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The Black Book of Power
Masters of influence inevitably walk one of three paths. The universe has a way of forcing the choice, usually through presenting you with someone else's manipulation that you can either submit to or overcome.
The White Path: The Liberator You use these tools to free others from their own programming. You become the person who helps friends see their toxic patterns, who diplomatically reframes destructive beliefs, who architects empowering narratives that help people transcend their limitations. You weaponize influence against influence itself. An executive coach who walks this path told me: "Once you see how manufactured most people's limitations are, you can't help wanting to free them. I use the same tools that imprisoned them to engineer their liberation"
The Gray Path: The Sovereign You use these tools purely for defense and strategic advantage. You influence when necessary, manipulate when beneficial, always within your own ethical framework. Neither liberator nor enslaver, just a conscious player in an unconscious game. A diplomat explained it perfectly: "Everyone's trying to influence everyone. I just do it with my eyes open. I protect my interests, advance my goals, and sleep fine knowing I'm playing the same game as everyone else, just better"
The Black Path: The Architect of Shadows You use these tools for pure power. You create emotional dependencies, manufacture desires that benefit you, engineer beliefs that serve your agenda. You become what you once fought against, with infinitely more skill. I won't quote anyone from this path. They wouldn't want the attribution.
The choice might seem obvious from the comfort of this moment. Power has a way of shifting moral landscapes. The first time someone you love uses these techniques against you, the first time you lose something precious to a more skilled manipulator, the first time you realize you could have anything you want if you just... pushed... the right buttons... That's when you'll really choose.
The White Path: The Liberator You use these tools to free others from their own programming. You become the person who helps friends see their toxic patterns, who diplomatically reframes destructive beliefs, who architects empowering narratives that help people transcend their limitations. You weaponize influence against influence itself. An executive coach who walks this path told me: "Once you see how manufactured most people's limitations are, you can't help wanting to free them. I use the same tools that imprisoned them to engineer their liberation"
The Gray Path: The Sovereign You use these tools purely for defense and strategic advantage. You influence when necessary, manipulate when beneficial, always within your own ethical framework. Neither liberator nor enslaver, just a conscious player in an unconscious game. A diplomat explained it perfectly: "Everyone's trying to influence everyone. I just do it with my eyes open. I protect my interests, advance my goals, and sleep fine knowing I'm playing the same game as everyone else, just better"
The Black Path: The Architect of Shadows You use these tools for pure power. You create emotional dependencies, manufacture desires that benefit you, engineer beliefs that serve your agenda. You become what you once fought against, with infinitely more skill. I won't quote anyone from this path. They wouldn't want the attribution.
The choice might seem obvious from the comfort of this moment. Power has a way of shifting moral landscapes. The first time someone you love uses these techniques against you, the first time you lose something precious to a more skilled manipulator, the first time you realize you could have anything you want if you just... pushed... the right buttons... That's when you'll really choose.
650 pages, Hardcover
First published October 7, 2025
31 people are currently reading
218 people want to read
About the author
Stan Taylor
1 book10 followersAuthor of The Black Book of Power.
For twenty-three years, I created campaigns you never knew existed. I helped elect presidents in Latin America. I designed the psychological operations that made you buy products you didn't need, support wars you shouldn't have backed, and hate people you'd never met. My fingerprints are on every major manipulation of public opinion since 1998, though you'll find no record of my work.
I was paid handsomely to be invisible, the ghost in the machine, and the shadow consultant whose invoices were routed through shell companies in jurisdictions that don't exist on any map you've seen. Then I discovered what they were really building, what the campaigns were preparing you for, and I realized I'd helped construct my own prison and yours.
They tried to buy my silence. When that failed, they tried to bury me. But my office doesn't exist anymore. My colleagues don't remember my name. The contracts I signed have been shredded, the servers wiped, the backups mysteriously corrupted. Google my real name, any of the six before this one, and you'll find nothing. Not a LinkedIn profile, not a mention in a corporate directory, not even a parking ticket. Digital erasure is remarkably thorough when you know who to pay.
This book contains the playbook they don't want you to have. The frameworks we used, the pressure points we exploited, the algorithms of manipulation that turn free will into an illusion. Every technique, every tactic, every psychological lever we pulled to make you dance to whatever tune was paying us that quarter.
I don't exist. Which means I can tell you everything.
For twenty-three years, I created campaigns you never knew existed. I helped elect presidents in Latin America. I designed the psychological operations that made you buy products you didn't need, support wars you shouldn't have backed, and hate people you'd never met. My fingerprints are on every major manipulation of public opinion since 1998, though you'll find no record of my work.
