The Art Of War [Paperback]

Niccolò Machiavelli (Author), Ellis Farneworth (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 4, 2001

Voltaire said, "Machiavelli taught Europe the art of war; it had long been practiced, without being known." For Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527), war was war, and victory the supreme aim to which all other considerations must be subordinated. The Art of War is far from an anachronism—its pages outline fundamental questions that theorists of war continue to examine today, making it essential reading for any student of military history, strategy, or theory. Machiavelli believed The Art of War to be his most important work.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Neal Wood is Professor Emeritus of political science at York University, Toronto.

Product Details

• Paperback: 247 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press; Revised edition (September 4, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 030681076X
• ISBN-13: 978-0306810763
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #232,685 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars REVISITING A POPULAR BOOK IN ITS TIME, September 21, 2002

By 

Luciano Lupini (Caracas Venezuela) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Art Of War (Paperback)

Today, when you mention The Art of War, people refer immediately to the book by Sun Tzu. However, the only works published for the general public during Macchiavelli's life are the Decennale Primo, the Mandragola, and this one. The work being review was published in Florence by Macchiavelli in august 1521 and it had an immediate success and many reprints.
Having completed already The Prince and the Discorsi, and not foreseeing any possibility of returning to public service, Macchiavelli decided to write a book about warfare, in part as a result of his meetings and conversations with a group of young alumni and friends at the Orti Oricellari. Some of these were involved, in 1522, in a conspiracy to kill Cardinal Giulio de'Medici,Master of Florence.
The Art of War is not a textbook, but rather a humanistic treatise on the subject, written under the form of dialogues, divided in seven books. The interlocutors are Fabrizio Colonna, Cosimo Ruccellai and the young men Buondelmonti, della Palla and Alamanni. The first book deals with recruitment, the second with the weapons of infantry and cavalry, the relationship between this corps and military exercises. Colonna and Ruccellai are the protagonists of the dialogues here, while in the III book the role of interlocutor to Colonnais vested upon the younger Alamanni. Alamanni inquires about the role of the artillery and is substance Macchiavelli's judgement (through Colonna's words) is negative. In the IV book Buondelmonti inquires about the importance of military formations and other possible combat formations (different from the traditional roman and others).
The final three books deal with logistics, accommodations, military discipline, fortifications, sieges and defensive tactics.
The language of this opus is the most polished and conventional, opposed to the one in other works by the author. Modern critics, in spite of the original success of the book, have pointed out the wrong perception that Macchiavelli had about the growing importance of artillery and the role of military reforms that were enacted in France at the time. He also wrongly criticized, as a whole, the professional army alongside the mercenaries and Compagnie di Ventura. The admiration of M. regarding roman legions and classic institutions is also questionable, in view of the evolution of warfare at the time. So why was this book so popular, until the anti-M. revisionism took a clearer look at reality, discarding abstract and moralistic propositions about warfare?
Because the treatise provided a clear and fresh (at the time) view about the intimate connection between military art, politics, war and religion, in a global context.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great First-Half, June 18, 2005

By 

Sam Butler - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Art Of War (Paperback)

Machiavelli's "The Art of War" is only half the story. To fully understand the point and purpose of these conversations, you must read Machiavelli's other and more important book: "The Prince". Both books are exercises in the logic extending from the premise that the ends justify the means.

You should either obtain both books or the new volume: "The Art of War & The Prince by Machiavelli - Special Edition" which combines both books into one. Both books are important in the history of philosophy, logic, politics and strategy. Reading both helps put them in their proper context.

Machiavelli's vision was always clear that success is all that is important. His detailed insights on the methods and means for achieving success, however clever and convoluted, were always right to the main point: To the victor there is fame and glory and to the loser there is humiliation and oblivion.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good translation, interesting history --, September 13, 2005

By 

wiredweird "wiredweird" (Earth, or somewhere nearby) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Art Of War (Paperback)

-- but I found Macchiavelli's content frankly disappointing. The translation is modern and readable, I have no problem with that. The original was centuries behind Sun Tzu's book of the same name, even though Sun Tzu wrote around 500BC, 2000 years before Macchiavelli. Macchiavelli gives a bit of advice about soldierly temperament and training. There's also a brief checklist, just two pages, of strategic advice, near the end of the book. That's all that really has lasting value.

The bulk of the text is taken up with the right way to position each kind of soldier and arm, rank and file, in marching order. Basically, these were detailed directions for a military parade, suited to the set-piece wars of the time, as much pageant as combat. He also goes on about the right kinds of pennants, flags, and colors to use, proper military music, how to make camp, and proper pillaging and distribution of booty.

Directions on how to make camp are subject to errors, though: a measurement 1360 feet long, minus 100 feet at each end, is said to leave a row 1260 feet long rather than 1160 - perhaps an error introduced by the translator, but I tend to think not. He also takes the "reduction" and sacking of conquered towns for granted. I think Master Sun was a bit more merciful (or prgamatic), on the grounds that the wealth of newly annexed parts of the kingdom should be preserved, and the citizens kept happy enough for easy rule. With a startling lack of foresight, Macchiavelli dismisses serious use of artillery in pitched battles. Instead, he falls back on strategies of the Greeks and Romans, 1000 to 2000 years old even when he wrote. Sun Tzu's warfare had a much more modern look to it, including hit-and-run tactics that the West barely understood until the American revolution.

The quality of the translation worth four or five stars, partly because of helpful notes and diagrams. It's the original work that I found weak.

//wiredweird