The 33 Strategies of War

by Robert Greene

book data

215 ratings, 4.23 average rating, 31 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		45%
4		36%
3		15%
2		2%
1		0%

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published

January 19th 2006 by Viking Adult

binding

Hardcover, 496 pages

isbn

0670034576 (isbn13: 9780670034574)

description

Robert Greene's groundbreaking guides, The 48 Laws of Power and The Art of Seduction, espouse profound, timeless lessons from the events of history to...more

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01/13/09

Serena rated it:

Read in January, 2007

Excellent if you love History - in particular famous figures, battles, and wars. He humanizes historical people/events in a way that makes what could be dense and overwhelming reading very exciting.

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01/01/09

Erik is currently reading it

bookshelves: currently-reading

The 33 Strategies of War picks up where the 48 Laws of Power left off. Greene continues his exploration of historical figures, turning his attention to the more focused ways to fight a conflict, weather that be an actual war or a business meeting. The book is split into 5 sections, each dealing with a different type of conflict or method of fighting a conflict, from fighting defensively to dirty fighting favored by revolutionaries. He uses the same style as in the 48 Laws where he retells the hi...more

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08/24/08

Nicholas rated it:

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in March, 2008

The latest in what has shaped up to be a trilogy of strategy books, this one is a straight up remake on the Art of War by the Chinese philosopher, Sun Tsu. It tackles the subject of war both as a national struggle of one nation versus another, but also as a individual's struggle of ideology or vision. It is more myopic then the previous books, and perhaps, because of its narrower focus, actually has more to offer in terms of historical narrative. Yet, the author has moved further away from the n...more

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07/13/08

Carolyn rated it:

Read in January, 2007

I’d like to give this a 3.5 stars, please.

The good:

- Lots of illustrative stories. (After seeing 300, though, I admit to rushing home and being annoyed I couldn’t find anything…especially since I knew what [wouldn’t] happen to Xerxes because I was reading this at the time.)

- A good guide to different approaches to strategy and war.

The bad:

- Usually when people say a book is too long, I assume they’re used to reading magazine a...more I’d like to give this a 3.5 stars, please.

The good:

- Lots of illustrative stories. (After seeing 300, though, I admit to rushing home and being annoyed I couldn’t find anything…especially since I knew what [wouldn’t] happen to Xerxes because I was reading this at the time.)

- A good guide to different approaches to strategy and war.

The bad:

- Usually when people say a book is too long, I assume they’re used to reading magazine articles and are kind of lazy. (I know, that’s awful.) With this, though, I started to feel like he got paid more to write longer chapters. I started seeing the same stories in different parts of the book, and things-are-blending-together redundancy is a cardinal sin in my book. I like clean and conscise. when I get 1/4 through the book and am seeing the same stories, I’m wondering how often I’m going to read them before I’m done.

- Greene’s books tend to be about getting something. In the right context, that’s okay with me, but I have read few books that feel so manipulative as his. (That includes the Seduction and Power books. Do his techniques work in the right hands? Absolutely. Is there danger in hollowing yourself out enough to use these things without feeling bad about those you’re affecting? Absolutely!) Referent power is when people do things because they like you and want to be like you, and Greene explains why this is important and “how” to do it…unfortunately, this isn’t one of those things that’s easy to fake.

- There’s not a lot of honor in many of the approaches. Granted, it’s war, and it works, but if you have issues with stabbing people in the back (sometimes literally), you will have issues with some of the approaches. As you read, you’ll see more and more value to stabbing people in the back…but I go back to my other points. Do you really want to be that cold? (BTW, I did read this as research of sorts rather than to Go to War with someone or something. So maybe I wasn’t feeling bitter enough.) I read The Art of War after this, because it’s referenced so much I started to wonder why I hadn’t just read that instead. The translation I read, at least, has the feel of “we do what is necessary,” rather than “we will rip their heads off and enjoy doing it, who needs friends you can’t trust them anyhow, mwah ha ha ha.”

- Even if you think the rest of my remarks are a little silly, this one may be the most important con. Many of the 33 strategies contradict themselves. There is an approach for everything, and any good warrior realizes that you play to the situation, but that is an art form rather than a connect-the-dots. If you’re a critical thinker who can see why you would use one strategy in one situation and the opposite (which may actually be called a bad move in another chapter) will get a lot more out of this than someone who’s looking for The Answers.