I was paid handsomely to be invisible, the ghost in the machine, and the shadow consultant whose invoices were routed through shell companies in jurisdictions that don't exist on any map you've seen. Then I discovered what they were really building, what the campaigns were preparing you for, and I realized I'd helped construct my own prison and yours.
They tried to buy my silence. When that failed, they tried to bury me. But my office doesn't exist anymore. My colleagues don't remember my name. The contracts I signed have been shredded, the servers wiped, the backups mysteriously corrupted. Google my real name, any of the six before this one, and you'll find nothing. Not a LinkedIn profile, not a mention in a corporate directory, not even a parking ticket. Digital erasure is remarkably thorough when you know who to pay.
This book contains the playbook they don't want you to have. The frameworks we used, the pressure points we exploited, the algorithms of manipulation that turn free will into an illusion. Every technique, every tactic, every psychological lever we pulled to make you dance to whatever tune was paying us that quarter.
I don't exist. Which means I can tell you everything.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
December 12, 2025
This book is not going to call you out on your shit. It’s going to open you up, explain exactly where that shit comes from, and hand you a path forward.
This isn’t a short read that will make you feel good about where you are in life. It’s goes for blood and dares you to change everything about yourself you hate, because you can. But you have to do the work for it to work. It does work.
This isn’t a scam. People who pay $10 for a self help book won’t treat it with the same importance as paying $100. The price is a gate, and a test: how willing are you to take this seriously? I had to save up for a bit, and it’s worth it.
Don’t bother if you’re genuinely happy with your life, body, mind, job, etc. But if you aren’t, this is the best investment you can make, because it forges your best self.
This isn’t a short read that will make you feel good about where you are in life. It’s goes for blood and dares you to change everything about yourself you hate, because you can. But you have to do the work for it to work. It does work.
This isn’t a scam. People who pay $10 for a self help book won’t treat it with the same importance as paying $100. The price is a gate, and a test: how willing are you to take this seriously? I had to save up for a bit, and it’s worth it.
Don’t bother if you’re genuinely happy with your life, body, mind, job, etc. But if you aren’t, this is the best investment you can make, because it forges your best self.
December 12, 2025
This book is not for everyone, and Stan Taylor makes no attempt to pretend otherwise.
The Black Book of Power is helping me to deeply grasp what power actually is—and why understanding its dynamics matters in every relationship, negotiation, and conversation. Power is not something we can opt out of. Avoiding it is often one of the most irresponsible things we do, because we still wield it—just unconsciously.
Page by page, Taylor reveals how deeply power’s shadow side lives in our private thoughts and self-deceptions, and how easily we convince ourselves we are powerless—or superior—both of which evade responsibility.
This book made it far easier to engage in candid, grounded conversations about power, especially in a world where so many feel increasingly less powerful. For those willing to look directly at power rather than moralize it away, this is a clarifying and necessary read.
…And I’m still reading it… it’s a profound work in practice.
The Black Book of Power is helping me to deeply grasp what power actually is—and why understanding its dynamics matters in every relationship, negotiation, and conversation. Power is not something we can opt out of. Avoiding it is often one of the most irresponsible things we do, because we still wield it—just unconsciously.
Page by page, Taylor reveals how deeply power’s shadow side lives in our private thoughts and self-deceptions, and how easily we convince ourselves we are powerless—or superior—both of which evade responsibility.
This book made it far easier to engage in candid, grounded conversations about power, especially in a world where so many feel increasingly less powerful. For those willing to look directly at power rather than moralize it away, this is a clarifying and necessary read.
…And I’m still reading it… it’s a profound work in practice.
December 12, 2025
Skepticism is normal and protective. And, in this case, will leave you behind. Choose. If you are brave, this book is game changing.
January 12, 2026
I wrote this and then got kicked out of his facebook group 😆 I guess for "Not staying on target". I guess"on target" is to follow blindly and swallow your issues with the book instead of get support with where it leaves yoy stuck or talk about your reading process with it. Weird. And a bad look not to address it.
...
The one irreversible action was a small enough buy-in to be able to do in the intro without leadership example.
The 21 day protocol however... needs the author to lead by example. At least from my own POV. There is no proof, a before and after story, or journal entries from their own run-through of this gamut for the reader to trust enough to follow. At least at this point in the book, which is where I think it matters the most.
I hope this feedback is welcome and useful and am sorry if it hurts any feelings. It takes a lot of work to make something this big, book, audiobook, ebook, journal, posts, ads.... and I acknowledge that. You actually made something in this world and I want to show where it's not working for me and could work better in its iterations.
