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Rating: 
Summary: The wussy child's handbook for gradeschool domination
Review: Brillint, utterly brilliant. If only some thoughtful relative had given me this instead of Pat the Bunny for my fourth birthday, I might not have been subject to the despotic reign of my neighbor, Keenan McCoy for so many years. (Along with other things that are too horribly embarassing to mention, she used to pull down my mint green with white polka-dot polyester shorts and spank me bare-butted in full public view. Talk about a kid who knew about ruling by fear. Sheesh.) Anyways, for all you high school sophmores who were planning on weaseling out of reading The Prince and scanning the cliff notes an hour before class, this little number is a way better bet. It meets the required standard of hitting all the relevant points, but in about a twentieth of the time. Also, it is funny and has nifty Dick and Jane-esque illustrations resplendant in pink, yellow, and the same exact mint green of my aforementioned polyester shorts. All in all, it's a great little book that I am still kicking myself for not buying two years ago when I stumbled across it in a bookshop in Park Slope. Alas.
Rating:
Summary: The wussy child's handbook for gradeschool domination
Review: Brillint, utterly brilliant. If only some thoughtful relative had given me this instead of Pat the Bunny for my fourth birthday, I might not have been subject to the despotic reign of my neighbor, Keenan McCoy for so many years. (Along with other things that are too horribly embarassing to mention, she used to pull down my mint green with white polka-dot polyester shorts and spank me bare-butted in full public view. Talk about a kid who knew about ruling by fear. Sheesh.) Anyways, for all you high school sophmores who were planning on weaseling out of reading The Prince and scanning the cliff notes an hour before class, this little number is a way better bet. It meets the required standard of hitting all the relevant points, but in about a twentieth of the time. Also, it is funny and has nifty Dick and Jane-esque illustrations resplendant in pink, yellow, and the same exact mint green of my aforementioned polyester shorts. All in all, it's a great little book that I am still kicking myself for not buying two years ago when I stumbled across it in a bookshop in Park Slope. Alas.
Rating:
Summary: Nasty Pleasures
Review: I am a fan of South Park and Beavis and Butthead, and this little bonbon follows in that tradition. It's not for kids but for the 'child within', and my child at least, has horns. Its a great guide book for everyone engaged in business, and I found it to be incredibly insightful!
Rating:
Summary: The Ironic Machiavelli
Review: This book distills Machiavelli's cut-throat advice into the the simple language and context that a child can understand. It contains such gems as:"When you take over some place, kill off everyone who's against you, pronto, then act really nice to everyone else." The beauty of this book is that cute illustrations aside, it is hardly for children at all. Claudia Hart has cleverly transformed Machiavelli's formal discourse into the playground phrases of a primary school student. For example: "If you want to take over some place, don't forget to kill not just the boss, but also all his kids!" This book will appeal to anyone with a sense of irony and a love of history. Even fans of the master of real politik himself are bound to appreciate it.
Rating:
Summary: The Ironic Machiavelli
Review: This book distills Machiavelli's cut-throat advice into the the simple language and context that a child can understand. It contains such gems as: "When you take over some place, kill off everyone who's against you, pronto, then act really nice to everyone else." The beauty of this book is that cute illustrations aside, it is hardly for children at all. Claudia Hart has cleverly transformed Machiavelli's formal discourse into the playground phrases of a primary school student. For example: "If you want to take over some place, don't forget to kill not just the boss, but also all his kids!" This book will appeal to anyone with a sense of irony and a love of history. Even fans of the master of real politik himself are bound to appreciate it.
Rating:
Summary: Nasty Pleasures
Review: When I first read about this book I was very excited, but reality fell far short of my expectations. The text is in an awkward script font and the attempt to convey Machiavelli's concepts to an audience of "children" is stilted and insluting. The illustrations are garish, ugly reproductions from classic children's books (such as Alice in Wonderland) and rarely corrolate to the maxim they are meant to depict. Don't waste your time or money on this book.
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