your new system of convictions will confer upon you unheard-of power.

Law No. 28: Enter Action with Boldness

If you feel unsure about a given course of action, do not attempt it. Your doubts and hesitation will carry over into the execution of the plan. Timidity is extremely dangerous; the best thing is to approach every action with boldness. Any mistake you commit through boldness will be easily corrected with more boldness. Everyone admires the bold; no one honors the timid.

Law No. 29: Plan All the Way to the End

A brilliant ending is the corollary that gives emphasis to all your actions. Plan your path taking into account all possible consequences, all obstacles, and all twists of chance that could impact negatively on your painstaking design and hand the glory to others. Planning the whole process, from beginning to end, will keep you from being overwhelmed by negative factors and will let you know exactly when to stop. Handle fortune with care and determine the future by planning for the long term.

Law No. 30: Make Your Accomplishments Seem Effortless

Your actions should seem natural and easy to perform. All the practice and effort you put in, as well as all the skillful tricks you resort to, must remain hidden. When you act, do so as if the task at hand were something utterly simple, as if you could still do much more. Resist the temptation to reveal how much you work, for you will only generate scrutiny. Do not teach anyone your special tricks, or they will be used against you.

Law No. 31: Control the Options: Get Others to Play with the Cards You Deal

The best deception is the one that appears to offer choices to the other: your victims feel that they control the situation. But in reality they are nothing but puppets in your skillful hands. Present options that are always favorable to you, regardless of which one others choose. Force them to choose between the lesser of two evils and make either choice work in your favor. Make any alternative your rivals settle on harm them and benefit you.

Law No. 32: Play to People’s Fantasies

The truth is often avoided because it tends to be harsh and unpleasant. Never resort to the truth, or to reality, unless you are willing to face the anger that disappointment generates. Life is so hard and fraught with problems that those capable of inventing illusions or conjuring fantasies are like oases in the desert: everyone goes to them. Appealing to the fantasies of the masses is an immense source of power.

Law No. 33: Discover Each Man’s Thumbscrew

Every individual has a weak point, a crack in the wall that surrounds his fortress. Usually, that weakness is something that causes him insecurity, or an emotion or a need that overcomes him. It can also be a small secret pleasure. Whatever it is, once you have discovered it, that weakness becomes an element of pressure you can handle at will and, of course, always in your favor.

Law No. 34: Be Royal in Your Own Fashion: Act Like a King to Be Treated Like One

The way you act will determine how others treat you: in the long run, a vulgar or common presence will make people lose respect for you. Because a king respects himself and inspires the same feeling in others. By adopting the attitude of a king, showing confidence in your own power, you will get them to consider you destined to wear a royal crown on your head.

Law No. 35: Master the Art of Timing

Never show that you are in a hurry, since haste betrays a lack of control over time and over your own actions. Always appear patient, as if you knew that, in time, all your desires will be fulfilled. Become a specialist in the art of detecting the propitious moment for each thing. Discover the spirit of the current times and the trends that will carry you to power. Learn to stay on the sidelines when the propitious moment has not arrived, and to strike hard when opportunity favors you.

Law No. 36: Disdain Things You Cannot Have: Ignoring Them Is the Best Revenge

By paying attention to a trivial problem, you make it real and give it importance. The more attention you pay to an enemy, the more you strengthen him. And often, a small mistake is magnified in the attempt to correct it. Sometimes, the best thing is to leave certain things completely aside. If there is something you desire but cannot obtain, disdain it. The less interest you show, the greater the level of superiority others will see in you.

Law No. 37: Create Compelling Spectacles

Striking imagery and grand symbolic gestures generate an aura of power, since they exert a great attraction over everyone. Put on imposing spectacles for those around you, full of fascinating visual elements and radiant symbolism that emphasize your presence. Dazzled by appearances, others will not realize what you are really doing.

Law No. 38: Think as You Like but Behave Like Others

If you make a show of going against the current, boasting about your unconventional ideas and heterodox attitudes, people will think you only want to attract attention and that you despise others. They will find a way to punish you for making them feel inferior. It is much safer to blend in with the masses and adopt a certain “common” air. Limit yourself to sharing your originality with tolerant friends and with those people you are sure appreciate your different, special way of being.