There is a large void of real world example at this point in the book and is likely why so many quit here instead of charge through into the exciting though painful challenge for transformation that we crave.
At this point it all sounds like "Trust me! Just trust me!" - "Why? ...prove it."
Not with theory. With proof. With photos. With personal before and after data. With real journal entries. With what you went through.
I currently don't trust you enough to follow such extensive instructions because I don't believe your system works if not even one real example of your own transformation is presented in confidence.
We don't follow where one has not led. We lead ourselves instead if you won't and will take risks on our own theories or trusted others instead of yours. Unless you do the work to present that you actually tested it first and present that data.
Beyond everything making sense in theory and backing up the theory with anything other than real personal example at this point in the book....it just makes the reader feel like a guinea pig instead of an inspired secondary follower of the protocol.
I'll keep reading for my own curiosity at this point and maybe the later parts of the book will change my mind and I will return, but this is currently a sticking point in the book that could do with some support. Revision/Addition right here would help so much. Small wins leading to medium wins leading to larger ones. And leading by example. Instead of jumping from one small win to giant challenge with no leadership. Like showing your kid it's not scary by doing the thing yourself in front of them first. Doing something like that inspires so much faith and follow through action.
Okay, thanks for listening to this feedback if you do. I'm still enjoying the book. Cheers :)
...
May not finish because of the gross aftertaste of the interaction now...
...
The one irreversible action was a small enough buy-in to be able to do in the intro without leadership example.
The 21 day protocol however... needs the author to lead by example. At least from my own POV. There is no proof, a before and after story, or journal entries from their own run-through of this gamut for the reader to trust enough to follow. At least at this point in the book, which is where I think it matters the most.
I hope this feedback is welcome and useful and am sorry if it hurts any feelings. It takes a lot of work to make something this big, book, audiobook, ebook, journal, posts, ads.... and I acknowledge that. You actually made something in this world and I want to show where it's not working for me and could work better in its iterations.
There is a large void of real world example at this point in the book and is likely why so many quit here instead of charge through into the exciting though painful challenge for transformation that we crave.
At this point it all sounds like "Trust me! Just trust me!" - "Why? ...prove it."
Not with theory. With proof. With photos. With personal before and after data. With real journal entries. With what you went through.
I currently don't trust you enough to follow such extensive instructions because I don't believe your system works if not even one real example of your own transformation is presented in confidence.
We don't follow where one has not led. We lead ourselves instead if you won't and will take risks on our own theories or trusted others instead of yours. Unless you do the work to present that you actually tested it first and present that data.
Beyond everything making sense in theory and backing up the theory with anything other than real personal example at this point in the book....it just makes the reader feel like a guinea pig instead of an inspired secondary follower of the protocol.
I'll keep reading for my own curiosity at this point and maybe the later parts of the book will change my mind and I will return, but this is currently a sticking point in the book that could do with some support. Revision/Addition right here would help so much. Small wins leading to medium wins leading to larger ones. And leading by example. Instead of jumping from one small win to giant challenge with no leadership. Like showing your kid it's not scary by doing the thing yourself in front of them first. Doing something like that inspires so much faith and follow through action.
Okay, thanks for listening to this feedback if you do. I'm still enjoying the book. Cheers :)
...
May not finish because of the gross aftertaste of the interaction now...
December 12, 2025
I’m on Chapter 5 of The Black Book of Power, and this is one of those books that has quietly been removing all my excuses. It's not a motivating book… it is exposing me to myself. This isn’t a “read and feel inspired” kind of book. It’s a do the work or stay exactly the same kind of book. I’m completing the exercises, catching myself in real time more often, and realizing how much of my go-to or default behavior has been unconscious for so many years. I started running because of this book. Freaking running! I thought I hated running! I ran my first 5k with my son and he won 1st place and I won 3rd! I also took all my 3 kids to Paris all by myself. Me , I did that... There's other changes in my life I won't share here for privacy reasons especially since I know many people in my life want this book. That alone should tell you something about what happens when you stop arguing with yourself and start applying the work.
So far, this book has been uncomfortable, humbling, confronting, funny and revealing especially if you have spent a lifetime being the empath, the fixer, the agreeable one (like me). Chapter 5 first day made me want to vomit. I have had to close the book several times, some because I needed to breath and digest and others because Stan called me out and asked me to come back when I am ready for actual change. I realized just how much I have been needing my parasite in order to feel safe. Figuring out why I am resisting to let it go has been a hard pill to swallow. There’s nowhere to hide in this book. It holds a mirror up to yourself and makes you to look without your rose colored glasses on. The facebook group has been instrumental in practicing some of the protocols some days and to hold each other accountable.
