Meanwhile the court was supposed to represent the height of civilization and refinement. And even skilled courtiers capable of such subtlety still had to protect themselves from their fellow courtiers, who at all moments were scheming to push them aside. Attempts to win the master’s favor, then, had to be subtle. The courtiers who filled this court were in an especially delicate position: They had to serve their masters, but if they seemed to fawn, if they curried favor too obviously, the other courtiers around them would notice and would act against them. Throughout history, a court has always formed itself around the person in power-king, queen, emperor, leader. This game of constant duplicity most resembles the power dynamic that existed in the scheming world of the old aristocratic court. So we need to be subtle-congenial yet cunning, democratic yet devious. In the world today, however, it is dangerous to seem too power hungry, to be overt with your power moves. No one wants less power everyone wants more. The feeling of having no power over people and events is generally unbearable to us-when we feel helpless we feel miserable. Illustrated through the tactics of Queen Elizabeth I, Henry Kissenger, P T Barnum, and other famous figures who have wielded - or been victimised by - power, these laws will fascinate any reader interested in gaining, observing or defending against ultimate control. Some laws require prudence ("Law 1: Never Outshine the Master"), some stealth ("Law 3: Conceal Your Intentions"), and some the total absence of mercy ("Law 15: Crush Your Enemy Totally"), but like it or not, all have applications in real-life situations. As attention-grabbing in its design as it is in its content, this bold volume outlines the laws of power in their unvarnished essence, synthesizing the philosophies of Machiavelli, Sun-tzu, Carl von Clausewitz, and other great thinkers. 'If power is your ultimate goal, this is the book you need' The TimesĪmoral, cunning, ruthless, and instructive, this piercing work distils three thousand years of the history of power into forty-eight well-explicated laws. THE MILLION COPY INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
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