The laws are derived from the lives of strategists and historical figures like Niccolò Machiavelli, Sun Tzu, Haile Selassie I, Carl von Clausewitz, Queen Elizabeth I, Henry Kissinger, and P.T. Greene's first book, The 48 Laws of Power, first published in 1998, is a guide for anyone who wants power, observes power, or wants to arm themselves against power. He would note this as the turning point of his life. Greene pitched a book about power to Elffers and wrote a treatment which eventually became The 48 Laws of Power.

In 1995, Greene worked as a writer at Fabrica, an art and media school in Italy, and met a book packager named Joost Elffers. Before becoming an author, Greene estimates that he worked about 60 to 65 jobs, including as a construction worker, translator, magazine editor, and Hollywood movie writer. The younger son of Jewish parents, Greene grew up in Los Angeles and attended the University of California, Berkeley, before finishing his degree at the University of Wisconsin–Madison with a B.A. Greene says that he does not try to follow all of his advice as, 'Anybody who did would be a horrible ugly person to be around.' Early life He has written six international bestsellers, including The 48 Laws of Power, The Art of Seduction, The 33 Strategies of War, The 50th Law (with rapper 50 Cent), Mastery, and The Laws of Human Nature. Robert Greene (born May 14, 1959) is an American author of books on strategy, power, and seduction.

The 48 laws of seduction