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Interviews with the Masters: A Companion to Robert Greene's Mastery
A companion to the #1 New York Times Bestseller Mastery
More than 20,000 hours of research and thought went into Robert Greene's stunning book, Mastery. In a departure from his previous works, Robert Greene interviewed nine contemporary masters, including tech guru Paul Graham, animal rights advocate Temple Grandin, and boxing trainer Freddie Roach, to get their perspective on their paths to greatness. Those interviews are now available to readers for the first time. Interviews with the Masters presents more than 700 pages of revealing insight directly from these contemporary Masters; from how they learn and think, to how they put it all together and create.
You’ll learn how
-Paul Graham used a hacker's mentality to create a programing language and a billion dollar portfolio.
-Santiago Calatrava combined the disciplines of art, architecture, and engineering to design revolutionary moving structures.
-Daniel Everett solved the 300 year old mystery of the Pirahã language, forever changing the linguistics field and challenging Chomsky’s Universal Grammar theory.
-Freddie Roach's trademark techniques made him one of the most well-known boxing trainers in the world, guiding talents like world champion Manny Pacquiao and UFC Champion Georges St. Pierre.
-Yoky Matsuoka pioneered a new field called “neurobotics.”
-Cesar Rodriguez Jr. went from the bottom of his Air Force class to become the "Last
American Ace.”
-Temple Grandin emerged from a chaotic childhood with autism to become a leader in animal sciences.
-Teresita Fernández used her fascination with alchemy to design beautiful conceptual art.
-VS Ramachandran’s obsession with anomalies led to major discoveries that solved bizarre neurological syndromes like phantom limbs and body-identity disorders.
This companion to the #1 New York Times Bestseller Mastery is a playbook to the lives of today’s Masters that readers can use to guide them on their own path to Mastery.
More than 20,000 hours of research and thought went into Robert Greene's stunning book, Mastery. In a departure from his previous works, Robert Greene interviewed nine contemporary masters, including tech guru Paul Graham, animal rights advocate Temple Grandin, and boxing trainer Freddie Roach, to get their perspective on their paths to greatness. Those interviews are now available to readers for the first time. Interviews with the Masters presents more than 700 pages of revealing insight directly from these contemporary Masters; from how they learn and think, to how they put it all together and create.
You’ll learn how
-Paul Graham used a hacker's mentality to create a programing language and a billion dollar portfolio.
-Santiago Calatrava combined the disciplines of art, architecture, and engineering to design revolutionary moving structures.
-Daniel Everett solved the 300 year old mystery of the Pirahã language, forever changing the linguistics field and challenging Chomsky’s Universal Grammar theory.
-Freddie Roach's trademark techniques made him one of the most well-known boxing trainers in the world, guiding talents like world champion Manny Pacquiao and UFC Champion Georges St. Pierre.
-Yoky Matsuoka pioneered a new field called “neurobotics.”
-Cesar Rodriguez Jr. went from the bottom of his Air Force class to become the "Last
American Ace.”
-Temple Grandin emerged from a chaotic childhood with autism to become a leader in animal sciences.
-Teresita Fernández used her fascination with alchemy to design beautiful conceptual art.
-VS Ramachandran’s obsession with anomalies led to major discoveries that solved bizarre neurological syndromes like phantom limbs and body-identity disorders.
This companion to the #1 New York Times Bestseller Mastery is a playbook to the lives of today’s Masters that readers can use to guide them on their own path to Mastery.
821 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 18, 2013
About the author
Robert Greene
149 books17.7k followersThere is more than one author by this name on Goodreads.
Best-selling author and public speaker, Robert Greene was born in Los Angeles. He attended U.C. California at Berkeley and the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where he received a degree in classical studies. He has worked in New York as an editor and writer at several magazines, including Esquire; and in Hollywood as a story developer and writer.
Robert has lived in London, Paris, and Barcelona; he speaks several languages and has worked as a translator. In 1995 he was involved in the planning and creation of the art school Fabrica, outside Venice, Italy. There he met Joost Elffers, the New York book packager and discussed with him his idea for a book on power and manipulation, the ultimate modern version of Machiavelli's The Prince.
Robert and Joost became partners and in 1998, The 48 Laws of Power was born. The book has been a national and international bestseller, and has been translated into 17 languages. In 2001, Robert released his second book, The Art of Seduction, which is more than a sequel to The 48 Laws; it is both a handbook on how to wield the ultimate form of power, and a detailed look at the greatest seducers in history.
The third in this highly anticipated series of books, The 33 Strategies of War, hit bookstores January 2006 and offers a strategic look behind the movements of War in application to everyday life. In addition to having a strong following within the business world and a deep following in Washington, DC, these books are also being hailed by everyone from war historians to some of the heaviest hitters in the rap world (including Jay-Z and 50 Cent).
