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The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli
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The Prince (1513)

by Niccolò Machiavelli (Author)

Other authors: See the other authors section.

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  1. 81
    Utopia by Thomas More (2below)
    2below: Each one is fascinating in its own right but I think reading both (or reading them concurrently, as I did) provides an interesting perspective on two seemingly opposed extremes.
  2. 40
    Maxims and Reflections (Ricordi) by Francesco Guicciardini (timoroso)
    timoroso: Guicciardini, a friend and colleague of Machiavelli, wrote a book of maxims sometimes profound in themselves, other times interesting to compare to Machiavelli's opinions. The subject matter for both is essentially the same: how to act in a politically and ethically thoroughly unstable world.… (more)
  3. 43
    The Republic by Plato (caflores)
  4. 11
    On the Nature of War by Carl von Clausewitz (sirparsifal)
  5. 02
    The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie (Othemts)
  6. 013
    Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (Ciruelo, Othemts)
    Ciruelo: Really. Both are classic studies in the workings of power.
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English (93)  Spanish (5)  French (4)  Finnish (2)  Dutch (2)  Portuguese (1)  Danish (1)  Swedish (1)  Italian (1)  All languages (110)
Showing 1-5 of 93 (next | show all)
Read it in Major Theories of the State I in Waikato University. ( )
  cbmilne33 | May 17, 2013 |
How to run things and hopefully remain popular but not give a monkey's if they hate you. How to instil enough fear in people that they at least show respect to your face.

Plenty of good lessons here for a politician, but adaptable by anyone if you don't mind being thought evil by your nearest and dearest. And I don't. ( )
  Petra.Xs | Apr 2, 2013 |
First time reading it since my 1989 Great Books course at Evergreen. A lot of fun to teach. The Dover edition, so far as I can determine, is perfectly serviceable, and, presuming I'm rating the right book, is improved vastly by including excerpts from The Discourses. Complicates things nicely for the students. ( )
  karl.steel | Apr 2, 2013 |
I'm weirdly pleased that The Prince lives up to its reputation: it is indeed Machiavellian. Here's his advice on conquering self-governing states (i.e. democracies): "The only way to hold on to such a state is to reduce it to rubble." Well then.

I'd like to say that any guy whose last name becomes a synonym for evil is a badass, but Machiavelli wasn't; he was a failed minor diplomat who wrote this in a failed attempt to get reemployed. Stupid attempt, too; anyone who hired him would be advertising that he espoused Machiavellian values. This book was published. And as he himself advises, "A leader doesn't have to possess virtuous qualities, but it's imperative that he seem to possess them."

So I'll go with this: anyone whose last name becomes a synonym for evil has written a good book.

I hope to match that effect with my first novel. Working title: "Unicorns are Pretty."

So if Machiavelli was such a loser, how did his book get so famous? It's not because it's great advice; it sortof isn't. I think it's because it's just a ton of fun to read. It's chock full of over-the-top quotes like the ones above. It's really funny.

Which brings up a recurring topic for debate: did he intend for this to be taken seriously, or is it satire? I think it's the former: mixed in with the zany stuff is a fair amount of common-sense advice. He could certainly have included that to make the zany stuff pop more, or to camouflage it a bit, but I prefer to think he meant the whole thing seriously. And it's not like any of it is advice someone hasn't followed at some point. (See my first quote above: yeah, we've tried that.)

Translation review: this is the very latest translation. Parks has gone to great trouble to reduce the crazy complexity of Machiavelli's sentences - I know this from reading his excellent Translator's Note - and I appreciate that. He's also tried hard to make it accessible to modern audiences, and sometimes I think he's tipped a tiny bit overboard on that front. "When a ruler occupies a land that has a different language...then things get rough." "Difficult" would have been perfectly clear; "rough" is too colloquial. We want to be able to read our classics, but we don't need to pretend they were written yesterday.

That's a relatively minor complaint, though; this is a clear and easy translation. Good intro, too. And a glossary of proper names at the back, so you can sort out the various contemporary figures you don't recognize.

I'll close with my favorite quote: "It's better to be impulsive than cautious; fortune is female and if you want to stay on top of her you have to slap and thrust."

Machiavelli: kindof a dick. ( )
  AlCracka | Apr 2, 2013 |
Showing 1-5 of 93 (next | show all)
Kad je reč o umešnosti vladanja, ovo nezaobilazno delo bilo je i ostalo neprevaziđeno. Postalo je pojam!

Delo nastalo na velikom raskršću istorije, kada se odlučno odbacuje srednjovekovno metafizičko učenje i usvajaju empirički metodi razmišljanja, predstavlja ujedno fascinantno svedočanstvo razlaza između mita i realnosti, između vere i sumnje. Ovaj biser renesansne političke misli karakteriše realistično posmatranje političkih događaja i visoke moralne pobude koje su inspirisale autora. Vladalac je samo prividno apoteoza tiranina i kodeks pravila za ubijanje, čitav traktat o vladaocu svodi se na to da se u Italiji pronađe čovek koji će je ujediniti. Život i delo ovog poznatog firentinca obeležavaju kao teoretičara o osnivanju i održavanju država.
added by Sensei-CRS | editknjigainfo.com
 

» Add other authors (135 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Machiavelli, NiccolòAuthorprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Aron, RaymondForewordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Bondanella, PeterTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Bull, George AnthonyTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Constantine, PeterTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Cullen, PatrickNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Ennis, MichaelForewordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Freyer, HansIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Gohory, JacquesTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Inglese, GiorgioEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Marriott, W. K.Translatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Merian-Genast, ErnstTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Musa, MarkTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Otten, J.F.Translatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Skinner, QuentinEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
TitianCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Niccolo Machiavelli to Lorenzo the Magnificent, Son of Piero di Medici
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All the states, all the dominions under whose authority men have lived in the past and live now have been and are either republics or principalities.
It is customary for those who wish to gain the favour of a prince to endeavour to do so by offering him gifts of those things which they hold most precious, or in which they know him to take especial delight.
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This is the main work for The Prince. It should not be combined with any abridgement, adaptation, study guide, etc.
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Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 0553212788, Mass Market Paperback)

When Lorenzo de' Medici seized control of the Florentine Republic in 1512, he summarily fired the Secretary to the Second Chancery of the Signoria and set in motion a fundamental change in the way we think about politics. The person who held the aforementioned office with the tongue-twisting title was none other than Niccolò Machiavelli, who, suddenly finding himself out of a job after 14 years of patriotic service, followed the career trajectory of many modern politicians into punditry. Unable to become an on-air political analyst for a television network, he only wrote a book. But what a book The Prince is. Its essential contribution to modern political thought lies in Machiavelli's assertion of the then revolutionary idea that theological and moral imperatives have no place in the political arena. "It must be understood," Machiavelli avers, "that a prince ... cannot observe all of those virtues for which men are reputed good, because it is often necessary to act against mercy, against faith, against humanity, against frankness, against religion, in order to preserve the state." With just a little imagination, readers can discern parallels between a 16th-century principality and a 20th-century presidency. --Tim Hogan

(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:40:07 -0500)

(see all 9 descriptions)

Contents: The prince -- Discourses upon the first ten books of Titus Lily -- Chronology -- Notes to The Prince -- Notes to the discourses.

» see all 16 descriptions

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