Robin Greene Tempting Adam and Eve
In two words: Balderdash! Poppycock!* I’m reminded of the adage ‘the Devil will tell you nine truths to make you believe one lie’. Greene tells you nine lies and one truth (the last chapter – on leadership). But the reader has to wade through so much B&P to get there it’s just not worth the effort. Besides, you can find leadership principles in a myriad of other original sources.
Greene cites several interesting historical anecdotes but draws the most amoral, crass, and selfish lessons from them. Better titles for his book: “With Friends Like These, Who Needs Enemies?”, “How to Climb the Ladder of Success by Trampling On Your Friends, Co-workers and Bosses” or “The Fine Art of Back Stabbing Your Way Up the Corporate Ladder”. Greene is one devious BFer, i.e. “Create ‘Cults of Covetousness’ by spreading rumors of a slightly unsavory or even illegal nature about yourself (or others) because one characteristic all humans share is voyeurism”. He does, however, accurately capture Congress, AOC, and the military (see chapter on “Courts and Courtiers- like dogs, you can’t treat humans too nicely!”).
Greene is a Darwinist who believes we all came from apes. He legitimizes the Law of the Jungle where only the “strong” (by his definition) survive. He demeans structure in education and praises “progressive” practices that actually aggravate attention-deficit disorder.
As one without an apparent moral code himself, Greene cites sources and authors who are/were Socialists/Communists, atheists and eugenicists. They supported the killing of “undesirables” for the “good of society”. This American-originated idea inspired Hitler’s concentration camps and Stalin’s gulags.
The book is about choosing to believe in, exploit and capitalize on the worst in human nature. It’s reminiscent of Bernays’ The Crowd, Chakotin’s The Rape of the Masses, and “The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis – true, but not codes to live by. Greene claims to enable you to achieve wealth, power and even overcome aging and death (“stillness and rot”)! Sounds suspiciously like the serpent tempting Eve in the Garden of Eden. The real author of this book is Master Mahan, Father of All Lies, who promises “You can have anything you want…for money!”
One can be a happier and better Human being reading Stephen Covey or Victor Frankel. Better yet, read the Bible. That’s where the real Laws of Human Nature are found. They’re called the Ten Commandments.
*Urban Dictionary:
Balderdash, noun; Senseless talk or writing;
Poppycock, noun; British term for bullshit.
