My friend told me about this book as he read it once and had it since then. So I read it and it was over within a month, as I am not a very pacy reader.
I think this is a horrible book. Written well enough, but just so very wrong, unless you have no conscience. At least with Machiavelli you could make the excuse that he wasn’t so much advocating what he said, but merely describing reality. This guy is advocating evil. As I read it I couldn’t help wondering how many politicians actually think this way.
The sad part is I think the author is just plain wrong. Sure, you can find powerful people who have engaged in the behaviors he espouses and have been successful, but how many people live life this way and merely end up in the gutter with no friends, no money, and no power?
True power comes from being good, not to mention being happy, which is philosophically quite a bit more important than being powerful, although ultimately they are one and the same.