Niccolo Machiavelli

Here is the world's most famous master plan for seizing and holding power. Astonishing in its candor The Prince even today remains a disturbingly realistic and prophetic work on what it takes to be a prince . . . a king . . . a president. When, in 1512, Machiavelli was removed from his post in his beloved Florence, he resolved to set down a treatise on leadership that was practical, not idealistic. In The Prince he envisioned would be unencumbered by ordinary ethical and moral values; his prince would be man and beast, fox and lion. Today, this small sixteenth-century masterpiece has become essential reading for every student of government, and is the ultimate book on power politics.

Few figures in intellectual history have proved as notorious and ambiguous as Niccolo Machiavelli. But while his treatise The Prince made his name synonymous with autocratic ruthlessness and cynical manipulation, The Discourses (c.1517) shows a radically different outlook on the world of politics. In this carefully argued commentary on Livy's history of republican Rome, Machiavelli proposed a system of government that would uphold civic freedom and security by instilling the virtues of active citizenship, and that would also encourage citizens to put the needs of the state above selfish, personal interests. Ambitious in scope, but also clear-eyed and pragmatic, The Discourses creates a modern theory of republic politics. Leslie J. Walker's definitive translation has been revised by Brian Richardson and is accompanied by an introduction by Bernard Crick, which illuminates Machiavelli's historical context and his new theories of politics. This edition also includes suggestions for further reading and notes.

"It is better to be feared than to be loved, if you can not be both." -Niccol Machiavelli, The Prince, 1503 Italian philosopher and diplomat Machiavelli wrote his best-known work The Prince (1513), a short political treatise based on his experiences with powerful rulers leading Italian city states. Throughout the ages, this book has been a guide to aspiring leaders on how to gain and maintain political power. Due to its often unscrupulous advice to politicians, The Prince was viewed negatively by leading Renaissance humanists and the Catholic Church even had banned the book. The current edition was translated by William K. Marriott and originally released in 1908. It is essential reading for students of political philosophy, political leaders, and anyone interested in what is considered one of the first works of modern political philosophy.