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The Art of Seduction
This mesmerizing exploration of the most subtle, elusive, and effective form of power is a masterful analysis of civilization's greatest seducers, from Cleopatra to JFK, as well as the classic literature of seduction from Freud to Kierkegaard and Ovid to Casanova. Robert Greene once again identifies the rules of a timeless, amoral game and explores how to cast a spell, bre...more
Paperback, 466 pages
Published
October 7th 2003
by Penguin (Non-Classics)
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A great read. It assumes that you are a liar and manipulator by nature, but once you get past that, it's a fascinating study. Some great annecdotes from famous figures in history make it enthralling in parts.
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I have three copies of this. It's endlessly entertaining.
I can't find the perfect word to convey how awful this book is. It espouses a completely manipulative style of dealing with other people in which they are all prey to be hunted. It's noxious. I also believe that I know one of the master seducers who is referred to in the book under a pseudonym, which was terrifying in its own right. It's not about how to do what I would call "seduction." It's about how to control, direct, engineer, exploit, manipulate, machinate, maneuver, steer and hu...more
While this book seems to be marketed as a kind of "how-to" or a guide to seduction, it is more of a historical survey of seduction. This, in my opinion, is far more interesting and furthermore, if someone were to use this book as a literal guide, I'm not sure how successful he or she would be. The book is divided into several different styles of seduction and shows examples of each, from literature or from history, with examples ranging from Benjamin Disraeli and the Queen of England, ...more
Forewarning:
Due to it's misleading nature and implications one could be lead to believe that the sections in this book may be used to seduce another.
In modern society the need to seduce another would have unhealthy implications and in my opinion comes from a waek/try-hard mindset. It's like saying 'who I am isn't good enough so I'll put on a fallacious act and be that cool/attractive person.'
Sure it might seem like a good idea but ultimately doing such a...more
Due to it's misleading nature and implications one could be lead to believe that the sections in this book may be used to seduce another.
In modern society the need to seduce another would have unhealthy implications and in my opinion comes from a waek/try-hard mindset. It's like saying 'who I am isn't good enough so I'll put on a fallacious act and be that cool/attractive person.'
Sure it might seem like a good idea but ultimately doing such a...more
This book is best used for gaining or building on perspective rather than as a how-to book. It provides some insights into patterns of human behaviour that can be useful far beyond what the title and the marketing image implies. I could have done without the authors repeated use of the words "victim" and "manipulation". Such deliberate negatives come off as cheap and with malicious intent, meant to appeal to the lowest common denominator, rather than an understanding of dynam...more
The proverb is true: beware of false flattery. This prose is extremely obnoxious in the way that it is written to promote manipulation. If you ignore those tiny bits, it is entertaining to read the historical and literary character analysis. Attraction between people is part using what you got and part know how. Some famous people analyzed include: Marilyn Monroe, Byron, Cleopatra, Caesar, Thomas Jefferson, Casanova, Charlie Chaplin, etc. Of that batch Cleopatra was leaves the most striking imag...more
I really enjoyed this book and the clinical way that it reflected upon the greatest seducers/seductresses of all time, but I do have one minor comment to make - Some things were hastily researched.
The message doesn't change, and the tactics are still the same, but a few things weren't completely fact checked. One thing that sticks out heavily in my mind was a story about how Casanova refused to marry a woman and instead found another suitable husband for the woman. Robert Greene ...more
The message doesn't change, and the tactics are still the same, but a few things weren't completely fact checked. One thing that sticks out heavily in my mind was a story about how Casanova refused to marry a woman and instead found another suitable husband for the woman. Robert Greene ...more
GOOD! GET THE BOOK--
Like Tim Ferriss's The 4-Hour Workweek, this book is packed full of useful information that you would want to come back to again and again, which is something difficult to do with audio format.
It pretty much lays it out for you. Equal parts philosophical and psychological, it outlines each step of the seduction process. Some people condemn the techniques and strategies propounded here to be "amoral" and Machiavellian, but the truth of the mat...more
Like Tim Ferriss's The 4-Hour Workweek, this book is packed full of useful information that you would want to come back to again and again, which is something difficult to do with audio format.
