The Prince (Bantam Classics)
A classic treatise on practical leadership and power politics.
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
The Prince (Bantam Classics) Accessories
 The Art of War (Shambhala classics)
The Communist Manifesto (Penguin Classics)
Plato: Republic
The Art of War
The Wealth of Nations (Bantam Classics)
Politics (Dover Thrift Editions)
Leviathan (Penguin Classics)
The Art Of War
The Art of War by Sun Tzu - Special Edition
The 48 Laws of Power
The Prince (Bantam Classics) Reviews
Did learn a little something though. Gave up three quarters of the way through. Always heard about the man and the book but it was difficult trying to follow and understand.
Forget about Covey and the habits of highly effective people and any other book you have ever glanced at to try to pick yourself up and guide yourself out of the rat race and have a look at the greatest specimen ever conceived of the self-help genre. The Prince is a mysterious, multi-layered magnum opus with shocking and provocative insights into politics, psychology, religion, and life. Not for the lazy or shallow reader.
In his attempt to provide an "accurate" translation of the Italian, Mansfield made the mistake of many translators in overlooking the clarity of his English prose. This review was submitted on the web page presenting Mansfield's translation. Wootton: "So, too, with those who, having been private citizens, were made emperors of Rome because they had corrupted the soldiers. as also those emperors were made who from private individual [sic] attained the empire through corrupting soldiers.
If you're still not convinced, compare the following passages:. I have been using Wootton's translation of The Prince in a university program where the texts are set by the faculty. This year we changed to the Mansfield translation and I've requested that we return to Wootton's. For example, where Wootton writes, "he increased the strength of one of the most powerful Italian states," Mansfield writes, "he.
Such rulers are entirely dependent on the goodwill and good fortune of whoever has given them power. Mansfield: ". These persons rest simply on the will and fortune of whoever has given a state to them, which are two very inconstant and unstable things." Good will and good fortune are totally unreliable and capricious.".
increased the power of a power in Italy." (15) There are other odd uses of diction in Mansfield, for example, where Wootton speaks of a "founder," Mansfield uses the word "introducer." (23) And though concise in places, Mansfield has a tendency to write long sentences, perhaps in imitation of the Italian, where Wootton is more to the point.
It arrived on time and in great condition. I ordered this book for a college class.
All the parallels are brought to light, always through the eyes of George Orwell. Espousing the virtues of the noble lie, Machiavelli follows up with, "men are so simple, and governed so absolutely by their present needs, that he who wishes to deceive will never fail in finding willing dupes". War is Machiavelli's wet dream: "A Prince, therefore, should have no care or thought but for war, and for the regulations and training it requires, and should apply himself exclusively to this as his peculiar province; for war is the sole art looked for in one who rules". Written nearly 500 years ago, this blueprint for tyranny is just as relevant today.
Here's a flavor for you innocents out there: "For, in truth, there is no sure way of holding other than by destroying, and whoever becomes master of a City accustomed to live in freedom and does not destroy it, may reckon on being destoyed by it". Your city (country) is being destroyed. Machiavelli's "The Prince" is a guide of morality-void techniques for acquiring and maintaining political power and ultimately, political fortune. In 500 years, no one has proven him wrong.
As his compass, Machiavelli uses history, both ancient and contemporary. And with this quote, I now challenge anyone to dispute the Machiavellian nature of the American Corporate State as written about in Don't Weep for Me, America: How Democracy in America Became the Prince (While We Slept). Get informed.
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