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'Machiavellian' is a popular byword for treachery and opportunism. Machiavelli's classic book on statecraft, "The Prince", published over 400 years ago, remains controversial to this day because of its electrifying frankness as a practical guide to power. Is it a how-to manual for dictators, a cynical philosophy of 'the end justifies the means', or a more complex and subtle analysis of successful government? Machiavelli was a loyal servant of the Florentine republic. His opposition to Medici despotism led him to torture on the rack and exile, and yet he chose as his model for the Prince the most notorious tyrant, Cesare Borgia. "Introducing Machiavelli" traces the colourful life of this paradoxical realist whose clear-sighted patriotism made him the first truly modern political scientist. Machiavelli is seen as central to the postmodern debate on Civil Society. This book brings the creative turbulence of Renaissance Italy to life, and presents a compelling portrait of a key figure of European political history.
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Sorry, but let's get the name right.
That's Machiavelli, NOT 'MacHiavelli'. (He was Florentine, not Scottish or Irish.) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
That's Machiavelli, NOT 'MacHiavelli'. (He was Florentine, not Scottish or Irish.) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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For over four hundred years, Niccolò Machiavelli has been a byword for cynicism, immorality and cruelty in politics. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
For over four hundred years, Niccolò Machiavelli has been a byword for cynicism, immorality and cruelty in politics. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
There's some old saying about anything worthwhile requiring a great deal of hard work. This book is an exception to that 'rule' or guideline. It's set out like a comic book with lots of pictures. So although there are about 170 pages (not including title page, further reading suggestions page and so on), even a slow reader could get though it in 2 or 3 hours and feel they'd learned some jolly interesting stuff by the end. It seems that Machiavelli wasn't the evil conniver he's made out to be. Judging from the analysis set out in this book, he was a sight more wholesome than the modern 'spin doctors' who dominate politics and politicians today. At least the man had principles and based his ideas about how a society could best be run, on how people really behave rather than some optimistic ideal. As one of my old sociology tutors told us some famous someone or other said: "you can't make an IS out of an OUGHT". And Machiavelli apparently said something very similar. If his book entitled "The Prince" had been written today, it would probably have had a title like "The Idiot's Guide to Being a (Relatively) Benign Dictator" or something of the sort. He advised the unelected ruler that it's better to be feared than loved, but that they should, at any rate, avoid being generally hated. And he wisely pointed out that trying to appear generous would require high taxes, which would make the ruler an object of hatred. He advised hypocrisy and he thought this form of dishonesty would be simple enough to get away with, because people wouldn't get close enough to see the ruler as he truly was. If Machiavelli could be brought back to life today, he'd probably be better suited to writing books about Game Theory - unless he was able to adjust to the modern age of mass media, paparazzi and the universal franchise, and adjust his advice accordingly. In any case, if the portrait painted here by Messrs Curry and Zarate is accurate (which I don't doubt), he'd fit right in.
Nice little book. Recommended.
Nice little book. Recommended.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a super book explaining who Machiavelli was and clarifies many of the myths surrounding him. The cartoon/text style is superb and is a great accomppaniment to anyone studying philosphy or politics.
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A totally absorbing insight into the life and work of a great social commentator. Who was greatly derided for portrail of humanity as a less than noble beast and his frank study on the sometimes distasteful artifices employed by the successful to obtain power.
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