This might sound odd for those who know it, but the "48 Laws of Power" I've always felt worth recommending. It gives insight into how the power-hungry think and act, and is a valuable tool for helping to recognizing when a sociopathic/narcissistic person is trying to manipulate or undermine you. I think it crumbled away some of that social naivety I used to have, but in a good way. It made me more empathetic to people who's motives I previously would have failed to understand, and think more clearly about how I approach situations with people who don't have my best interests at heart. In short, it's a great book for making you think deeper and come up with solutions in the social realm.
Interestingly enough, I recommended it to a few friends of mine who quite clearly to me had toxic partners. In both instances, they thanked me for the book recommendation and took action to remove those people from their lives. Especially in relationships, it's good to have a frame of reference to tell whether someone truly has your best interest at heart, or they just want power over you and use your good nature to get that.
Keep in mind that the book is written in such a way to sound like your getting an education in politics from a full-blown psychopath, but once you get past that there's a lot of worth to be found.
If you liked that book, you should read the original sources from which Robert Greene derived his (too simplified) work viz. the works of Baltasar Gracian, Machiavelli, Francesco Guicciardini, Baldassare Castiglione etc.
These are far more nuanced and all-encompassing books on what i call "Worldly Wisdom" i.e. dealing with the World as is rather than how you would like it to be. These sort of books are some of my favourites that i constantly keep going back to.
Having read that book, I can agree with this a lot.
The book is amazing at teaching you to solve problems, as it helps you analyze and understand the behavior of others.
It teaches you both what to do and what not to do in any given situation, but it also teaches you how to spot those who play the game of power as well.
It's a tool that not only helps you obtaining/maintaining power, but also how to take away power from others.
The principles in the book can mostly be applied to other things as well.
This is an interesting take. Having read the book, I find that following its instructions would only yield relationships with people who aren't necessarily worth your time. Smart people are usually rather adept at detecting manipulative behavior. I concur, the best use for the book is the one you described.
Interestingly enough, I recommended it to a few friends of mine who quite clearly to me had toxic partners. In both instances, they thanked me for the book recommendation and took action to remove those people from their lives. Especially in relationships, it's good to have a frame of reference to tell whether someone truly has your best interest at heart, or they just want power over you and use your good nature to get that.
Keep in mind that the book is written in such a way to sound like your getting an education in politics from a full-blown psychopath, but once you get past that there's a lot of worth to be found.