This work compresses 3000 years of power history into 48 laws, drawing on the wisdom of Machiavelli, Sun-tzu, Clausewitz, and other thinkers. It presents attention-grabbing laws like "Never Outshine the Master," "Conceal Your Intentions," and "Crush Your Enemy Totally," applicable in reality. These laws are illustrated through figures like Queen Elizabeth I, Henry Kissinger, and P.T. Barnum, offering captivating insights for those interested in understanding, acquiring, or defending against power.

00:00 Cover
00:22 Preface
03:26 Law 1. Never outshine the master
04:58 Law 2. Never put too much trust in friends, learn how to use enemies
07:38 Law 3. Conceal your intentions
14:19 Law 4. Always say less than necessary
15:53 Law 5. So much depends on reputation: guard it with your life
19:25 Law 6. Court attention at all cost
26:04 Law 7. Get others to do the work for you, but always take the credit
29:01 Law 8. Make other people come to you: use bait if necessary
31:02 Law 9. Win through your actions, never through argument
33:41 Law 10. Infection. avoid the unhappy and unlucky
36:26 Law 11. Learn to keep people dependent on you
39:00 Law 12. Use selective honesty and generosity to disarm your victim
41:55 Law 13. When asking for help, appeal to people’s self-interest, never to their mercy or gratitude
43:36 Law 14. Pose as a friend, work as a spy
46:26 Law 15. Crush your enemy totally
49:02 Law 16. Use absence to increase respect and honor
51:19 Law 17. Keep others in suspended terror: cultivate an air of unpredictability
53:17 Law 18. Do not build fortresses to protect yourself—isolation is dangerous
55:55 Law 19. Know who you’re dealing with—do not offend the wrong person
58:44 Law 20. Do not commit to anyone
01:02:10 Law 21. Play a sucker to catch a sucker—seem dumber than your mark
01:03:59 Law 22. Use the surrender tactic: transform weakness into power
01:07:16 Law 23. Concentrate your forces
01:09:16 Law 24. Play the perfect courtier
01:13:32 Law 25. Re-create yourself
01:15:47 Law 26. Keep your hands clean
01:20:29 Law 27. Play on people’s need to believe to create a cult-like following
01:23:21 Law 28. Enter action with boldness
01:27:52 Law 29. Plan all the way to the end
01:30:16 Law 30. Make your accomplishments seem effortless
01:32:34 Law 31. Control the options: get others to play with the cards you deal
01:35:12 Law 32. Play to people’s fantasies
01:37:47 Law 33. Discover each man’s thumbscrew
01:42:13 Law 34. Be royal in your own fashion: act like a king to be treated like one
01:45:29 Law 35. Master the art of timing
01:47:28 Law 36. Disdain things you cannot have: ignoring them is the best revenge
01:50:06 Law 37. Create compelling spectacles
01:53:16 Law 38. Think as you like but behave like others
01:55:41 Law 39. Stir up waters to catch fish
01:58:26 Law 40. Despise the free lunch
02:03:14 Law 41. Avoid stepping into a great man’s shoes
02:07:12 Law 42. Strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter
02:10:11 Law 43. Work on the hearts and minds of others
02:13:37 Law 44. Disarm and infuriate with the mirror effect
02:16:25 Law 45. Preach the need for change, but never reform too much at once
02:19:17 Law 46. Never appear too perfect
02:22:53 Law 47. Do not go past the mark you aimed for: in victory, learn when to stop
02:25:13 Law 48. Assume formlessness