Originally published: [New York] : Viking, 1998.

"A Joost Elffers book."

Includes bibliographical references (p. 431-432) and index.

Never outshine the master -- Never put too much trust in friends, learn how to use enemies -- Conceal your intentions -- Always say less than necessary -- So much depends on reputation : guard it with your life -- Court attention at all cost -- Get others to do the work for you, but always take the credit -- Make other people come to you : use bait if necessary -- Win through your actions, never through argument -- Infection : avoid the unhappy and the unlucky -- Learn to keep people dependent on you -- Use selective honesty and generosity to disarm your victim -- When asking for help, appeal to people's self-interest, never to their mercy or gratitude -- Pose as a friend, work as a spy -- Crush your enemy totally -- Use absence to increase respect and honor -- Keep others in suspended terror : cultivate an air of unpredictability -- Do not build fortresses to protect yourself--isolation is dangerous -- Know who you're dealing with--do not offend the wrong person -- Do not commit to anyone -- Play a sucker to catch a sucker : seem dumber than your mark -- Use the surrender tactic : transform weakness into power -- Concentrate your forces -- Play the perfect courtier -- Re-create yourself -- Keep your hands clean -- Play on people's need to believe to create a cultlike following -- Enter action with boldness -- Plan all the way to the end -- Make your accomplishments seem effortless -- Control the options : get others to play with the cards you deal -- Play to people's fantasies -- Discover each man's thumbscrew -- Be royal in your own fashion : act like a king to be treated like one -- Master the art of timing -- Disdain things you cannot have : ignoring them is the best revenge -- Create compelling spectacles -- Think as you like but behave like others -- Stir up waters to catch fish -- Despise the free lunch -- Avoid stepping into a great man's shoes -- Strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter -- Work on the hearts and minds of others -- Disarm and infuriate with the mirror effect -- Preach the need for change, but never reform too much at once -- Never appear too perfect -- Do not go past the mark you aimed for; in victory, learn when to stop -- Assume formlessness.

Amoral, cunning, ruthless, and instructive, this piercing work distills three thousand years of the history of power into 48 well-explicated laws. It outlines the laws of power in their unvarnished essence, synthesizing the philosophies of Machiavelli, Sun-tzu, Carl von Clausewitz, and other great thinkers. Some laws teach the need for prudence, the virtue of stealth, and many demand the total absence of mercy, but like it or not, all have applications in real life. Illustrated through the tactics of Queen Elizabeth I, Henry Kissinger, P. T. Barnum, and other famous figures who have wielded--or been victimized by--power, these laws will fascinate any reader interested in gaining, observing, or defending against ultimate control.--From publisher description.