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Summary: A Very Important Book for Everyone
Review: Those who complain that this book is boring only show that they do not understand what they are reading; they should read it once they are older than forty years.Originally this was his resume; presented to the new Prince of Florence, it succeeded in getting him reappointed to his old job. A few years later another revolt overthrew the Prince, and the Republic was re-established. But Machiavelli was out of a job again; the Republic refused him because of his collaboration with the Prince (who was put into power after the Holy League invaded the Republic). Machiavelli's death left his family penniless; his son published what had been a private letter to earn money. "The Prince" has been in continual publication for the last five centuries. The reason is the brilliance of his writing; he wrote what many knew to be the truth. His book is descriptive, not prescriptive; it describes what rulers have done, and explains the results of their actions. Most people instinctively choose "the lesser evil"; Machiavelli was the first to clearly define this choice. Machiavelli's books were well-read though out the 18th century. His claim that "Rome fell because it depended on auxiliaries" is true, but that is more effect than cause. His works were well- known to those who wrote the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. While addressed to a ruler, it should be read by many people to understand their rulers. "Watch what I do, not what I say" could have been said by one of Machiavelli's contemporaries. The most notable thing about this book is Machiavelli's devotion to a republican form of government, contrary to his reputation as a tool of despotism. Or could that be a form of censorship? He did not claim "the end justifies the means" as a general rule, or a license for the powerful, altho some will read it that way. Just as the feudal system survives today thru patronage and "politics" (really "personal relationships"), so too the examples cited by Machiavelli will always be relevant to "Western Civilization". Machiavelli says that a citizen army is superior to mercenaries (professionals) or auxiliaries (foreign troops). Does the history of the last 250 years prove his claim? I wonder what he would say about our government's policy of using a professional army and disarming the citizens? (This is based on the "Penguin Classics" version translated by George Ball.)
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Summary: A Guide to Power, A Question of Morality
Review: Machiavelli is here at his best: terse, poignant, and profound. His insights into politics and his practical advice apply not just to autocratic princes of Italian city states, but to anyone who has authority and wants to maintain it, as well as to all those who want to gain authority. True, the book is an excellent attempt to describe politics, which is pervasive in the world, the way it is, and not the way that sanctimonious characters want it to be, but at the same time it raises one of the most difficult and even painful questions that a thinking being can confront: What does it mean to be moral in a world where cunning, cruelty, and underhanded methods of all kinds are sometimes the most effective, if not the only, way to achieve what you so passionately want? The Prince is a superb confrontation with reality, revealing, perhaps inadvertantly, the courage of human intellect.
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Summary: This Book Can Help You Change Your Life
Review: Though much maligned through the centuries, Machiavelli's The Prince has certain practical applications, even to such travellers and dreamers as myself, who follow the scent of impossible visions to the place where they grow, like fruit on a tree, to partake of their strange savor. Robert M. Adams' is the best translation of this work into English, because of a simple device. The center of Machiavelli's work is the cluster of ideas represented by the Italian word "virtu." The translator demonstrates that this word can, depending on its context, mean many things in English: strength, ability, courage, manliness, ingenuity, character, wisdom, or virtue. To translate "virtu" with one single word as many have done is vague and confusing. Therefore Adams, with one simple device, has made the text much more accessible to the reader: wherever the term "virtu" appears in the original work, he places it in brackets beside the term he has chosen to stand in for it, in English. For example, speaking of the influence of Luck on human affairs in Chapter 25 (my favorite chapter, because of its beautiful imagery) Adams translates the Italian "Similmente interviene della fortuna; la quale dimostra la sua potenzia dove non e ordinata virtu a resisterle; e quivi volta li sua impeti dove la sa che non sono fattie gli argini e li ripari a tenerla" as "So with Fortune, who exerts all her power where there is no strength [virtu] prepared to oppose her, and turns to smashing things up wherever there are no dikes and restraining dams." Thus does Adams lead the reader to a better understanding of the work. I myself discovered this translation after a sedentary life, and it made all the difference between how I lived my life then, and how I live it now. I read it when I was in the hospital recovering from Dr. Voronoff's glandular rejuvenation technique, long touted as a means to renew one's energy. The infusion of new life into my tottering body, and the concepts in this book, motivated me to leave behind my sorry existence and travel the world. I always keep this work by my side throughout my journeys, and its magic word "virtu" has gotten me out of many difficult situations, even as it was the force that allowed me to get into them in the first place. Virtu was my wisdom, when I was unofficially detained by close mouthed bureaucrats in the Balkans, who eventually let me continue my travels because of my clever diplomacy; I muttered "Virtu!" to myself as I clambered for forty hard days up the steep slopes of the Andes in search of unclassified protozoa; virtu was my strength, when I fought and killed in self defense the leader of a tribe of Geladas, and became their new alpha male. I would never have done any of these things--indeed, I would not be here writing this--had I not read this work. It has been an inspiration to me, and the principle of virtu is one the most powerful tools in the bag of tricks I have developed as I have travelled the world.