Law No. 39: Stir Up Waters to Catch Fish

Anger and emotions are strategically counterproductive. You should always remain calm and objective, but if you can enrage your enemies while you keep your composure, you will gain a decisive advantage. Confuse your enemies: discover the crack through which you can shake them and manage them.

Law No. 40: Despise the Free Lunch

Everything that is free is dangerous, since it generally implies some trick or a hidden commitment. Things that have value are worth paying for. In this way, you will not be obliged to any gratitude, you will be free of guilt, and you will avoid frauds and deceptions. The smartest thing is, often, to pay the full price. When it comes to excellence there are no bargains. Be generous with your money and keep it circulating, since generosity is a sign and magnet of power.

Law No. 41: Avoid Stepping into a Great Man’s Shoes

What is produced for the first time always seems better and more original than what comes after. If you succeed a great man or have famous parents, you will have to achieve twice as much to surpass the image of that “model”. Do not lose yourself in the shadow of those “great ones” nor remain stuck in a past that is not your own work: find your own identity and reaffirm it with your different actions. Eliminate that dominant father, renounce his inheritance, and win power through your own merits.

Law No. 42: Strike the Shepherd and the Sheep Will Scatter

Problems usually have their origin in a single strong individual: the instigator, the arrogant subordinate, the sower of grudges and resentments. If you leave room for this type of individual to act, others will succumb to the character’s influence. Do not wait for the problems he causes to multiply, and do not try to negotiate with him, for he is beyond recovery. Neutralize that influence by isolating or eliminating him. Remember that, once the dog is dead, the rage is over.

Law No. 43: Work on the Hearts and Minds of Others

Coercion provokes a reaction that, in time, can work against you. Through maneuvers of seduction, you must get others to move in the direction you want. Once seduced, the person becomes your loyal servant. And the most effective way to seduce someone consists of skillfully handling the individual’s weaknesses and psychology. Weaken the other’s resistance through the manipulation of emotions, playing with what the other loves and values, or what he fears. If you ignore the hearts and minds of others, they will end up hating you.

Law No. 44: Disarm and Infuriate with the Mirror Effect

The mirror reflects reality but is also the perfect weapon for deception: when you mirror your enemies, doing exactly what they do, your rivals will not be able to deduce your strategy. The mirror effect mocks and humiliates them, which leads them to react excessively. By putting a mirror in front of their psyche, you seduce them with the illusion that you share their values. By reflecting their actions in a mirror, you teach them a lesson. Very few can resist the power of the mirror effect.

Law No. 45: Preach the Need for Change, but Never Reform Too Much at Once

In theory, everyone understands the need for change, but on the everyday level human beings are creatures of habit. Too much innovation is traumatic and will lead to rebellion. If you are new to a position of power, or a third party trying to build a power base, make a show of respecting the traditional way of doing things. If a necessary change must be imposed, make it appear as a slight positive modification of the past.

Law No. 46: Never Appear Too Perfect

It is always dangerous to show yourself superior to others, but the most dangerous thing of all is to seem free of every flaw or weakness. Envy breeds silent enemies. The smart thing is to bring to light, from time to time, your defects and admit harmless vices, in order to deflect envy and seem more human and approachable. Only gods and the dead can appear perfect with impunity.

Law No. 47: Do Not Go Past the Mark You Aimed For; In Victory, Learn When to Stop

The moment of triumph is often the moment of greatest danger. In the heat of victory, arrogance and excessive confidence in your strength can push you beyond the goal you had originally set for yourself, and by going too far, you will create more enemies than you manage to defeat. Do not let success go to your head. There is nothing like strategy and careful planning. Set yourself a goal and, when you reach it, stop.

Law No. 48: Assume Formlessness

By adopting a defined form and having a clear plan visible to everyone, you will become the target of various attacks. Instead of giving your enemies something concrete to attack, stay flexible, adaptable, and in motion. Accept the fact that nothing is absolute and that there are no fixed laws. The best way to protect yourself is to remain as fluid and formless as water. Never bet on stability or a lasting order. Everything changes.