The 48 Laws of Power in Under 30 Minutes

Law 1: Never outshine the master.
Law 2: Never put too much trust in friends; learn how to use enemies.
Law 3: Conceal your intentions.
Law 4: Always say less than necessary.
Law 5: So much depends on reputation - guard it with your life.
Law 6: Court attention at all costs.
Law 7: Get others to do the work for you, but always take credit.
Law 8: Make other people come to you - use bait if necessary.
Law 9: Win through your actions, never through argument.
Law 10: Infection: avoid the unhappy and unlucky.
Law 11: Learn to keep people dependent on you.
Law 12: Use selective honesty and generosity to disarm your victim.
Law 13: When asking for help, appeal to people's self-interest.
Law 14: Pose as a friend, work as a spy.
Law 15: Crush your enemy totally.
Law 16: Use absence to increase respect and honor.
Law 17: Keep others in suspended terror: cultivate an air of unpredictability.
Law 18: Do not build fortresses to protect yourself - isolation is dangerous.
Law 19: Know who you're dealing with - do not offend the wrong person.
Law 20: Do not commit to anyone.
Law 21: Play a sucker to catch a sucker - seem dumber than your mark.
Law 22: Use the surrender tactic: transform weakness into power.
Law 23: Concentrate your forces.
Law 24: Play the perfect courtier.
Law 25: Re-create yourself.
Law 26: Keep your hands clean.
Law 27: Play on people's need to believe to create a cult-like following.
Law 28: Enter action with boldness.
Law 29: Plan all the way to the end.
Law 30: Make your accomplishments seem effortless.
Law 31: Control the options: get others to play with the cards you deal.
Law 32: Play to people's fantasies.
Law 33: Discover each man's thumbscrew.
Law 34: Be royal in your fashion: act like a king to be treated like one.
Law 35: Master the art of timing.
Law 36: Disdain things you cannot have: ignoring them is the best revenge.
Law 37: Create compelling spectacles.
Law 38: Think as you like but behave like others.
Law 39: Stir up waters to catch fish.
Law 40: Despise the free lunch.
Law 41: Avoid stepping into a great man's shoes.
Law 42: Strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter.
Law 43: Work on the hearts and minds of others.
Law 44: Disarm and infuriate with the mirror effect.
Law 45: Preach the need for change, but never reform too much at once.
Law 46: Never appear too perfect.
Law 47: Do not go past the mark you aimed for; in victory, learn when to stop.
Law 48: Assume formlessness.