I can see why this book might trigger resistance. Comfort, playing small and familiar patterns are easier. This book is about power, responsibility, and raw self-honesty.
If you’re willing to engage fully, play hard, be honest with yourself, and actually apply what’s being asked, this book can change you at your core. If not, you’ll likely push back against it, criticize it, or dismiss it. There’s also no religious framework or aspect in this book but if you have one, you can absolutely bring it with you.
A couple of friends have asked to borrow my copy but for once, I’m holding onto it. I’m buying another one to gift to my son. What a gift it would have been to have done this work earlier in my own life. I want that for him. My friends can buy their own books :) Also, having people around you be able to "speak your same language" will help you thrive and move forward together and hold each other accountable.
The most rewarding change so far has been realizing my kids are witnessing my growth in real time and they are seeing a real shift in me.
So far, this book has been uncomfortable, humbling, confronting, funny and revealing especially if you have spent a lifetime being the empath, the fixer, the agreeable one (like me). Chapter 5 first day made me want to vomit. I have had to close the book several times, some because I needed to breath and digest and others because Stan called me out and asked me to come back when I am ready for actual change. I realized just how much I have been needing my parasite in order to feel safe. Figuring out why I am resisting to let it go has been a hard pill to swallow. There’s nowhere to hide in this book. It holds a mirror up to yourself and makes you to look without your rose colored glasses on. The facebook group has been instrumental in practicing some of the protocols some days and to hold each other accountable.
I can see why this book might trigger resistance. Comfort, playing small and familiar patterns are easier. This book is about power, responsibility, and raw self-honesty.
If you’re willing to engage fully, play hard, be honest with yourself, and actually apply what’s being asked, this book can change you at your core. If not, you’ll likely push back against it, criticize it, or dismiss it. There’s also no religious framework or aspect in this book but if you have one, you can absolutely bring it with you.
A couple of friends have asked to borrow my copy but for once, I’m holding onto it. I’m buying another one to gift to my son. What a gift it would have been to have done this work earlier in my own life. I want that for him. My friends can buy their own books :) Also, having people around you be able to "speak your same language" will help you thrive and move forward together and hold each other accountable.
The most rewarding change so far has been realizing my kids are witnessing my growth in real time and they are seeing a real shift in me.
January 3, 2026
I was nervous to buy this book. I floundered for multiple days. I was disturbed by the promise of power and the ability to manipulate. I am a good and caring person. Was this book going to make me "bad"?
Despite these fears, I resonated deeply with the free first chapter. And everything I read of his felt coherent, honest, and true. I have a strong radar for bullshit, so I decided to dive in and purchase the hardcover book.
That was only two weeks ago. I'm only four days into the "empathy protocol", which trains you to recognize false empathy. Day four encourages you to talk to someone who complains a lot to ask them meaningful questions.
This led to a two-hour conversation with my step-mother (who I rarely speak to), where we both felt as though we connected as well as we ever have. She thanked me deeply and told me I make her heart feel good. She offered me personal gifts I would never have expected. This was just today.
In day 2's protocol, I learned things about my housemate I had never learned in almost two years. In day 3's protocol, I held space for a friend while she wept deeply about a recent loss. She told me the conversation was deeply healing for her.
But here's the difference. I'm a somatic practitioner. Providing witness, healing, and support to people is literally my job. And I do it whether or not I'm being paid. Though, it's often been emotionally taxing for me in significant ways.
But in the past four days I've connected to people with ease. And guess what? I don't feel emotionally taxed by it. I feel fed.
And to my surprise, in just about every conversation, the people are THANKING me for my presence in a way I don't think they otherwise would.
This book isn't making me "bad". It's making me a more attentive listener. It's helping me track my own emotional boundaries which helps me be more present. And apparently, it's nourishing the people in my life.
This is day 4 of a protocol that lasts 21 days and promises to create lasting change.
And I believe it, as the 1900 people in the facebook group all seem to attest.
I have heard nothing but positive things from anyone in the group. It is as loving and supportive a space as ever I've been in.
If you're on the fence, you have nothing to lose. Just go ahead and buy this book.
(and no I won't sell you mine)
Despite these fears, I resonated deeply with the free first chapter. And everything I read of his felt coherent, honest, and true. I have a strong radar for bullshit, so I decided to dive in and purchase the hardcover book.