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03/22/08

Chris Gottlieb added it

It's a great read, but put it in context.: 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 con...more

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12/28/07

Jeffrey rated it:

bookshelves: third-floor

Read in July, 2008

I liked this book; not fabulous, but I did like it. I have many of the books on war (Machiavelli's The Prince, Moltke on the Art of War, Sun Tzu's classic, Alexander the Great's version, some from Napoleon, some Civil War writings, etc.) and this is a conglomeration of many of those I'm familiar with.

Having said that, the style gets tiresome after a while. Many of the best parts are the sidebars where the author quotes directly from some of the best in war theory and war stories. ...more

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01/20/09

Reuben Rail rated it:

A great follow up to his first book "The 48 Laws of Power". And I have to say this book changed my life in that I took one its strategies - "Death Ground" strategy - and applied it to my own life, forcing myself to step things up quite a bit.
A good read.

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01/08/09

Blake rated it:

Its a awesome book but it cant compare to the "art of war" by Sun Tzu. But it is a good war strategy book for its time. I like Robert Greene because he has good stories to back each law or strategy. Understand though. That this book can easily be questioned.

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05/25/09

Kate is currently reading it

bookshelves: currently-reading

Another book that I'm really enjoying but it hurts my brain and I just don't have that much aggression in me.

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06/02/09

Brandon is currently reading it

bookshelves: currently-reading

Read in June, 2009

werk

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08/14/07

Kris Wijoyo Soepandji rated it:

Read in March, 2007

ni buku gw suka banget, banyak banget yang gw ambil kata2nya. terutama kata2 para pencetak sejarah dalam peperangan. kisah kemenangan nabi Muhammad, jadi favorit gw. kata2 Musashi juga; "taklukanlah musuhmu sampai hatinya tunduk padamu." cerita tentang Odysseus yang rendah hati tapi penuh kharisma juga bikin gw nambah ilmu..cerita Athena yang penuh dengan kontradiksi saat damai dan perang membuat gw berhati2 dalam bertindak.

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05/31/09

Tone rated it:

(review of isbn 0143112783)

bookshelves: non-fiction, reference, socialscience

Read in June, 2009

The only reason I'm knocking a star off the review is because the last few chapters were redundant with his other book, The 48 Laws of Power

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07/17/08

Gregory rated it:

Robert Greene is a freaking genious. The way that he takes a concept and adds flair to it with historical context is both educational and compelling. I had virtually zero interest in history until I encounterd Greene's engaging presentation of concepts and his way of weaving a story around them. A must read for anyone working in a corporate environment.

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07/22/08

Liam rated it:

bookshelves: currently-reading

So far this book is amazing. It has everything you could possibly want to know about strategy for war, business, politics and every other aspect of life. Must read for any Millitary minded person, someone trying to get ahead in their career or anyone who loves history. Napoleon to Martin Luther to Sun Tzu.

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08/29/08

Eric rated it:

I'm beginning to think that I'm in architecture because I detroyed villages in a past life, so this book feeds that side of me that wants to destroy everything in my path. If you're keen to the strategies of war you can apply this knowledge to your daily life.

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02/11/08

Brandy rated it:

Read in February, 2007

I don't read too many books like this because in the end a lot of them say basically the same things. But this book makes a lot of great points. If you are interested in business, this is a good book to pick up.

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01/30/08

Jun Hong Chen rated it:

Read in September, 2007

I enjoyed it, but it wasn't exactly what I expected from the title. Although I should have predicted it was about more than just war tactics. Read it if you want to learn how to combat the enemy!

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11/25/07

T.j. rated it:

bookshelves: currently-reading

Though the books title says its about war, the book is really a guide in how to handle your relationships with people around you and how to manuever in different situations. I really enjoy this book.

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05/03/08

Rsoeffker rated it:

Has a copy to sell/swap

Another pure book. The war that is talked about in this book isn't just the traditional style of war, but it is also a good way to explain psychological warfare. A great read all and all.

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01/02/08

Karrie rated it:

Read in February, 2005

recommends it for: the strong hearted

This book prepares yopu for battle with any enemy, competitive colleague and for plain fun. Patience is its virtue and the book must be studied, not read.

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