Jacob Griffith

Fun anecdotes, little practical self-help

Revisado: 05-26-23

The author missed his calling in trying to write self-help. Each Law contains multiple anecdotes from history that attempt to illustrate the author's points, and these stories are pretty well-written. Had Greene studied history and written a book about that subject, he might have come up with something engaging. But these stories are only meant to be illustrative of his "Laws of Power", and this is where he falls apart, because the anecdotes are really the only support his arguments have.

He doesn't cite psychology, sociology, political theory, management theory, or anything else that might actually be relevant to a book about how to gain, utilize, and maintain power. His method is to start with some story from history and use it to create a law from. However, these stories are highly situational matters. Just because one Byzantine Emperor was betrayed by a friend and one Chinese Emperor made loyal servants of enemies doesn't make it wise to always distrust friends and learn to use enemies. Putting friends in high places can lead to relationships of trust, while trying to turn someone who dislikes you to your side can lead to disaster if the person is determined to maintain their grudge. Pretty much all the laws are like this, trying to use one person's success in one situation as a guideline for all situations.

A second major problem is that the laws often contradict. One law tells us to learn how to turn enemies into friends by showing them mercy and having them work for you, the logic being that they will have a lot to prove as a former enemy and will strive to do right by you. Putting aside the dubious logic of that, a law later in the book says to destroy your enemies completely so they don't have a chance to lick their wounds and come back later. Which is it? Do I make friends of my enemies or finish them off? As the anecdotes themselves imply, each situation has its own unique variables that make any kind of consistent "law" pointless.

The narration is the only good thing here, he manages to nail the cynical wisdom that the author is trying to achieve. I would much rather hear him reading something that has actual advice on power dynamics, like the Art of War or The Prince. However, narration alone can't save what amounts to a book of historical anecdotes masquerading as life advice.

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Good story but one little issue...

Revisado: 05-26-23

The author has a good story here with a lot of twists and turns, POV switches and timeline jumps that keeps you guessing while not becoming over-complicated. One issue I did have was with the narration. The narrator does a fine job, but this story was translated from German into British English, and the narrator is an American. I would have cast a German for more accurate character voice, and it was very strange to hear distinctly British turns of phrase being used by an American voice for a German character. "Queuing for the cinema", "arsehole" "mate", etc just sound strange from that accent. On the off chance anyone from Audible reads these reviews: before casting a narrator, check to see if the novel is in British or American English.

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esto le resultó útil a 3 personas

40k and Horror are made for each other

Revisado: 07-29-20

I always thought that the grimdark world of Warhammer 40k could use more proper horror, and the House of Night and Chain delivers just that.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Lukas is the best wolf

Revisado: 07-03-20

A short but sweet reminder of why the Space Wolves are the best Astartes chapter

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Shines much-needed light on an infamous crime

Revisado: 05-19-20

Tom O’Neill spent two decades digging into the Manson murders, and in this book he takes the reader through his journey of uncovering lies, coverups, and forgotten aspects of the case that blow huge holes into the official narrative of what happened. By writing the book from the perspective of his investigation, the reader hears the source of everything revealed, and O’Neill is careful not to make unfounded speculation or dive too deep into theory. The result is a compelling and credible alternate take on what happened with Manson, the “Family”, the investigation, the trial, and possible coverups. The FBI and CIA connection to the case are particularly fascinating, as are the holes in the famous "Helter Skelter" book that the author demonstrates.

The negative reviews will mention that O'Neill tells too much of his own story, and doesn't reach a hard conclusion, but I find these aspects to be positives rather than negatives. O'Neill compiled thousands of arrest records, trial transcripts, interviews, and other documents and evidence. By walking us through the story of how he uncovered aspects of the case layer by layer, the listener is not overwhelmed with information, and the narrative is much easier to follow then a simple recitation of his findings would have been. He sticks to what he can prove and avoids baseless speculation, and keeps himself and his investigation accountable, which does mean that by his own admission there is no "smoking gun". But in the age of fake news and sensational journalism, I found his honesty and integrity to be highly refreshing, and the details are no less fascinating because of it.

Highly recommended if you enjoy true crime and/or detailed investigative journalism.

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Great Lore on Living Saints

Revisado: 09-14-19

Excellent audiobook illuminating the lore behind what a Living Saint is and what they go through.

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Must-Listen For Alien Fans

Revisado: 08-10-19

An excellent audio drama that stays true to the spirit of the Alien films, performed by an excellent cast. Ripley’s voice actress in particular does an amazing job playing the iconic character. Definitely recommended for anyone who enjoyed Alien and Aliens.

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