That was only two weeks ago. I'm only four days into the "empathy protocol", which trains you to recognize false empathy. Day four encourages you to talk to someone who complains a lot to ask them meaningful questions.
This led to a two-hour conversation with my step-mother (who I rarely speak to), where we both felt as though we connected as well as we ever have. She thanked me deeply and told me I make her heart feel good. She offered me personal gifts I would never have expected. This was just today.
In day 2's protocol, I learned things about my housemate I had never learned in almost two years. In day 3's protocol, I held space for a friend while she wept deeply about a recent loss. She told me the conversation was deeply healing for her.
But here's the difference. I'm a somatic practitioner. Providing witness, healing, and support to people is literally my job. And I do it whether or not I'm being paid. Though, it's often been emotionally taxing for me in significant ways.
But in the past four days I've connected to people with ease. And guess what? I don't feel emotionally taxed by it. I feel fed.
And to my surprise, in just about every conversation, the people are THANKING me for my presence in a way I don't think they otherwise would.
This book isn't making me "bad". It's making me a more attentive listener. It's helping me track my own emotional boundaries which helps me be more present. And apparently, it's nourishing the people in my life.
This is day 4 of a protocol that lasts 21 days and promises to create lasting change.
And I believe it, as the 1900 people in the facebook group all seem to attest.
I have heard nothing but positive things from anyone in the group. It is as loving and supportive a space as ever I've been in.
If you're on the fence, you have nothing to lose. Just go ahead and buy this book.
(and no I won't sell you mine)
December 11, 2025
I kept seeing The Black Book of Power on Facebook. A sequence of ads, over and over. I would pause for a second and feel a little called out but then I would just keep scrolling. I was skeptical, kind of tired of big promises.
One night I actually opened the website and scrolled though everything. I found the free chapter. I told myself I would skim it, just to prove it was nothing special. A few pages in and my chest was tight, my brain was loud, and by the last page I was annoyed there was no more. I wanted the rest.
I am the person who lives in “almost there”. Always planning, talking, and getting ready. I can talk for hours about what I am going to do. Action has always felt like this foggy thing in the distance.
I got the book, and then… CLARITY.
The book really gave it to me. Somewhere in the exercises and the stories, a very specific next step appeared. Then another one. The path felt like it belonged to me. Every step came out of my own thoughts and choices, free from anyone else’s agenda or pressure. That felt new.
The book refuses to let you stay in your head. You write, answer questions, and notice patterns you usually gloss over. Some pages felt like sitting in a cold shower. Uncomfortable, a bit confronting, but strangely clean.
When I actually did the work and did not run from that discomfort, things started to move. Little choices in my day lined up with what I had written. Conversations felt different. I caught myself before sliding back into the old “almost there” story. I genuinely expect people who really do the exercises to see change. I do not doubt that for a second.
It works like a toolkit that opens up how your mind and the world around you interact, and it keeps pushing you to decide what you want to do with that understanding.
If you keep telling everyone what you are working on and “almost” doing, or if you feel disconnected from your own direction, and even if you want a clear path that actually feels like yours, this book is worth the time and the effort.
One night I actually opened the website and scrolled though everything. I found the free chapter. I told myself I would skim it, just to prove it was nothing special. A few pages in and my chest was tight, my brain was loud, and by the last page I was annoyed there was no more. I wanted the rest.
I am the person who lives in “almost there”. Always planning, talking, and getting ready. I can talk for hours about what I am going to do. Action has always felt like this foggy thing in the distance.
I got the book, and then… CLARITY.
The book really gave it to me. Somewhere in the exercises and the stories, a very specific next step appeared. Then another one. The path felt like it belonged to me. Every step came out of my own thoughts and choices, free from anyone else’s agenda or pressure. That felt new.
The book refuses to let you stay in your head. You write, answer questions, and notice patterns you usually gloss over. Some pages felt like sitting in a cold shower. Uncomfortable, a bit confronting, but strangely clean.
When I actually did the work and did not run from that discomfort, things started to move. Little choices in my day lined up with what I had written. Conversations felt different. I caught myself before sliding back into the old “almost there” story. I genuinely expect people who really do the exercises to see change. I do not doubt that for a second.
It works like a toolkit that opens up how your mind and the world around you interact, and it keeps pushing you to decide what you want to do with that understanding.
If you keep telling everyone what you are working on and “almost” doing, or if you feel disconnected from your own direction, and even if you want a clear path that actually feels like yours, this book is worth the time and the effort.