The popularity of these books along with their vast and fiercely loyal audience proves these are profound, timeless lessons from historical leaders that still ring true in today's culture. Robert currently lives in Los Angeles.
Best-selling author and public speaker, Robert Greene was born in Los Angeles. He attended U.C. California at Berkeley and the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where he received a degree in classical studies. He has worked in New York as an editor and writer at several magazines, including Esquire; and in Hollywood as a story developer and writer.
Robert has lived in London, Paris, and Barcelona; he speaks several languages and has worked as a translator. In 1995 he was involved in the planning and creation of the art school Fabrica, outside Venice, Italy. There he met Joost Elffers, the New York book packager and discussed with him his idea for a book on power and manipulation, the ultimate modern version of Machiavelli's The Prince.
Robert and Joost became partners and in 1998, The 48 Laws of Power was born. The book has been a national and international bestseller, and has been translated into 17 languages. In 2001, Robert released his second book, The Art of Seduction, which is more than a sequel to The 48 Laws; it is both a handbook on how to wield the ultimate form of power, and a detailed look at the greatest seducers in history.
The third in this highly anticipated series of books, The 33 Strategies of War, hit bookstores January 2006 and offers a strategic look behind the movements of War in application to everyday life. In addition to having a strong following within the business world and a deep following in Washington, DC, these books are also being hailed by everyone from war historians to some of the heaviest hitters in the rap world (including Jay-Z and 50 Cent).
The popularity of these books along with their vast and fiercely loyal audience proves these are profound, timeless lessons from historical leaders that still ring true in today's culture. Robert currently lives in Los Angeles.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 20, 2018
My reaction to this book is so divided, within myself, it's hard to know which side to start from. As an overview of the characteristics, experiences and drive of "masters," like Einstein, da Vinci and Darwin, this is an impressive and compelling read. It's the takeaways that I really did NOT like. The front cover says, "The modern Machiavelli." So, be more selfish. I suppose that kind of copy sells books to people who are more concerned with ends than means, but it also undercuts the main thesis of the book. The masters whose stories are eloquently condensed in this work were not concerned with ends. Their real mastery was means. They did not look for shortcuts, like this book. They worked steadily focusing on details and never losing their humanity. The examination of the methods of great minds and talents who succeeded is very insightful, but the recommendations on how to get ahead sounds like the kind of drivel you'd hear at a cocktail reception at a new rockstar chef's opening in Los Angeles. So, if you can survive the self-promo get-tough how-to pop-psych side of the book, the chance to rethink how mastery is genuinely achieved is interesting.
December 9, 2015
A collection of interviews to accompany "Mastery" . . .
To me, this collection was very hit-or-miss. I loved some of the interviews, and didn't really care about others. Hard to qualify what my reaction was, but for the collection as a whole, it's kind of a "meh' . . . Take what you want, leave the rest, that's my advice, unless (like me) you're compulsive about reading the whole book . . .
To me, this collection was very hit-or-miss. I loved some of the interviews, and didn't really care about others. Hard to qualify what my reaction was, but for the collection as a whole, it's kind of a "meh' . . . Take what you want, leave the rest, that's my advice, unless (like me) you're compulsive about reading the whole book . . .
March 23, 2016
Unfortunatley, I don't get much time to read, but after finishing this book and finding this website, I'd just want to recommend this book to you right now, a truly interesting read to say the least. Hurt me everytime I knew that I had to put the book down.
January 29, 2018
Technically not really a book, just raw transcriptions of interviews. The main benefit wil be to compare the inital discussions to the final result in “Mastery”, when I read it.
February 6, 2023
There are some mental models (detailed), some chitchat about mirrors definition. However, the conversation is a bit lame but in a good way.
March 6, 2020
My ratings of books on Goodreads are solely a crude ranking of their utility to me, and not an evaluation of literary merit, entertainment value, social importance, humor, insightfulness, scientific accuracy, creative vigor, suspensefulness of plot, depth of characters, vitality of theme, excitement of climax, satisfaction of ending, or any other combination of dimensions of value which we are expected to boil down through some fabulous alchemy into a single digit.
September 5, 2017
This book contains the interviews on which Robert Greene based his book Mastery. This reading provided some additional insights for the people spotlighted in Mastery, and allowed me to see more of what they did to succeed in life. I read this as an addition to Mastery. This is not a summary of the book. It contains the in-depth interviews Greene conducted with people.
February 3, 2014
Within the unedited transcripts of these rambling conversations, I met some fascinating people.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews