Customer Reviews

The Prince

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The idea of "reviewing" this is more than a little silly -- it's arguably the most influential non-religious work of all time -- but I thought a few comments & historical notes might still be worthwhile.

"The Prince" was essentially the first work of political realism in Western thought -- the first work of Western political philosophy that concerned itself not with the ideal government (as Plato had done in his _Republic_) but with the practical realities of getting and holding power. To describe the impact and influence of that willingness, that first notion that conventional morality might not be the best guide to success, would be as impossible a task as trying to summarize the influence of Galileo. Napoleon is rumored to have written extensive annotations to this book; Stalin allegedly kept a copy on his nightstand. Half of Shakespeare's villains (Iago, Richard III, etc.) derive their character in whole or part from this text.

Most of this book is extraordinarily controversial, even today, yet still fundamentally difficult to argue against; there's a reason the Catholic Church kept it on the _Index Librorum Prohibitorum_ for centuries. If you're looking for food for thought, it's here.

This particular kindle edition is fairly good; the text is cleanly presented with few typographical or scanning errors, and the translator has clearly made a significant effort to present the text as accurately as possible in a modern translation, with several footnotes detailing possible alternate translations of particular words, etc. In addition to the text of _The Prince_, this edition also includes two shorter historical works by Machiavelli, "Descriptions of the Methods Adopted by the Duke Valentino When Murdering Vitellozzo Vitelli, Oliverotto da Fermo, the Signor Pagolo, and the Duke di Gravina Orsini," and "The Life of Castruccio Castracani of Lucca." ("Duke Valentino" is an alternate name for Cesare Borgia). Both additional texts are, in essence, case studies of how contemporary historical figures achieved success by acting according to the precepts which Machiavelli outlines in the main body of the text, and as such are very useful and interesting companion reads.

As a final note, if anyone has recommendations for histories of Italy in this time period, please link me to them in a comment -- after reading this, I want to read more about the era. Thanks!

This review is of the (currently free) Kindle edition of The Prince.

As others have stated at much greater length and with far greater eloquence, this is one of the most important books of political thought and philosophy ever written, and a truly timeless classic. As such, the fact that it's available for free on Kindle makes this a terrific deal, worth every single penny and many more. All the usual conveniences of Kindle applies here: very fast to download via Whispernet, the handiness of being able to annotate and highlight important passages, bookmarking pages you want to reference again later, etc. The slickness of the Kindle format and capabilities plus the inherit worthiness of the book itself easily nets 4 stars.

It's been about forever since I last read The Prince, plus I don't really know anything about Italian, so I'm not really fit to talk about the quality of the translation. Suffice it to say that it's a fairly easy book to read and make sense of, but again I can't speak to how true this particular edition is to its source material.

Unfortunately, there are a few problems with this edition of The Prince that need to be mentioned, and which in the end detract a little from the overall score. The first and biggest is in the formatting of the book. In short, it looks like a plain-text notepad file converted into a Kindle book; there's no navigable Table of Contents or chapter breaks as with most commercial Kindle books, and the book itself flows from the title page almost directly into the background about Machiavelli and then from there straight into The Prince itself, with scarcely a break in the text to mark the transition. For someone well versed in The Prince this probably isn't much of an issue, but for the more casual reader it's a little distracting and may confuse some. The other problem is more one of personal preference, which is that there's no annotations alongside the text to put specific lines into context. Again, for someone well versed in Machiavelli's life and the real-world examples he uses throughout The Prince, this probably isn't a significant issue. For more casual readers, having a little context for the examples he uses would be helpful from time to time.

In the end, you get what you pay for, and as the above-reviewed version of The Prince was free, I can't complain too much. It's brilliant, it's relevant, and it's very convenient to have on my Kindle. What more do you want for the price?

First off, if I am reviewing The Prince in and of itself I give it 5 stars, but I'm going to dedicate this review to this particular translations and Kindle edition.

I'm not a huge fan of the translation. It's definitely readable and captures the meanings and themes of the text, but I feel that there are better translations available.

The formatting as far as Kindle goes is decent, but everything kind of just runs together. I can't really complain too much for it being a free edition, but specialized Kindle formatting is definitely lacking.

I was quite hopeful to have a copy of "The Prince" on my kindle, but as is often the case, you get what you pay for. And this edition is free.

Other reviewers have mentioned that the translation is not the best. And indeed, my hope was to insert highlights from my hard copy to the kindle edition and eventually toss away the crusty yellow text which I picked up in Japan. Instead, I found that the Daniel Donno text (Bantam) was clear and aphoristic; the Marriot (Kindle/online) text was muddled, and subsumed in a larger narrative.

Example:
Bantam: (Chapter V) "A city which is used to freedom is more easily controlled by means of its own citizens than by any other, provided one chooses not to destroy it."

Kindle: "... and therefore he who would keep a city accustomed to freedom will hold it more easily by the means of its own citizens than in any other way."

Italian: E più facilmente si tiene una città usa a vivere libera con il mezzo de' sua cittadini, che in alcuno altro modo, volendola preservare.

I will not deign to judge the actual translation from Italian to English; rather, I judge the Bantam edition English as much easier to understand. And while I would not typically judge prose because it rings well as a sound bite, I think Machiavelli's intent, as well as the nature of the book as a list of rules (thoughts) for the successful prince, lends itself more to aphorism.

The Marriot translation, on which this kindle edition is copied, can be found at About.com ([...]). While the translation is not better because it is found on a website instead of the kindle, at least one can click toggle back and forth between English and the original Italian.

If you want a good text for study, buy the The Prince (Bantam Classics). Of course, you'd have to pay for it.