January 6, 2026
Not a “book” in the average, typical sense of the word…
This isn’t a book that sets out to prove, promote, or argue a point. It’s more like a manual.
As a pilot, this reminds me of an Airplane Flying Handbook for relationships and power dynamics. While many other books in all genres expound well developed theories, this one shows you step by step how to discern if your reactions to people or events are caused by a “dopamine hit”, emotional vampirism, or something else. It teaches you to diagnose your ‘stuckness’ in jobs and relationships. It shows you how to develop Sovereignty - a state where you yield no power, attention, and energy to those who thrive off of what you give them. It also directs you to respect and encourage the Sovereignty in others.
It is not a book that you can just read through. The exercises must be carried out. I am only a third of the way through but the changes have been significant so far.
In a society saturated with digital content vying for our attention and energy, this couldn’t be more important. At a time when truth is easily obfuscated by moneyed influences, the Black Book of Power offers something that can’t be taken away from you - a way to grasp truth for yourself and walk on a path that was not laid out for you by someone who sees you as a product.
This isn’t a book that sets out to prove, promote, or argue a point. It’s more like a manual.
As a pilot, this reminds me of an Airplane Flying Handbook for relationships and power dynamics. While many other books in all genres expound well developed theories, this one shows you step by step how to discern if your reactions to people or events are caused by a “dopamine hit”, emotional vampirism, or something else. It teaches you to diagnose your ‘stuckness’ in jobs and relationships. It shows you how to develop Sovereignty - a state where you yield no power, attention, and energy to those who thrive off of what you give them. It also directs you to respect and encourage the Sovereignty in others.
It is not a book that you can just read through. The exercises must be carried out. I am only a third of the way through but the changes have been significant so far.
In a society saturated with digital content vying for our attention and energy, this couldn’t be more important. At a time when truth is easily obfuscated by moneyed influences, the Black Book of Power offers something that can’t be taken away from you - a way to grasp truth for yourself and walk on a path that was not laid out for you by someone who sees you as a product.
January 16, 2026
I am only halfway through The Black Book of Power by Stan Taylor, and I already feel like a different person. This isn't your typical feel-good self-help book—it's raw, confrontational, and doesn't pull any punches. Stan Taylor holds up a merciless mirror to all the ways we've been programmed, manipulated, and kept small by systems we never even noticed. At first, it was uncomfortable. Painfully so. Page after page exposing the "parasite" in our thinking, the invisible strings pulling us along—it hurt to recognize so much of myself in those descriptions. But somewhere around the midway page mark, something shifted. As I read, I started feeling layers peeling away. Old resentments, self-doubt, and exhausted patterns I have carried for years began to loosen their grip. It's like the book is performing emotional surgery while I'm reading: cutting out the junk and making space for something stronger. I'm healing as I turn each page. Not in a soft, gentle way, but in a deep, liberating one. I feel clearer, more in control of my own mind, and excited (and a little scared) about what's coming in the second half. If you're ready to see the machinery behind power, influence, and your own limitations—and emerge freer on the other side—this book is essential. 5 stars without hesitation, even unfinished. Can't wait to see how I feel at page 666.
December 12, 2025
It’s best to not have any expectations that you know where this is going; at the same time, you start to anticipate where you are heading as the threads begin to weave together more tightly.
The enigmatic Stan Taylor is the best at explaining, and I don’t want to attempt to summarize it while I’m still learning. It’s not a read-in-a-couple-of-days kind of book. It requires real application.
This book brought to my attention how much of my “self” was molded for the benefit of others- how I was made to value serving a superior for little bits of praise, shaping how I would buy and what I find important. It also showed me how atomizing our modern application of so-called empathy is. I do a lot of relating and a lot of bossing around. I want to help, but I also want to be the one who gets to fix it. At best, I’m enabling and at worst, I am telling the other person that they really are alone because I’m not actually holding space for THEM and just asserting me while they’re trying to gain clarity on their own life. Now I’m slowing down, asking more questions, and being more patient to understand and hopefully guide toward understanding instead of just throwing out whatever solution or similar circumstance pops into my head.
The enigmatic Stan Taylor is the best at explaining, and I don’t want to attempt to summarize it while I’m still learning. It’s not a read-in-a-couple-of-days kind of book. It requires real application.
This book brought to my attention how much of my “self” was molded for the benefit of others- how I was made to value serving a superior for little bits of praise, shaping how I would buy and what I find important. It also showed me how atomizing our modern application of so-called empathy is. I do a lot of relating and a lot of bossing around. I want to help, but I also want to be the one who gets to fix it. At best, I’m enabling and at worst, I am telling the other person that they really are alone because I’m not actually holding space for THEM and just asserting me while they’re trying to gain clarity on their own life. Now I’m slowing down, asking more questions, and being more patient to understand and hopefully guide toward understanding instead of just throwing out whatever solution or similar circumstance pops into my head.
