Author Robert Greene discusses how to evaluate character and detect pretenders during an interview with Shane Parrish.
Opinion
Greene: Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs was rushed and shallow.
“You know, I like Walter Isaacson. I think he's a very fine biographer, but You know, even like the Steve jobs that he's rushed, he's got to write it because she just died. And like, I don't really feel like when I read that book, I understand the man, Steve jo…”
Insight
Greene: Most Books on Power Ignore How Manipulative People Truly Are
“A lot of the books out there that talk about power in this world, I feel like really unrealistic. They're very wary of the truth. And the truth is, as I discovered in all my different jobs, is that people are, can be very manipulative. They don't show it. It's…”
Insight
Greene: Entering a book with a rigid outline kills the writing
“And so it's a growing process, as I said, you keep it open, because if you go into a book, oh, I know exactly what it's going to be, and how many chapters, and what, it dies on the vine.”
Opinion
Greene: Much contemporary nonfiction is thin and poorly thought through
“Some of it, quite honestly, is really bad. I just say it outright. You know, I read books About envy, or I have them on my shelf. I have dozens of them, and they're so thin, and they're so unthought through and they're so irritating that I much prefer the way …”
Assertion Contradicted
Greene: "48 Laws of Power" sales spiked after Donald Trump's election.
“Every now and then there'll be an article and suddenly the sales spike, or when Trump got elected, suddenly the sales spiked.”
Insight
Robert Greene: Technical competence without interpersonal skill will not lead to success
“In order to be good in your field, you have to know how to deal with people. That's Well over half the equation in any kind of power situation, so you could be brilliant at coding or whatever it is that you're good at, but if you don't know how to deal with pe…”