Product Description

'It is far safer to be feared than loved...' Machiavelli made his name notorious for centuries with "The Prince", his clever and cynical work about power relationships. The key themes of this influential, and ever timely, writer are that adaptability is the key to success and that effective leadership is sometimes only possible at the expense of moral standards.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #85967 in Books
• Published on: 2008-01-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 112 pages

Herald
`An essential handbook for those who intend to succeed'

Telegraph
`...recent events in the Balkans, MiddleEast and Africa show that, in parts of the world, it remains pertinent as ever.'

About the Author
Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) was born in Florence. He served the Florentine republic as a secretary and second chancellor, but was expelled from public life when the Medici family returned to power in 1512. His most famous work, The Prince, was written in an attempt to gain favour with the Medicis and return to politics.

Customer Reviews

Required reading!
Along with 'The Art of War' this is required reading for anybody embarking on a career of global domination.
A timeless classic that is surprisingly relevant to business today.

New Translation of the Prince
This is a new translation which was reviewed on BBC Radio 4 as the Book of the Week. The Great and the not so Good fought to review it. It was wrenched out of my hands recently by a famous Hollywood film producer, who was still looking for someone who could turn it into a decent film script. "How do you know about this"? she asked accusingly. A lover of BBC Channel 4, she had yet to tune into BBC Radio 4.

Machiavelli was commander of a mercenary army, hired by the Medicci Family, to take Pisa back. Mission accomplished he was subsequently imprisoned because as he posed too much of threat, to his masters. He decided to decant a lifetimes study of how great men come to and remain in power; as a gift. Written in a charming voice, not too ingratiating voice, the big plonker rejected it. Machiavelli was too clever by half; and the two hounds he had been given for hunting were far more fun.

Others saw the merit in it, and fortunately preserved it for us. Possibly the first self help book ever written, and if the Vatican had had its way, the last.

Psychopathic or extreme pragmatist, you decide about Machiavelli. He casually sizes up principalities for acquisition, like an asset stripper. He offers advice to both potential princes and their subjects. Written about five hundred years ago, it is astonishingly still true of life today. Is God up top pouring olive oil down the slope, while we struggle to push polenta up hill?

Read The Prince and your struggle with adversity, will be simplified.