It pretty much lays it out for you. Equal parts philosophical and psychological, it outlines each step of the seduction process. Some people condemn the techniques and strategies propounded here to be "amoral" and Machiavellian, but the truth of the mat...more
Books about seduction are typically collections of smarmy one-liners and hypnotic party tricks that do little more than sate the power fantasies of teenage boys and stunted, angry men. Robert Greene attempts to class up the sorry genre by propping up his advice to would-be Casanovas with anecdotes dating from antiquity to the 20th century. Despite Greene's enthusiasm, the effort stalls. One gets the impression that Greene would prefer to write popular historical or political works but, fearing r...more
Matevz said: To say it’s a great read for all Casanova wannabes would not be fair. Sure it is, but it’s much more. First, it’s absolutely not one of those shady instant win DIY guides by god-knows-which guru. Secondly, it’s a concise and an in-depth analysis of seduction process, psyche and history behind it. I used it as a study tool for a comparison with marketing science and it worked out beautifully – after all it’s all about seduction: “Everything depends on the target of your seduction. S...more
Ah, The Art of Seduction by Robert Greene! Is it a how to guide? Yes and no. Sure he outlines steps for you to follow and then gives examples based on famous persons in history but sometimes those examples seem far fetched and almost sensationalized just to cater to the readers need to find answers. Did that turn me off from the book? Heck no! I enjoyed it! Why else would I give it 5 stars? Even if you feel the book seems a far stretch it still is an interesting read. And do not be turned off by...more
I thought it was going to be another annoying "to get him to do this flick your hair." Love this book, it is field of little inside novela type of things, historical facts, and it has just some of the most interesting people in history. I love history so this book really did it for me. I could read it over and over not even for the seductive element but just because it is so good (in my opinion). The little side note quote and stories are a must read, don't skip over them too wonderful...more
Everyone should read this book.
I was initially turned off by the preface's assertion that seduction is an art developed exclusively by women some 5000 years ago (I believe that it's just the way the sexes talk to each other, and it's never been the purview of solely either women or men) but after I waded into the main text it began to impress me a little more.
It's tiresome to have everything presented as a "how to manipulate someone into playing your evil little ga...more
I was initially turned off by the preface's assertion that seduction is an art developed exclusively by women some 5000 years ago (I believe that it's just the way the sexes talk to each other, and it's never been the purview of solely either women or men) but after I waded into the main text it began to impress me a little more.
It's tiresome to have everything presented as a "how to manipulate someone into playing your evil little ga...more
An interesting look at the different types of seduction, but I wish the principles of seduction were based on a more thorough scientific basis than pop psychology. I also felt that some treatment of the seduction types weren't fully developed (e.g. The Natural) and some of the gender politics problematic. (Although my belief may be in part due to the fact that I am a Masculine Dandy with elements of the Natural.)
Similarly, I thought the seduction techniques were not nearly comprehens...more
Similarly, I thought the seduction techniques were not nearly comprehens...more
This books is SO awesome that I think I will be reading over and over again so that I may glean a little more from it each time so that may even get to a point of being able to apply the concepts like a master. I would recommend that EVERYONE reads this book only I almost don't want to people to know and begin to use the concepts on me LOL!!!!!! Seriously though, if you are in management, want to be in management, or any position where you deal a lot with people, then this book is most helpful...more
If you can get past the blatant misogyny and the fact he uses the word "victim" on about every page I guess it has some value in cold calculating machiavellian way.
The ancedotes in places are interesting and are easily the best part. the Quotes along the sides are irritating to read and really break up the flow.
And of course he rationalizes his whole philosophy by suggesting in many places that people who aren't ok with deception and dishonesty have no value (a...more
The ancedotes in places are interesting and are easily the best part. the Quotes along the sides are irritating to read and really break up the flow.
And of course he rationalizes his whole philosophy by suggesting in many places that people who aren't ok with deception and dishonesty have no value (a...more
a very beautiful way of presenting some of the most interesting figures of history and how they made their ways of being who they are and what they managed to do
you would relate to alot of the things said here about the none spoken rules governing a man women relationship ( and the man-crowed relationship in case of mass seduction e.g election ) , yet i wouldn't classify this one as an Actual " how to " sort of books
..in fact as a whole am not sure of how good ...more
you would relate to alot of the things said here about the none spoken rules governing a man women relationship ( and the man-crowed relationship in case of mass seduction e.g election ) , yet i wouldn't classify this one as an Actual " how to " sort of books
..in fact as a whole am not sure of how good ...more
fun book, many history lessons and life lessons so if you can stand it read this one.
Impressive narrative and extremely engaging subject.
