Daily Laws - Measured Microdoses of Machiavellian Manipulations

Banned in most prisons! That feels like a point in the book's favor, but I'm not entirely sure I can articulate why.

The Daily Laws: 366 Meditations on Power, Seduction, Mastery, Strategy, and Human Nature

By: Robert Greene Published: 2021 464 Pages

Briefly, what is this book about?

A "page a day" book collecting bits of wisdom from Robert Greene's other books (Laws of Power, Art of Seduction, Strategies of War, etc.)

What's the author's angle?

As a general matter Greene is something of a Machiavellian figure, he's going to tell it like it is, and give you the tools you really need to succeed in life. Or at least that's his claim. I generally find his approach to be refreshing, but there are also moments when I would say he takes things too far and dispenses advice that's counterproductive.

Who should read this book?

If you're one of the small number of people who likes to have a page of the day book as a way of marking the time from January 1 to December 31, this is an average entry in this very niche genre. But as the genre is not particularly large, any example might be welcome.

If you've never done a page a day book I would probably start with Tolstoy's A Calendar of Wisdom. I thought it was quite good. Also, there's an argument to be made for it being the first such book chronologically. (It's the earliest example of a devotional book that wasn't rigidly sectarian.) Finally, it was banned by the Soviets, which immediately gives it ten extra points in my book.

Specific thoughts: Some good advice, some okay advice and a few pieces of actively bad advice