Another Robert Greene classic in the books – pun intended. The Art of Seduction covers seductions romantic and otherwise. It brought to light many of the psychological principles at work when we meet new people. It reminded me of Carnegie's classic How to Win Friends and Influence People. As always, Greene pulls from historical and literary examples to illustrate his principles.
Key Takeaways
Memorable Quotes
Rating 8/10
If you're new to Robert Greene, I wouldn't read this first. It takes awhile to get used to his style, and Mastery or 48 Laws of Power might be a better place to start. There's also similarities between this book and other social psychology reviews out there.
Key Takeaways
- There are different types of seducers. Make sure you understand which one(s) you are to make the most of your natural inclinations.
- There are different types of victims of seduction. Make sure you understand which one(s) you are to defend yourself when appropriate.
- Straight talk works rarely, if ever, in getting others to like you.
Memorable Quotes
- A man grows bored with a woman, no matter how beautiful; he yearns for different pleasures, and for adventure.
- When our emotions are engaged, we often have trouble seeing things as they are.
- Desire is both imitative (we like what others like) and competitive (we want to take away from others what they have). As children, we wanted to monopolize the attention of a parent, to draw it away from other siblings. This sense of rivalry... makes people compete for the attention.
- There is too little mystery in the world; too many people say exactly what they feel or want.
- Try to persuade a person by appealing to their consciousness, by saying outright what you want, by showing all your cards, and what hope do you have? You are just one more irritation to be tuned out.
- Most of us live in a semi-somnambulistic state: we do our daily tasks and the days fly by. The two exceptions to this are childhood and those moments when we are in love. In both cases, our emotions are more engaged, more open and active. And we equate feeling emotional with feeling more alive.
- Men do not understand how women think, and vice versa; each tries to make the other act more like a member of their own sex.
Rating 8/10
If you're new to Robert Greene, I wouldn't read this first. It takes awhile to get used to his style, and Mastery or 48 Laws of Power might be a better place to start. There's also similarities between this book and other social psychology reviews out there.