This book is the author’s attempt to inject science into the art as well as an attempt to “procedurize” the “step by step process” of seduction. To do so, the book put forth a lot of examples based on real life personalities as well as fictional characters to prove its point. The latter (fictional characters especially from the Tales of Genji and Dangerous Liasons) are much more heavily favored over the former (real life people), which somewhat diminishes the convincing aspect of the arguments. ...more
Oh, if only this book had been published when I was a teenager! The quality of my adolescent and college years (okay, and my early- to mid-twenties) might have been far richer, and I might have been so much better at living the hedonistic lifestyle I tried to maintain.
There's a new show on tv about a detective (I think he's a detective) who is so good at figuring everything out first that everyone else thinks must be psychic...but he's not psychic; he's just PAYING ATTENTION. That'...more
There's a new show on tv about a detective (I think he's a detective) who is so good at figuring everything out first that everyone else thinks must be psychic...but he's not psychic; he's just PAYING ATTENTION. That'...more
This book was a useful guide to different types of "sexy" that's out there, and I think that the book's premise is dead on when it says it can be applied to politics as well as sexual love. In fact, the writer claims, the two are the very same thing at times.
Relationships, no matter how shallow, have this aspect of control there- who can make the other do his or her bidding? Usually, the manupulator always trumps the manipulated. The book is useful for information on h...more
Relationships, no matter how shallow, have this aspect of control there- who can make the other do his or her bidding? Usually, the manupulator always trumps the manipulated. The book is useful for information on h...more
There's something a little creepy about this book, but it's particularly disturbing because so much of it will strike a chord with anyone who has been in the dating world for more than 15 minutes. Greene takes a long view of his subject, and his examples are pretty dated. (The book was written in 2003, but the most modern example is from 1964.) Writers, particularly romance novelists, should take a look at the book, which offers a wide variety of archetypes to play with.
This book focuses on seduction of all forms, political and romantic. It is insightful at times, though I fear very short on evidence to back up its claims. Still, I found this book enjoyable to read entirely for its many references to every tale of romance and power we've recovered from the classic world, and I suspect that I'll find some utility in knowing these stories myself now, regardless if this book didn't prove itself while building on them.
Enjoyable read, but I feel like a lot of these rules are self-explanatory, nothing too "new" that jumps out at me as far as technique is concerned. A lot of the steps in the art are things I do naturally, and breaking it down complicates matters. As in Greene's other books, this guide has great historical illustrations that history buffs will appreciate. I preferred the first half to the second because it identifies different common types of seducers.
Really? I mean some good work went into this in terms of historical research I guess...But it so was not for me. It just seemed so silly. Nothing deep or meaningful. It was a tad...silly. And a bit painful to read. I did not agree with most of the points made or categories drawn. Human beings are way more complex than this. No. I would not recommend it. For anyone. I am actually afraid of what damage it could do to a lost mind or in twisted hands.
Despite the title, this is no ordinary how-to book. This book focuses on literary or historical figures, which the author classifies in one of 9 different seductive personalities (10, if you choose to count the Anti-Seducer). The second half of the book does offer advice on how to adopt any one of the seductive personalities for the reader's own purposes, but the character study of Part One is reason enough to pick this one up.
Eleanor
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
people who work with people
Shelves:
never-finished
The only reason I didn't get a chance to finish was because I had to return it to the library before I left Michigan. Not merely a how-to-get-booty handbook, Greene describes several archetypes of seducers and also archetypes of "victims" and although on occasion he takes the approach that proper seduction cannot be done without being amoral, he gives countless historical examples that range from socrates to kennedy, about two or three examples of major historical figures in each chap...more
Not his best. Not his worst. Interesting for sure! I love the validation behind historical figures tempting ways. He puts into words what we all know but haven't really been able to explain. Honestly, the history behind it is the best part. It shouldn't be looked at as a how-to manual by any means. It is entertaining and food for thought because it offers insight into things we all inherently know.
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Best-selling author and public speaker, Robert Greene was born in Los Angeles. He attended U.C. California at Berkeley and the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where he received a degree in classical studies. He has worked in New York as an editor and writer at several magazines, including Esquire; and in Hollywood as a story d...more
More about Robert Greene...
Best-selling author and public speaker, Robert Greene was born in Los Angeles. He attended U.C. California at Berkeley and the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where he received a degree in classical studies. He has worked in New York as an editor and writer at several magazines, including Esquire; and in Hollywood as a story d...more
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“Desire is both imitative (we like what others like) and competitive (we want to take away from others what they have). As children, we wanted to monopolize the attention of a parent, to draw it away from other siblings. This sense of rivalry... makes people compete for the attention.”
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