Machiavelli: The Prince [Paperback]

This short slender work marks a landmark in Western Civilization and made the name of the author a synonym for Satan. In 26 short, crisp essays, Niccolo Machiavelli lays out the precepts whereby a nation may be subjugated to the will of a leader, whether prince, dicator or president. Machiavelli was born in 1469 and served the republic city-state of Florence as a high-level diplomat and minister of miliatary affairs for 13 years, undertaking at least 24 crucial foreign missions. When the Medici returned to power, Machiavelli was exiled from the city and he turned his mind to authoring a massive treatise titled THE REPUBLIC. Out of that larger work, these short essays were condensed. Machiavelli had one goal in so creating THE PRINCE; he desired the unification of Italy.

However, he authored the first and one of the best works of political science ever penned.

Unlike previous works of political thought, THE PRINCE is not philosophical in nature. The author is focused on the obtaining and the maintaining of power. "Morality" is not the intent. See chapter 15:

"A man who wishes to make a profession of goodness in everything must necessarily come to grief among so many who are not good. Therefore it is necessary for a prince...to learn how not to be good, and to use this knowledge and not use it, according to the necessity of the case."

Or chapter 18: "Thus it well to seem merciful, faithful, humane, sincere, religious and also to be so; but you must have the mind so disposed that when it is needful to be otherwise you may be able to to change to the opposite qualities."

The language of this is quaint and a little stilted. It stems from the translation done by Luigi Ricci in 1903, now in the public domain. Various revisions have been done on this basic translation and there are newer and fresher translations, each with their own merits and each costing a little more. Machiavelli backs up his proverbs with allusions to classical history and to events contemporary to his own time, but while the examples he cites are dated and obscure the thoughtful reader will easily be able to see these principles working in our modern era.

For example, Machiavelli argues in Chapter 17, that while fear and love are both powerful motivations for men to support a leader, love comes from the people and the leader can not control it. It is easier to inspire fear. An American reading this argument some 470 years later can reflect on how the political opponents of George W. Bush were vilified by political smear campaigns, how the wife of a policy critic can be exposed as a CIA agent to the risk of other's lives and how a decorated war hero can be "Swiftboated".

I recommend this edition because it is cheap. The formality of the language seems appropriate and simple statements are expressed with simple grace: "The first impression that one gets of a ruler and of his brains is from seeing the men that he has about him." (Chapter 22) However, shop around and if a fresher translation takes your fancy, do not hesitate. THE PRINCE will do more to explain the conduct of those in power and enable you to judge them, better than any number of television ads. It should be required reading in any political season.

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.

The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli is actually on the list of books that are banned by the administration of the prison where I am incarcerated. Naturally, when I got a hold of an illicit copy, I just had to devour it - reading much of it under the cover of night when most C/Os are napping. I didn't see what the big deal was. The introduction helped to set the book in the proper historical context in which it was written, and I could see how the text could be construed as salacious. However, I found it to be less revolutionary than it was an objective and detached assessment of what the author perceived to be the best way to consolidate and keep hold of power once that ruling position has been attained. I can understand how his principles can be applied to various aspects of people's lives, and why some politicians reference it like their Bible, but I suppose I was expecting something more scandalous.