Robert Greene Audiobooks

Robert Greene, born in 1959, is an American author who has turned the study of strategy, power and seduction into a publishing empire. After a background in classical studies and a string of varied jobs, he published his first book in 1998 – and has since produced seven international bestsellers, including The 48 Laws of Power, The Art of Seduction, The 33 Strategies of War, The 50th Law written with the rapper 50 Cent, Mastery, The Laws of Human Nature and The Daily Laws.

His method is to strip-mine history for patterns, drawing on past figures and events to build his laws and strategies. The results have been referenced by celebrities, political figures and civil rights activists alike – and, tellingly, he is the most banned author in prisons in the United States, where many institutions treat his books as a security risk. Few writers can claim their work is considered that potent.

Greene’s books suit audio unusually well for the genre, because they are built from stories: historical episodes retold as parables, each carrying its strategic lesson. In our catalogue, The Laws of Human Nature is his most substantial work – a long, absorbing listen on why people do what they do – while The Art of Seduction shows the earlier, more provocative Greene at full wattage.

A candid note for UK listeners: his amoral framing is not to every taste, and it is wise to treat these as studies of how power operates rather than instruction manuals. Listened to that way, they are consistently fascinating.