January 16, 2026
When the student is ready the teacher will appear.
The Black Book of Power came across my Instagram feed. I followed the link, read the premise, found it compelling, and ordered it. The book was like a breath of fresh air to me. Not only does it outline power dynamics and webs of manipulation, it teaches you how to avoid getting entangled.
Im 41 and spend the past decade bouncing from one toxic situation to another. This book not only helped me understand how, but more importantly why, I kept getting into these circumstances. Unlike other books on power TBBOP teaches you to spot where your own weak points are, why you have them, and how to overcome them. I cannot stress enough the importance of going through the exercises contained therein. They are crucial because they will help you develop the mindset and character necessary to spot, defend, and, if need be, deploy manipulation tactics.
A word of caution... Taylor does not sugar coat reality to help the medicine go down. If you're unwilling to; put yourself through the protocols mentioned, have you're comfortable lies smashed, or are just skimming the surface then I'd advise a safer book on power. Nevertheless, if you're tired of the nonsense, then order your copy and start building the Marble Statue.
The Black Book of Power came across my Instagram feed. I followed the link, read the premise, found it compelling, and ordered it. The book was like a breath of fresh air to me. Not only does it outline power dynamics and webs of manipulation, it teaches you how to avoid getting entangled.
Im 41 and spend the past decade bouncing from one toxic situation to another. This book not only helped me understand how, but more importantly why, I kept getting into these circumstances. Unlike other books on power TBBOP teaches you to spot where your own weak points are, why you have them, and how to overcome them. I cannot stress enough the importance of going through the exercises contained therein. They are crucial because they will help you develop the mindset and character necessary to spot, defend, and, if need be, deploy manipulation tactics.
A word of caution... Taylor does not sugar coat reality to help the medicine go down. If you're unwilling to; put yourself through the protocols mentioned, have you're comfortable lies smashed, or are just skimming the surface then I'd advise a safer book on power. Nevertheless, if you're tired of the nonsense, then order your copy and start building the Marble Statue.
December 13, 2025
I have done it ALL, folks. Self-help junkie for over 50 years. NOTHING HAS NAMED THE THING THAT’S STOPPED ME AND GIVEN ME THE TOOLS TO KILL IT SO I CAN GET MY LIFE BACK until I found this book. I’ve already gotten my money’s worth and I’ve barely scratched the surface. Stan Taylor’s work has cut through all the BS. The way I interact with people has irrevocably altered. I can tell the difference between my hard-wired programming and the truth about who I am FOR THE FIRST TIME. If you want your life back, this work is for you. I’m so grateful I’ve found it. I wish I could’ve had this 30 years ago. Once you’ve faced the truth and begun implementing the protocols and seeing the evidence showing up in every arena of your life, you will never be able to go back to being a victim. Your old obsolete self will die and you will rise from the ashes and finally begin to live the life you were designed to live.
December 18, 2025
You may think empathy is a gift, but this book will prove it’s just a bleeding wound you use to beg for validation to avoid being abandoned. The Black Book of Power won't comfort you or give you warm affirmations. It feels like you're being skinned alive to reveal the parasite inside your head that you've mistaken for your personality. I went in looking for influence tactics and ended up having to delete my old self and start fresh with a new identity. The 21-day empathy protocol is a nightmare that wakes you the f*** up. If you aren't ready to burn your excuses and actually kill the version of you that’s small and reeks of desperation, walk away now. I'm glad I didn't. On the other side of this chaos is clarity, calm, and a quiet mind. Never in my life did I think this was what power felt like. A big thanks to Stan Taylor for writing this.
January 17, 2026
This book will change your life. You will stop ineffectually squeezing life force and energy out for people and start actually helping them. You will own yourself and be free of the (often well meant but invariably disastrously flawed) programming you have been bombarded with since birth. You will move with new presence and new purpose directed by your authentic self.
And I say this as I'm just starting Chapter Five.
For those who hesitate because of the jargon or because the pitch feels, perhaps, a bit soulless or cold: it came off that way for me, too. But I promise you, the warmth in your heart will still be there because your authentic self is driving the change. All the things that make you you will still be there, but more able, more aware, and more powerful in essence than ever before.
And I say this as I'm just starting Chapter Five.
