Customer Reviews

The Prince (Modern Library Classics)

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This book was written by the famous Italian statesman Niccolo Machiavelli in 1531. This book is a classic and I was pleasantly surprised that the content was not dated and the principles translate easily into the modern worlds of business and politics.
The author wrote this book as an instruction guide for governing princes in the 1500's when Italy was divided into city states and were being defeated by many foreign powers. I belive that the work is directed to Lorenzo de Medici by a letter included in the work and because at the end of the writing Machiavelli calls for a prince to unite and lead Italy against its oppressors.
The book is not unethical as I had imagined from my understanding of the ruthlessness of Machiavellian ethics. The author is only explaining tactics to use to maintain power in a kingdom or city state that are pragmatic for his time period.
Here are some examples from the book:
1. When conquering a territory keep the current laws and institutions in place, but eliminate all the family of the defeated prince.
2. When trouble is sensed ahead of time it can be easily remedied, if you wait for it to show itself, it is to late.
3. Whoever is responsible for another becoming powerful, ruins himself.
4. There is no surer way of keeping possesion than by devastation.
5. Men do you are harm either because they hate you or they fear you.
6. Violence must be inflicted once and for all, it must be over quickly.
7. Build your power through the people.
8. Power is maintained through religious institutions.
9. Neglect the art of war and you lose your state.
10. If you act virtuously, you will be undone by those who are not, make use of this or not according to need.
The above is just a small sampling of the lessons in this book. My review can not do this book justice, it is full of wisdom and life lessons. It is a guide book for business leaders and politicians. I strongly suggest adding this book to your home library and referring to it often.

Machiavelli's famous, and infamous, treatise on securing and holding power has doubtlessly influenced thousands of the Earth's most powerful men over the past centuries. Its legendary bluntness and brevity makes no premonitions of a scholarly or humanitarian endeavor: it is a cold and calculating study of human nature, and how men can best be ruled. The lessons taught apply equally to business and statesmanship, although their severity obviously must be toned down for most modern situations.

However, I am not setting out to comment on Machiavelli's work. Instead, I want to focus this review on the Modern Library paperback edition, with a translation prepared by Peter Constantine. This translation is by far one of the must lucid and accessible that I have come upon of any renaissance-era Italian work. Constantine's prose acquires an almost lyric quality in many passages, and the work is a pleasure to both read and study from. Such a style compliment's Machiavelli's content, objective, and intended audience nicely. Furthermore, Modern Library's paperback binding is sturdy, handsome, and an excellent value. Overall, I would strongly recommend this as the best available edition of The Prince.

As has been true the past 500 years, any would-be power monger's bedside table unadorned with a copy of this slim treatise is shamefully naked. This is an excellent translation by Peter Constantine, filled with helpful footnotes and capped by a solid bibliography.

It's remarkable how this centuries old treatise on politics remains as timely and insightful.

If you substitute the words "the government" whenever Machiavelli refers to "the prince," you may find yourself agreeing that his suggestions are reasonable when it comes to preserving order. Somewhat shocking...

"The Prince" by Machiavelli is one of the greatest classics of political science. Unfortunately, Machiavelli has developed a reputation for encouraging leaders to stop at nothing in order to get power. While it is true that Machiavelli advocates that leaders must sometimes do wrong in order to maintain power, he doesn't advocate doing wrong only to hold power. In Machiavelli's world view, the stability of a leader's power is actually a greater good for a society. It must be remembered that the world in which Machiavelli was writing in was a war-torn 16th century Italy. In this world, leaders would often change and this would lead to economic instability and violence. A strong leader would reduce this instability and bring prosperity to the citizens of his country.

Another thing that might surprise readers is that Machiavelli is a believer in the power of the people. As a staunch republican, he believed that the strongest base of power for a leader is the people that he leads. As you read through this book, you'll notice an interesting split between Machiavelli's opinion of individuals and of the people. Machiavelli is very critical of individuals--setting them up as people who can't be trusted and which must be held at arms-length. However, when talking of the people, he claims that a ruler cannot rule for long without the support of the people. In fact, he goes so far as to say that the support of the people is stronger than any fortress. The citizens of a state are it's strongest fortress.

There are many intriguing ideas presented in "The Prince". No doubt you'll be able to find something that applies to your situation. I highly recommend this especially to anyone involved with people management whether in business or in school.

It's a little absurd to review a classic, I suppose. But I have time.

Having read a lot of Nietzsche, Machiavelli isn't that appalling. If there's anything appalling about him, it's the near *innocence* with which he endorses hypocrisy. The gist is that it's wise to be thought virtuous, while being anything but. Then again, this book is written for a specific and select audience which I, and likely you, do not pertain to. We live in a republic. This is a book for tyrants.

In some respects, books like this and Sun Tzu's Art of War are a little comical: their popularity, at any rate. They have historical value. What value they have for us -- for individuals living in Western democracies -- I'm not sure. Unless you're putting together a mercenary army or trying to decide whether to build a fort when you take over your local county, you won't be likely to gain a lot of practical wisdom from this little book. What it might offer is a psychological disposition which you might try out. At your own risk.

Fortune is a woman, Machiavelli tells us, and if you want to master her you must beat and batter her. This is the swagger of the book, but it doesn't abound in it. Our ethicists will tell us this is pathological; the cynical will tell us this is leadership. Decide where you fall.

This combined with the Art of War, would create a most formidable leader. The Prince is a good book because it teaches by examples of what to do and what not to do, or rather look what this guy did and look what that guy did and this is what he should have done. This is a good book for a person looking for leadership philosophy. If you want war tactics, look elsewhere. If you want more specifics and a list, look at the review below.

Mark Twain once said that a classic is a book that everyone wants to say that they have read, but no one wants to read. For me, that appropriately describes this book.

After having heard for so long about "Machiavellian" leaders or rulers, I thought that I would gain some more in-depth understandings or insights into what that description means. I'm sorry to say that I did not.

I'm glad that I read it, mostly so that I can truly say that I have read it...not because I enjoyed it or found great insight or wisdom from it.