Though well intentioned, the Product Description does say: "This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers." Again, you get what you pay for. In fact, that's what editors get paid for.

Lastly, my one star is given because of the translation, not to "the prince."

I have to agree with T. Simons previously - The idea of "reviewing" this is kind of silly, but I thought I'd put in a quick note for those looking to read it on the Kindle. If you haven't read it in any form yet, do so: I cannot more strongly recommend any text for political insight, written in a timeless, easy-to-grasp way.

This edition reads well, with few errors I noticed (and I'm pretty nit-picky) with unobtrusive, helpful footnotes and translation notes. While I'm sure the two additional texts at the end are helpful for an in-depth review of the thinking of the time, I didn't take much from them, but I didn't download it for them, so no harm done.

Overall, a great one to have on your Kindle - short, concise, and classic. I'm keeping this on-board as a reference text.

How to rule the world when the rest of the world is ruled by wimps! Not really, but this book proves that strong, aggressive leaders are the only ones who can get things done (even look at more recent history - Winston Churchill and Neville Chamberlain are a perfect example). This book not only talks about how to reign supreme, but how to avoid scandal, etc. Perfect for the young ambitious politicians and business executives out there. This edition in particular is good too because it has several things most others don't - a lengthy introduction explaining Machiavelli's character, and some recorded history by Machiavelli (History of the Duke Valentino's Conquests, Life of Castruccio Castracani) all in all a good read, and a word of advice to those ambitious and forgetful - write commentaries after every chapter, it helps with language skills and you'll have philosophical points on paper an easier to access.

This book is considered classic for a reason. It is almost encyclopedic in its analysis of power situations. Marriott's translation of Machiavelli is fluent and nuanced. The supplemental material in this ebook on Machiavelli's life puts his writings in context, and shows that his empirical tone is genuine and informed by direct experience.

most everyone is familiar with the prince and machiavelli. it is highly influential, although of arguable influence to catherine de medici. rather, it as snowballed in its importance. frankly, political leaders have always done the things that are being done today, only now they have machiavelli to point to. he makes brilliant, astute, cunning observations throughout. sometimes it is with greater discipline than 21st century americans are used to when we read translations of, say italian works from centuries ago. nevertheless, stick with it!!! you shall not be disappointed!!! this writing comes highly recommended and i give it a solid "A". enjoy this free kindle product!

I love this little book. I only wish Mr. Machiavelli had written more - much more. One word says it all: honest. This book tells it like it is. Not for the politically correct, but for those who appreciate an honest take on politics and government. If you love books that say it like it is, no matter the politics, then you'll likely enjoy this small book. Amazingly refreshing for 1530 AD. Like I said above, I only wish Mr. Machiavelli had written more.

Arguably the most misunderstood book ever written, Niccolo Machiavelli's THE PRINCE is not the Satanic bible it is reputed to be. It is, quite simply, a study of political power; how to get it, how to use it, how to keep it. It is indeed a frightfully amoral book, but I would argue that Machiavelli has been blamed for the color of the kettle, which he is merely describing, as if he himself made it that way. To my mind, a study of power, especially political power in postMedieval Europe, can't help but be amoral.

Anyway. In THE PRINCE, Machiavelli uses historical examples going back to the Roman times and before to explain why certain politico-military leaders triumphed, why others failed, and why some did a lot of the former before they ultimately did the latter. Where he has generally run afoul of critics, especially the more sensitive (or "principled" sorts) is that he tends to view the tactics of leadership in absolutely cold-blooded, ajudgemental terms. Cruelty and massacre, mercy and liberalism, greed, generosity, loyalty, and betrayal, all are assessed according to their effectiveness and the likelihood of achieving the desired result. Nothing is "good" or "bad" in and of itself, except as in it allows or hinders a prince to gain, hold and expand his power. This is generally summed up as preaching "the ends justify the means", but that is generally a phrase used by people who haven't read the book. Firstly, Machiavelli isn't one one to justify anything; justification is for apologists and people with bad consciences, and he is neither. Second,
he explicity states in his work that too much cruelty, betrayal, murder, treaty-breaking, rapacity, and villainy are self-defeating; the tend to generate the very forces they are employed to destroy. The end, in other words, doesn't justify the means, it simply dictates them.

Obviously there is a great deal more to THE PRINCE than this thesis; Machiavelli spends a lot of time passing judgement on things like the use of mercenaries in an army, how best to run a territory which you have acquired by force as opposed to one you inherit by treaty, and all other other topics which were pressing on the leadership caste of the sixteenth century, some of which have no bearing on today's world. Taken as a whole, however, THE PRINCE remains a fascinating, timely and somewhat chilling study of political power, and should be required reading to anyone in a leadership position, from an assistant manager to an assistant secretary of state, president of the Elks to President of the United States. It contains a lot of wise counsel (such as Machiavelli's warning to "kingmakers" on their likely fate after the king takes power), and the fact that a lot of it is unpleasant to hear doesn't make any of it less true, or at least less arguable. Seems to me that of the strangest things about political correctness (thought control, as Orwell rightly called it) is the constant demand that we deny reality rather than say something offensive, impolitic or simply barbarous. That we lie rather than put forth observations or arguments which are accurate but too brutal for the sensitive person to face. Machiavelli's great sin - in my mind - is not what he actually wrote, but rather his refusal to lie about the nature of power politics, which are exactly what he says they are. In an age when call-and-response has replaced discourse, buzzwords pass for profundity, and the hot air coming out of Washington is at 450.5 degrees Fahrenheit and rising, it seems to me that honesty is a better policy, even when it's painful to hear.