# The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene

3 Hacker News commenters recommended The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** People recommend it as a sharp look at how power works in organizations, useful for understanding bosses and office politics. Critics say it reads as a playbook for manipulation.

## Why people recommend it

- Describes why people become bosses (1 comments): "which perfectly describes the purpose for people becoming bosses" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46234625))
- Masterclass in good organization (1 comments): "I think that book is a masterclass in good organization" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48899757))
- Recommended as a gift (1 comments): "Just give them The 48 Laws of Power." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50172126))

## What people warn about

- Readers here don't need it (1 comments): "no one on hackernews should read because we have enough people" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48017260))
- Reads as a manipulation roadmap (1 comments): "this is a roadmap for the conniving lickspittles" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47277938))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [The Cuckoo's Egg by Cliff Stoll](https://hackerapproved.com/p/cuckoo-s-egg.md): 40 recommend
- [Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/amusing-ourselves-to-death.md): 36 recommend
- [The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt](https://hackerapproved.com/p/anxious-generation.md): 24 recommend
- [Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber](https://hackerapproved.com/p/bullshit-jobs.md): 20 recommend
- [Enshittification by Cory Doctorow](https://hackerapproved.com/p/enshittification.md): 19 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0733614973?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780733614972) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene", https://hackerapproved.com/p/48-laws-of-power/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).