The character arc of Robert Greene
A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record
Born on 14 May 1959 in Los Angeles, the younger son of Jewish parents. Between then and now sit a degree in classical studies finished in Wisconsin, roughly fifty jobs by his own count, a meeting at an art and media school in Italy in 1995 that he calls the turning point of his life, a first book at thirty eight that has sold more than 1.2 million copies, six more bestsellers, a serious stroke in 2018 that took the use of his left hand and leg, and the books he has written since. The line below draws the story so far, in order.
Drag along the line to move, pinch or use the buttons to look closer. Tap the line to pluck it, or any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of his life; the sources are at the foot of the page.
Who is Robert Greene?
About fifty jobs by thirty eight, and then the book.
He grew up in Los Angeles, went to Berkeley and finished a degree in classical studies at Wisconsin. Then came the part of the story he is most honest about. By his own estimate he worked about fifty jobs before he was an author: construction worker, translator, magazine editor, Hollywood screenwriter. He was an editor at a magazine. He was thirty six and still nothing had taken.
In 1995 he was working as a writer at an art and media school in Italy, and met a book packager there. He pitched him an idea about power and wrote a treatment for it. He calls that the turning point of his life. The treatment became The 48 Laws of Power, published in 1998, when he was thirty eight.
The book did what almost no first book does. It has sold more than 1.2 million copies, has been cited by musicians, actors and executives, quoted in songs, and is the most banned author's work in American prisons, where many jails stop it as a security measure. It is also argued about, and he answers the argument rather than ducking it: his position is that power is amoral, that he could count maybe four or five laws that are overtly manipulative and forty four that are not, and that people cherry pick the worst chapters. Six more books followed, on seduction, on war, on mastery, one written with the rapper 50 Cent, and one on human nature.
In 2018, shortly before the launch of that last one, a blood clot in his neck caused what he has called a serious stroke. It left him without the use of his left hand and his left leg. He was fifty nine. He has kept writing and kept publishing since.
The moments
Robert Greene's timeline.
The 1980s
A degree in classical studies
Milestone. Greek and Latin, which nobody hires for.
About fifty jobs
Everyday, and it changed everything. Fifty jobs, by his own count, and none of them the one.
The 1990s
A pitch in Italy
Milestone, and it changed everything. One conversation at an art school, and he calls it the turn.
Pitch it, or take another job
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: pitch the book about power, taken, or take the next job. The treatment became a book that has sold more than 1.2 million copies.
The 48 Laws of Power
Milestone, and it changed everything. Thirty eight years old, and the first book he ever published.
The 2000s
Quoted in the songs
Milestone, and it changed his direction. Banned in the prisons and quoted in the charts, by the same book.
A book with 50 Cent
Milestone. A classics graduate and a rapper, writing a book together.
The 2010s
Mastery
Milestone, and it changed his direction. A book about how people get good at things, by a man who took until thirty eight.
A stroke at fifty nine
Setback, and it changed everything. A clot in his neck took his left hand and his left leg.
The Laws of Human Nature
Milestone, and it changed everything. The book came out on time, weeks after the stroke.
The 2020s
He keeps publishing
Milestone, and it changed his direction. Seven bestsellers, and the last ones written one handed.
The reading and the writing carry on from a chair that is harder to get out of than it used to be. What it has set moving is on a shelf in half the prisons and half the boardrooms in America at once, written by a man who was thirty eight and going nowhere when he pitched it.
Your turn
Every line draws a unique story.
His had about fifty jobs in it before anything worked, and a stroke after everything did. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about five minutes.
Robert Greene: frequently asked questions
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Where does this timeline of Robert Greene's life come from?
More character arcs
Lives that rhyme with his.
Sources
- Robert Greene (American author), English Wikipedia biography, filed under living people.
- His own published responses to criticism of The 48 Laws of Power, as quoted there.
- New York Times bestseller listings for Mastery and his later books.