The 33 Strategies of War
by Robert Greene, Don Leslie · first published 1998
79% recommend7% neutral14% critical
Why HN recommends it
Historical case studies from military and political history, with each strategy broken down and its reversal shown; a readable, example-driven take on strategy and human nature for general readers and history fans.
Common criticism: Some find it a light, summary-style read rather than a rigorous learning tool
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
New in the bestselling amoral series—a brilliant distillation of the strategies of war that can help us gain mastery in the modern worldRobert Greene's groundbreaking guides, The 48 Laws of Power and The Art of Seduction, espouse profound, timeless less
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…by Stewart Brand. Founders at Work by Jessica Livingston. Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell. Freakonomics, by Levitt and Dubner. Against the Gods by Peter Bernstein. The art of war by Sun Tzu. The 33 Strategies of War by Robert Greene. The Design of Everyday Things (formerly The Psychology of Everyday Things) by Donald Norman. Many HN readers recommend Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs (SICP) and…
on “Ask HN: Books That Gratify One's Intellectual Curiosity?” ↗Robert Greene's books: The 48 Laws of Power, The Art of Seduction, The 33 Strategies of War, The 50th Law, and The Laws of Human Nature. Stealing the Corner office by Brendan Reid Assorted works of Niccolo Machiavelli and Balatazar Gracian. It will be hard to impossible to make transition…
on “Public protest against Amazon” ↗…there's a lot you can learn from "business as war" analogies -- when I was doing competitive strategy at Microsoft I worked a lot with Robert Greene, who sent me an early copy of a chapter from his "33 strategies of war" about how FDR got his allies into key positions throughout the government in order to transform things organizationally. It was extremely useful, and books like Robert's and Sun Tzu's should be mandatory…
on “Peacetime CEO/Wartime CEO” ↗If I were to choose one that benefitted me the most, directly, I would pick "33 Strategies of War" by Robert Greene.
on “Ask HN: What book changed your life in 2013?” ↗If you like history at all, the Robert Greene books are awesome. 48 laws of power, 33 strategies of war, etc... They break down each lesson and their reversals with historical examples.
on “Ask HN: Which book are you reading these days?” ↗33 Strategies of War, Robert Greene. It's about dealing with conflict. Resource management, especially in regards to conflict. Emotional management on a group level. And it applies to conflicts with yourself as well. All…
on “Ask HN: What was the one book that you read and it actually changed your life?” ↗…what others have done in response to Pattern A, and a reversal in which this pattern/solution may go wrong. It's probably the least pragmatic of Greene's books. If you're looking for office politics, try 33 Strategies of War. 48 Laws of Power is more suited for highlighting reasons why people might be envious of you, and ways to look humble. It's suited for stress management and realizing things are not as out of control…
on “Ask HN: Those who read “The 48 Laws of Power”” ↗…basic by today's standards, similar to the Pythagorean Theorem. It's mostly popular because it covers things like intel and psychology, which were not so intuitive at the time. I would recommend Greene's 33 Strategies of War as a high level book. But Art of War is short, so read both.
on “Ask HN: How to understand theory of infantry tactics” ↗I'm reading The 33 Strategies of War by Robert Greene now and am enjoying it, I have also previously read the 48 Laws of Power by him which is written in a similar fashion. Very extensive and uses a lot of historical examples from both…
on “Ask HN: good books about military strategy?” ↗The Foundation Series is my favourite sci-fi series, followed by Rendezvous at Rama. Currently reading the 33 Strategies of War by Robert Greene (Author of the Art of Seduction). I quite enjoy the way he writes, it's filled with historical examples and the sidebars on each page are filled with quotes from all the ages. Similar…
on “Ask HN: What are you reading right now?” ↗> 33 Strategies of War > 48 Laws of Power I keep going back to it because it applies in almost every conflict in life, from competitors to personal relationships to office politics. It's also very entertainingly written. >…
on “Ask HN: Which books have you re-read the most?” ↗Robert Greene writes books on this, on how to tackle conflicts. 48 Laws of Power and 33 Strategies of War specifically. In this case, it's probably just best to tolerate it. It's tempting to try to discourage that kind of behaviour but it rarely works.
on “Ask HN: How do you handle conflicts with your peers?” ↗I'd recommend the book 33 Strategies of War, by Robert Greene. I think it does what you're trying to accomplish - winning conflicts. The book's philosophy is to be like Athena, not Ares. You don't want bloodlust, but you do want to be just aggressive…
on “Ask HN: How do I develop aggressiveness?” ↗The 33 Strategies of War, Robert Greene. It's mostly non-obvious ways to handle conflict. It's pretty easy to keep grinding more skill and effort. But it can be terrifying to deal with conflict, aggressive people, manipulative…
on “Ask HN: What non-technical books helped you career the most?” ↗Robert Greene's 33 Strategies of War. Before that I'd avoid conflicts, especially by more aggressive people. After reading that book, I started actively finding ways do deal with conflicts. A good deal of the book is not simply 'combat'…
on “Ask HN: What book(s) changed your life?” ↗