The Laws of Human Nature

Robert Greene sets out to explain why people behave as they do, including the drives and motivations they are not aware of in themselves. The starting point is that humans are social animals whose lives depend on their relationships. Understanding other people, in this view, is the tool that lets every other talent reach its full use.

This is non-fiction in the self-improvement and psychology vein, built on ideas and examples from historical figures such as Pericles, Queen Elizabeth I and Martin Luther King Jr. Greene uses their lives to illustrate each lesson about human behavior.

The book teaches a set of practical skills. Readers learn to step back from their own emotions and build self-control, to develop the empathy that produces insight, and to see past the masks people wear. It also shows how to resist conformity and form a distinct sense of purpose.

The advice applies at work, in personal relationships and in efforts to influence the wider world. It is framed as tactics for success, self-improvement and self-defense, and it suits anyone who wants to read the motives of colleagues, friends and rivals more clearly. It follows Greene's earlier book The 48 Laws of Power.