My first problem with this book is that Robert Greene argues that people have been pursuing power since the dawn of humanity, and that therefore the pursuit of power is neither moral nor immoral. This does not follow logically. How long people have been doing something is irrelevant when considering whether something is moral. Besides, do these sound neither moral nor immoral to you?
-Crush your enemies totally
-Get others to do the work for you but always take the credit
-Keep people dependent on you
-Pose as a friend, work as a spy
Another problem is that while it claims to be simply a description of ways that people have played power games throughout history, it is clearly written as a how-to.
Lastly, this book left me thinking less of humanity, not because of the stories about historical power struggles in it(there will always be assholes) but because the book is so popular. Apparently a lot of people want power and care minimally about hurting others in the process. As a person who values other things and doesn’t think much about power, I found myself fearing other people after reading this. If you want to start worrying whether everyone around you is conniving, deceptive, and cruel, or if you yourself desire instructions on how to become so, then feel free to read it.
If you value power enough to like this book despite its horrible flaws, then stay the hell away from me. If you’re a person who values love, communication, community, honesty,
and logical congruity, then stay the hell away from this book.