The Prince

“If you want to get a perspective on how the politics of power and ruthlessness work, or simply see some of the thinking behind Game of Thrones, this short, slightly fragmentary book, written in the 16th century, is still the best around.” Read more...

Summer Reading 2019: Philosophy Books to Take On Holiday

Nigel Warburton, Philosopher

“It was a book about how to deal with the crisis of Italy after the French invasions. Machiavelli’s response, in The Prince, was that the only way Italy was going to maintain its independence, and freedom, and drive out the barbarians—which is a term he always used for northern Europeans—was to beat them at their own game, to be more violent, more vicious, more brutal, and more faithless” Read more...

The Best Renaissance Books

Kenneth Bartlett, Historian

“The reason this book is still read today is that, like Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Macbeth, it’s based on human nature.” Read more...

The best books on Negotiation

Jonathan Powell, Diplomats & Former Diplomat

“I studied political theory when I was in college and Machiavelli was always intriguing to me. It’s a description of the human character and in my profession, lobbying, which is all about influencing people, it’s important to get some insights into human nature. Obviously there’s a debate about what Machiavelli really meant: whether it was meant as a parody or satire.” Read more...

The best books on Lobbying

Mark Bloomfield, Nonprofit Leaders & Activist

“We’re almost reverting to the time when reading Machiavelli might be necessary” Read more...

The best books on The French Revolution

Peregrine Worsthorne, Journalist