Books with author Nicolo Machiavelli

When Machiavelli’s brief treatise on Renaissance statecraft and princely power was posthumously published in 1532, it generated a debate that has raged unabated until the present day. Based upon Machiavelli’s first-hand experience as an emissary of the Florentine Republic to the courts of Europe, The Prince analyzes the usually violent means by which men seize, retain, and lose political power. Machiavelli added a dimension of incisive realism to one of the major philosophical and political issues of his time, especially the relationship between public deeds and private morality. His book provides a remarkably uncompromising picture of the true nature of power, no matter in what era or by whom it is exercised.

As a manual on realpolitik, this sixteenth-century work has provoked more heated debates than any other political treatise. While it rejects lofty ideals, it nonetheless derives valuable insights from the author’s first-hand experience as a respected envoy of Florence. Italy in the renaissance period was a battleground of warring factions, both within states and without, so successful governance was no easy task. Niccolò Machiavelli examines how princedoms in Renaissance Italy can be effectively governed and maintained. This he does by noting the “…actions of great men, acquired in the course of (his) long experience of modern affairs and a continual study of antiquity.” Arguing from such empirical evidence, he shows what works to achieve stable control, and what does not. Harsh measures are sometimes necessary but contrary to a common misconception held by many of his critics, he warns against ignoring the welfare and goodwill of the populace. Indeed, some commentators feel Machiavelli was unjustly maligned, pointing out that here was a man who was unremitting in his efforts to secure a good and popular government for his native Florence, and who wanted Italy’s honour and pride restored. It was to these ends that he wrote The Prince.

The Art of War is a treatise by the Italian Renaissance political philosopher and historian Niccolò Machiavelli. The format of The Art of War is a Socratic dialogue. The purpose, declared by Lord Fabrizio Colonna (perhaps Machiavelli's persona) at the outset, "To honor and reward virtù, not to have contempt for poverty, to esteem the modes and orders of military discipline, to constrain citizens to love one another, to live without factions, to esteem less the private than the public good." To these ends, Machiavelli notes in his preface, the military is like the roof of a palazzo protecting the contents. Written between 1519 and 1520 and published the following year, it was Machiavelli's only historical or political work printed during his lifetime, though he was appointed official historian of Florence in 1520 and entrusted with minor civil duties. The Art of War is divided into a preface and seven books (chapters), which take the form of a series of dialogues that take place in the Orti Oricellari, the gardens built in a classical style by Bernardo Rucellai in the 1490s for Florentine aristocrats and humanists to engage in discussion, between Cosimo Rucellai and "Lord Fabrizio Colonna" with other patrizi and captains of the recent Florentine republic: Zanobi Buondelmonti, Battista della Palla and Luigi Alamanni. The work is dedicated to Lorenzo di Filippo Strozzi, patrizio fiorentino in a preface which ostentatiously pronounces Machiavelli's authorship. After repeated uses of the first person singular to introduce the dialogue, Machiavelli retreats from the work, serving as neither narrator nor interlocutor. Fabrizio is enamored with the Roman Legions of the early to mid Roman Republic and strongly advocates adapting them to the contemporary situation of Renaissance Florence.

A classic study of statesmanship and power politics, The Prince is one of the most influential books ever written. Used by businessmen and political leaders through the ages, Machiavelli’s shrewd and insightful text presents strategies that some of history’s greatest rulers have borrowed to achieve their goals. A beautifully illustrated, colourful collector’s edition which will look good on anybody’s shelf or coffee table as well as making an ideal gift.

Excerpt from The PrinceLet your Magnificence, then, accept this little gift in the spirit in which I offer it.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

In the work Art of War, written in 1520, Niccolò Machiavelli criticized the military institutions of his time and proposed a novel version for the tactical and strategic use of military force. The transfer of this work takes place in the garden of the house of Cosimo Rucellai, where through a dialogue between Fabrizio Colonna and other guests, the author develops the theory of his novel military proposal. Fabrizio acts as the voice of Machiavelli's position, almost all the work being his dialogue, while the guests are in charge of asking about various military issues or their points of view, regarding any question of the same nature. Although military media and military technology have evolved five centuries since the writing of the Art of War, the basic concepts of human behavior and the essence of strategy remain intact, which is why this work is a document of obligatory reading for political and social leaders, historians and people related to different disciplines of the social sciences.

Machiavelli draws on his extensive historical knowledge and experience as a statesman to examine the reasons that Kings, Emperors, Dukes and governments have thrived or crumbled, while highlighting the principles that guided them. In each case Machiavelli suggests a set of principles that any leader would find difficult to follow, but impossible to ignore. The Prince has had a profound influence on political thought over the past 500 years, so much so that the term ‘Machiavellian’ is used to describe one who deceives and manipulates others. This is likely derived from Machiavelli’s view that “it is often necessary to act against mercy, against faith, against humanity, against frankness, against religion, in order to preserve the state.” Machiavelli continues to provide an understanding of how world leaders think, and why certain decisions are made. A must read for the politically inclined and those interested in world events and the affairs of state.

The Prince is a 16th-century political treatise by the Italian diplomat and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli. From correspondence a version appears to have been distributed in 1513, using a Latin title, De Principatibus. However, the printed version was not published until 1532, five years after Machiavelli's death. This was done with the permission of the Medici pope Clement VII, but "long before then, in fact since the first appearance of The Prince in manuscript, controversy had swirled about his writings". Although it was written as if it were a traditional work in the mirrors for princes style, it is generally agreed that it was especially innovative. This is only partly because it was written in the vernacular Italian rather than Latin, a practice which had become increasingly popular since the publication of Dante's Divine Comedy and other works of Renaissance literature. The Prince is sometimes claimed to be one of the first works of modern philosophy, especially modern political philosophy, in which the effective truth is taken to be more important than any abstract ideal. It was also in direct conflict with the dominant Catholic and scholastic doctrines of the time concerning politics and ethics.

An obscure civil servant, dead for nearly 500 years, author of but one major work, yet whose name is still in common use. Remarkable? Not when the civil servant is Nicolo Machiavelli, and when the book is The Prince. Written in 1513 as a gift for the ruling prince, Lorenzo de Medici, The Prince has retained its reputation as one of the most perceptive analyses on politics and power ever written. Valued for its brilliant writing, shrewd psychological insight, canny advice, and prophetic qualities, it has never lost its power to shock and influence, or to illuminate the heart of darkness. It is essential reading for anyone who wants to know the real meaning of "political hardball." Ian Richardson's formidable reading of this unabridged translation is an accessible and entertaining introduction to Machiavelli's truly compelling, eerily prescient worldview.