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Summary: Yes, that is the politics
Review: Niccolo Machiavelli was obviously very bright and talented man. He was negotiator in foreign affairs for the Florentine republic and has seen (and of course used) many diplomatic features which are commonly used even today. To be taken back to favor with deMedici family, which house arrested him after he defended his town against their attack, he wrote a book in which he put his vast knowledge to them. This book is a perfect example of 15th and 16th century politics and is written as a workbook for a succesful ruler. Its principles remain unchanged and therefore it is basic reading for most political and economical high schools. After you finish it you realize that democracy most of the time uses rules of brutal Middle Ages, they are only packed more nicely than they used to be. If you need political or business success or if you need to lead people in any sort of way, you can't miss this little book.
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Summary: Enduring classic
Review: Required reading at many Universities and Business Schools, The Prince is a classic. People the world over continue to show an enduring fascination for Machiavelli, some five hundred years after his death. Equally applicable to political science and business alike, this book is highly recommended for all readers. Machiavelli's principles, conveyed through The Prince, are timeless; they address a side of human nature not often stated explicitly. By no means 'politically correct,' these principles touch the base emotions and desires of politics and everyday life. While greedy and evil as judged by many of today's cultural norms, the eloquent logic and sound arguments contained within The Prince are captivating. The fascination with Machiavelli is likely to endure for centuries to come. In today's increasingly competitive and global economic climate, the CEOs of large corporations in many ways face the situation found in Italy in the 16th century. As the fervent wave of large mergers and acquisitions continues, Machiavelli's principles become that much more applicable. A "Prince" or the manager of a new company may also find the advice contained within The Prince very useful, however 'politically incorrect' this advice may be in today's world.
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Summary: Western Politics
Review: The Prince is probably the best work of Lit. that relates to the western politics of modern times.
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Summary: Mesmerising
Review: This is book from the perusal of which one rises a king... It is as invaluable today as it was at its time. Just substitute CEO, Prime Minister, President or Chairman for "prince" and this book will be found to be readily applicable even to today's world. These are timeless precepts, assembled in a book that may be a theoretical treatise, but which is nonetheless the product of a man extremely conversant with the realities of political life.
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Summary: Ingenious
Review: Machiavelli decribes the one thing about politics that Plato and the others don't, and that is the reality of it. He does not talk about the Ideal State, rather, the States as it is -- the real and almost always brutal State. His work does not hold anything back. He tells it like it is -- like a realist. His use of history and historical characters is grand. This is a book for all.
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Summary: Better than Nytol
Review: I had to read this book for my AP European History class, and I thought that this book was great... for putting you to sleep. I was additiced to Nytol, but I kick the habit with this book. Yes, there are some very good ideas that this book talks about: war, leadership, backstabbing, etc. What you should know is once you start reading this book, you will find tha language very hard to understank, and if you did bad on the SAT, your in tough luck. Good luck to those who will try to read "The Beast."
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Summary: The Prince
Review: The Prince is a philosophical, one of the first books written for the modern age. The book was written be Niccolo Machiavelli, a diplomat student and student of politics, who lived in Florence, Italy. The book was written about 1513, a period in which the eyes human society were on Italy. Political rivalries were very common during this time period including such powers as: The Pope, The Holy Roman Emperor, The rulers of France and Spain, and others who thirsted for power. For the situation in which these rulers existed, there was no better guide than a handbook on the clockwork of politics, and how to succeed in it. Machiavelli created such a book. The book's structure could not have been better. It started out defining and describing the governmental layouts, and many types of princedoms of which he would speak later in the book. He described how princedoms could be conquered, overthrown, and ruled. Throughout the book there are descriptions of ancient kingdoms, and modern ones. However, the significance of the time period is immense for we are 21st century and Machiavelli was 16th century. This puts a very interesting twist on the perspective of the book, not to mention the wisdom of the writer. As the book progresses he tells the theories of how one should rule a kingdom according to different situations that may occur during his rule. This is how and why the overall theme of the book becomes, "the end justifies the means." Machiavelli, has a cunning use of terms and words of the language, (Italian in the case of the original book). Some parts of the book seem to justify when it is right and when it is not to lie, act deceptive, or become a beast to maintain the stability of princedom, which is of prime importance. The book The Prince is not your average wonderful medieval time story with princesses, kings, and someone who saves the day. It is a true to life philosophy book introducing new theories that had never been considered before. It is a book full of tactics, and all the ways in which the ancient kingdoms were ruled. And whether it be called a historical book, philosophical, or a theoretical book, it has been talked of more than most other books, and that is for one reason alone, it is a great book.
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