Book reviews

Famous books on power, persuasion and negotiation. What they get right, where they break, how to use them cleanly.

• List, Money & NegotiationBest Negotiation Books: Which to Read First, and WhyThe negotiation books worth your time: Getting to Yes, Never Split the Difference and You Can Negotiate Anything. Who each is for and what to skip.
• List, Money & NegotiationNegotiation Tricks and How to Answer Each One CalmlySix common negotiation tricks, from the extreme first offer to good cop and bad cop. See each one, name it without blame, and answer it in plain words.
• List, Social PowerSigns Someone Is Manipulating You: 7 Patterns and AnswersSeven signs that someone is working you, from vague answers to guilt that arrives on cue. For each: how to see it, name it and answer it calmly.
• Book review, Career & StatusDifficult Conversations Review: Does the Method Work?Our review of Difficult Conversations: the three layers of a hard talk, the Third Story opening, where the evidence is thin, and how to use it at work.
• Book review, Money & NegotiationGetting to Yes Review: The Harvard Method, Tested HonestlyAn honest review of Getting to Yes by Fisher, Ury and Patton: four rules, the BATNA idea, where it breaks, and how it compares with Chris Voss.
• Book review, Social PowerIn Sheep's Clothing Review: Does Simon's Model Hold Up?Our review of George K. Simon's In Sheep's Clothing: what it teaches about covert aggression, where it is too simple, and how to use it safely.
• Book review, Social PowerInfluence by Cialdini Review: 6 Shortcuts and Their LimitsOur review of Robert Cialdini's Influence: the six triggers behind a quick yes, where the evidence is thin, and how to use them honestly.
• Book review, Attraction & RelationshipsKing, Warrior, Magician, Lover Review: Useful Mirror, Weak ProofOur review of Moore and Gillette's King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: the four mature energies, what holds up, where the proof stops, and how women can use it too.
• Book review, Money & NegotiationNever Split the Difference Review: What Works, What BreaksAn honest review of Chris Voss's Never Split the Difference: the five ideas that matter, three places it breaks, and how to use it without being a jerk.
• Book review, Attraction & RelationshipsNo More Mr. Nice Guy Review: Good Advice, Thin ProofOur review of Robert Glover's No More Mr. Nice Guy: why giving with strings backfires, which exercises hold up, and where the evidence stops.
• Book review, Career & StatusThe 48 Laws of Power Review: What Holds and What BreaksOur verdict on Robert Greene's The 48 Laws of Power: what is true about power, which laws backfire at work, and how to use it cleanly.
• Book review, Attraction & RelationshipsThe Art of Seduction Review: Charm, Power and Where It BreaksAn honest review of Robert Greene's The Art of Seduction: what it gets right about attraction, where it turns manipulative, and the clean version.
• Book review, Social PowerThe Charisma Myth Review: Is Charisma a Learnable Skill?Our review of Olivia Fox Cabane's The Charisma Myth: presence, power and warmth, what is solid, where the evidence is thin, and how to use it honestly.
• Book review, Money & NegotiationYou Can Negotiate Anything Review: Cohen's Tactics, TestedAn honest review of You Can Negotiate Anything by Herb Cohen: power, time and information, what still works, where the stories fail, and what to use.