Mr. Greene draws from both Eastern and Western history and literature as his source material. Sun Tzu and Machiavelli as cited as much as wonderful stories of famous con men.
Each of the 48 Laws carries many examples, along with counter examples where it is appropriate that they be noted, and even reversals.
It is a very thorough study of the subject and the hardback version is beautifully produced.
One of the things I admire about Greene is that he not only studied strategy, he applied what he learned to his own situation and prospered.
Shock and Awe is one aspect. A larger than life extravaganza. We're just sucked into it. The flyovers, the fireworks. Think about product or movie premiers.
There is just something about a huge event that is disarming, where we let our guard down and are open to the message that follows. The message takes on the size of the spectacle and itself becomes gigantic.
When you have an important message to deliver, you can make it even bigger by pulling out all of the stops.
I picked up this book and flipped through it once. "Do this. Here's why. Here's an example. Here's where it didn't work." On another page: "Do the opposite. Here's why. ..."
ReplyDeleteOn another day, I read Stephen King's "On Writing."
What spectacle should we create to draw attention to a way of life where people are free from the effects of spectacle? P.T. Barnum showing us the egress? :-p
Thanks for the post, Rick.
That strategy probably wouldn’t be the one you’d try to apply in this instance.
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