For those who hesitate because of the jargon or because the pitch feels, perhaps, a bit soulless or cold: it came off that way for me, too. But I promise you, the warmth in your heart will still be there because your authentic self is driving the change. All the things that make you you will still be there, but more able, more aware, and more powerful in essence than ever before.
January 16, 2026
I am an avid reader with a large home library. Typically, in motivational/self-help books there are a few key points that I'll glean, maybe even jotting down a couple of good quotes. If it's a really helpful book, there might be four or five pages that are really solid and useful, and in the front cover, I'll jot down the page numbers ... it might help someone later if I loan out the book.
This book is nothing like anything else that's come and gone in my library. This book is different. It has NO filler. The WHOLE book is useful and neccessary. There's no "one good chapter," because each new chapter builds on the previous ones. It's "coursework," rather than reading. I have a stack of books that were in my "next up" pile. However, my next read will be this book a second time instead.
This book is nothing like anything else that's come and gone in my library. This book is different. It has NO filler. The WHOLE book is useful and neccessary. There's no "one good chapter," because each new chapter builds on the previous ones. It's "coursework," rather than reading. I have a stack of books that were in my "next up" pile. However, my next read will be this book a second time instead.
January 17, 2026
If you read anything this year, read this book. It is life-changing in so many ways. There are tons of self-help books out there. Some are good, but most are the same thing over and over again. This book is different. It breaks down what society created and dismantles what you believe to be true, then it reprograms you to see what is actually happening in your life and the tools to correct it. If you ever felt out of place, or not worthy of something, failing in life, relationships, or at your job, then this is the book that will get you back on track quickly. I have recommended this book to friends and family. I highly recommend anyone interested in changing their life for the better to read this book.
January 1, 2026
However my “algo” aligned with this book’s “algo” is all way beyond my grasp - needless to say I’m glad it found me and I clicked yes to the cart. This is hard work busting up years of emotional and mental and even neuropathic (that feels like the right word) scar tissue- breaking it down to bust through to a different way of tackling things. Whoa it’s hard to do after years upon years of patterns. So here’s to taking this seriously and putting in the work. Change only happens when the pain of complacency outweighs the fear of actually changing it.
As a Albert Einstein said “nothing happens til something moves.” So, kickstands up. Here we go.
As a Albert Einstein said “nothing happens til something moves.” So, kickstands up. Here we go.
January 16, 2026
I ordered the book and have listened to the first 4 chapters of the audio book. If you truly want change your life, this book rips the band-aid off (well, it shows you how to rip your own band-aid off) and sharpen your awareness. Very powerful information that enables big changes fast. Looking squarely in the eye of your own uncomfortable truths isn't for everyone. But if you truly want to understand why your life is in the condition it is in and how to get it to where you want it to be, this book will empower you. Highly recommend.
January 17, 2026
This book reveals the mechanisms of influence, manipulation, and control in ourselves as well as in our environment. It's brutally honest and requires brutal honesty for yourself, like a wakeup call that shocks the core of everything you believe to be reality. If you are hovering over that button wanting to buy but still thinking, just do it... or don't, and continue on in mediocrity. Your choice.
January 16, 2026
An interesting read with historical data and plenty of references to relevant studies. I appreciate the author's ethics. Knowledge is power and the author is responsible with the information he shares. I assure you, the truth in this book hits like hydrogen peroxide to an infected wound. It might sting, but it's necessary.
January 16, 2026
If you want to dissect a book this isn't for you. This will make you dissect yourself. If you want a 'feel good' book this isn't for you. It will make you question why you feel how you feel. It will make you question if that's really how you want to and question if you even know who you truly are. Don't read if you are soft. Or do, might just make you stronger.
January 1, 2026
I am in chapter 4 of this book and it is definitely worth the time. The insights that Stan shares are not only extremely thought provoking, but backed up with facts,names,dates,etc. Most of all the book not only offers insights, but practical steps to unbecoming and becoming.
January 16, 2026
This book is so transformative. It's an amazing read and really makes you dig deep into yourself.
If you’re looking for the book that will change everything and do a hard reset.
This is the book for you
If you’re looking for the book that will change everything and do a hard reset.
This is the book for you
January 16, 2026
8 days into this “Soul Parasite Cleanse” and it's the first time I've seen fast, tangible change. I finally see the habits that were feeding my parasite, and I'm choosing differently. Highly recommend if you're ready for a real shift.
January 3, 2026
Insightful and provocative
January 16, 2026
I'm seeing the ways that people have manipulated me, and more importantly, why. That alone is worth the cost, not to mention the rest!
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