The Power-Up is the best way stay up to date on the gaming industry news. Click here to find out why!

We hope you love the books people recommend! Just so you know, The CEO Library may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page.

This book has 7 recommendations

Ryan Holiday (Founder/Brass Check)

There is no living writer (or person) who has been more influential to me than Robert Greene. I met him when I was 19 years old and he’s shaped me as a person, as a writer, as a thinker. You MUST read his books. His work on power and strategy are critical for anyone trying to accomplish anything. In life, power is force we are constantly bumping up against. People have power of over us, we seek power ourselves that we might be free enough and influential enough to accomplish our goals—so we must understand where power comes from, how it works and how to get it. But pure power is meaningless. It must be joined to mastery and purpose. So read his book Mastery so that you can figure your life’s task and how to dedicate yourself to it.

Ola Olusoga (Co-founder/Populum)

There was a moment where I was on a quest for self-discovery. I felt lost and wasn't sure if I was who I was because I made the decision to be me, or if my identity was programmed by culture, society and setting. Because of that, I started reading self-help books to reconstruct identity and mold who I wanted to be. This book helped me.

Marvin Liao (Partner/500 Startups)

My list would be (besides the ones I mentioned in answer to the previous question) both business & Fiction/Sci-Fi and ones I personally found helpful to myself. The business books explain just exactly how business, work & investing are in reality & how to think properly & differentiate yourself. On the non-business side, a mix of History & classic fiction to understand people, philosophy to make sense of life and Science fiction to picture what the future could be like (not always utopian).

Gilles Bernhard (Co-founder/SCPlanner)

Often seen as controversial, I have to say this book is my favorite. There is so much wisdom in it, but what fascinated me the most is all the historic situations, the poems and all the anecdotes that are alongside the different Rules. It makes a great book to enrich one's culture, but also learn how to maneuver in today's world, plan business or social interactions and set goals. This book took me a very long time to finish but I will happily read it again as soon as I can. What is really interesting about it is how the author depicts a side of human nature we often don't want to see.

Charlamagne Tha God (Radio Presenter/The Breakfast Club)

These are the books I recommend people to listen to on @applebooks.

Jeff Gibbard (Chief Brand Officer/From The Future)

There are five books that, when taken together, form the majority of my perspective on business: [...] 48 Laws of Power.

Jeremy Boudinet (Marketing Manager/Nextiva)

The 48 Laws of Power is a phenomenal read that eviscerates conventional wisdom and has proven itself true time and again in my life. It's a must-read for any business professional.

Amazon description

Amoral, cunning, ruthless, and instructive, The 48 Laws of Power is the definitive manual for anyone interested in gaining, observing, or defending against ultimate control.

In the book that People magazine proclaimed “beguiling” and “fascinating,” Robert Greene and Joost Elffers have distilled three thousand years of the history of power into 48 essential laws by drawing from the philosophies of Machiavelli, Sun Tzu, and Carl Von Clausewitz and also from the lives of figures ranging from Henry Kissinger to P.T. Barnum.

Some laws teach the need for prudence (“Law 1: Never Outshine the Master”), others teach the value of confidence (“Law 28: Enter Action with Boldness”), and many recommend absolute self-preservation (“Law 15: Crush Your Enemy Totally”). Every law, though, has one thing in common: an interest in total domination. In a bold and arresting two-color package, The 48 Laws of Power is ideal whether your aim is conquest, self-defense, or simply to understand the rules of the game.

Get this book on Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | iBooks

See more books recommended by

Ryan Holiday, Ola Olusoga, Marvin Liao, Gilles Bernhard, Charlamagne Tha God, Jeff Gibbard, Jeremy Boudinet

See more books written by

Robert Greene

Sources

We'd love to hear your thoughts, so leave a comment:

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.