Tim Parks

Niccolò Machiavelli

Niccolò Machiavelli's brutally uncompromising manual of statecraft, The Prince is translated and edited with an introduction by Tim Parks in Penguin Classics.

As a diplomat in turbulent fifteenth-century Florence, Niccolò Machiavelli knew how quickly political fortunes could rise and fall. The Prince, his tough-minded, pragmatic handbook on how power really works, made his name notorious and has remained controversial ever since. How can a leader be strong and decisive, yet still inspire loyalty in his followers? When is it necessary to break the rules? Is it better to be feared than loved? Examining regimes and their rulers the world over and throughout history, from Roman Emperors to renaissance Popes, from Hannibal to Cesare di Borgia, Machievalli answers all these questions in a work of realpolitik that still has shrewd political lessons for today.

Tim Parks's acclaimed contemporary translation renders Machiavelli's no-nonsense original as alarming and enlightening as when it was first written. His introduction discusses Machiavelli's life and reputation, and explores the historical background to the work.

Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) was born in Florence, and served the Florentine republic as a secretary and second chancellor, as ambassador and foreign policy-maker. When the Medici family returned to power in 1512 he was suspected of conspiracy, imprisoned and tortured and forced to retire from public life. His most famous work, The Prince, was written in an attempt to gain favour with the Medicis and return to politics.

The prince

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The Prince

The complete text of Machiavelli's best-known work, along with excerpts from some of his other writings and letters, and critical essays by J. R. Hale, Felix Gilbert, Leo Strauss, and others

Boka er et av verdenshistoriens mest berømte verker. Med Machiavellis betraktninger, begynner moderne politisk filosofi i Europa. Betraktningene han gir uttrykk for i denne boka, er egne livserfaringer fra renessansens Europa. Boka inneholder også Isaiah Berlins essay Machiavellis originalitet.

Niccolò Machiavelli's 'The Prince' is widely regarded as one of the most influential books on politics, especially on the acquisition, perpetuation and use of political power. Despite being written in 1513, the theories expressed are still considered shrewd and insightful.

Napoleon, Mussolini, Voltaire, even Mafia man John Gotti - they all read Machiavelli's The Prince. Philosophers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, David Hume and Adam Smith were influenced by it. And the book's ideas led to the term Machiavellian entering the language. But the influence of The Prince has reached far beyond the world of politics, with business and management gurus applying Machiavelli's ideas to corporate strategy: what was true for princes then, can be applied by leaders today. Machiavelli himself was a Florentine politician and diplomat who admired and knew Cesare Borgia, and was himself a victim of torture by the Medici family. 
Written in the early 16th century, The Prince is a treatise is on how princes can not only best gain, but maintain power. He suggests how princes can avoid being hated but remain being feared by their people, he advocates pragmatic realism against political idealism, he encourages ambition, he defends evil and explains through classical and Renaissance examples which princes are the most successful. Of immense importance to politicians and corporate leaders, The Prince is a classic text richly deserving this exquisite edition.

George Bull

The Prince shocked Europe on publication with its ruthless tactics for gaining absolute power and its abandonment of conventional morality. Niccolò Machiavelli came to be regarded as some by an agent of the Devil and his name taken for the intriguer 'Machevill' of Jacobean tragedy. For his treatise on statecraft Machiavelli drew upon his own experience of office under the turbulent Florentine republic, rejecting traditional values of political theory and recognizing the complicated, transient nature of political life. Concerned not with lofty ideals, but with a regime that would last, The Prince has become the Bible of realpolitik, and still retains its power to alarm and to instruct. 
 
In this edition Machiavelli's tough-minded and pragmatic Italian is preserved in George Bull's clear, unambiguous translation, while Anthony Grafton's introduction depicts Machiavelli's world of power struggles and intrigue, and discusses his role as political teacher of Europe. 
 
Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) was born in Florence, and served the Florentine republic as a secretary and second chancellor, as ambassador and foreign policy-maker. When the Medici family returned to power in 1512 he was suspected of conspiracy, imprisoned and tortured and forced to retire from public life. His most famous work, The Prince, was written in an attempt to gain favour with the Medicis and return to politics.

Machiavelli's Prince is a primer on powerWritten during the Italian Renaissance, Niccolo Machiavelli's astute observations on how to read people and situations, especially for acquiring and maintaining political power, is a classic primer for politicians and business leaders alike. Whether you approach this reading for its historical significance or choose to apply this knowledge toward achieving success in your own life, you will be enriched.This elegantly designed clothbound edition features an elastic closure and a new introduction.

Classic guide to acquiring and maintaining political power is refreshing in its directness, yet often disturbing in its cold practicality. Starkly relevant to the political upheavals of the 20th century, this calculating prescription for power remains today, nearly 500 years after it was written, a timely and startling lesson in the practice of autocratic rule.