Books by Niccolo Machiavelli
Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) was a Florentine-born diplomat and writer. He is best known for his book The Prince, which should not be read in isolation from his other writings or historical events in Italy at the time, according to historian Kenneth Bartlett. If you’re interested in his life, Be Like the Fox: Machiavelli’s Lifelong Quest for Freedom is a good place to start.
Discourses on Livy
by Niccolo Machiavelli, trans. Harvey Mansfield and Nathan Tarcov
“With The Discourses, we hear Machiavelli’s real voice, without any sense of further purpose or motive in writing it. Here is Machiavelli the humanist, commenting on the rise and fall of the Roman Republic. And I think his insight into into republican liberty is just extraordinary throughout the book. Every discourse within it contains a jewel, by way of an intuition, an idea, or an argument – and offers endless inspiration for further argument.” Read more...
The best books on Italian Political Philosophy
Guglielmo Verdirame, Lawyer
“The Prince is an occasion piece. It was written in 1513 after the Medici had been returned to power. Machiavelli was out of a job—he’d been tortured and fired—and couldn’t afford to live in Florence. And his obsession with politics and international affairs was such that he couldn’t let go. So he started a correspondence with his friend Francesco Vettori and, from that correspondence, arose The Prince. 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 Italian Renaissance Books
Kenneth Bartlett, Historian
Interviews where books by Niccolo Machiavelli were recommended
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Socrates in Love: The Making of a Philosopher
by Armand D'Angour -
2
How to Live: A Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer
by Sarah Bakewell -
3
The Complete Philosophy Files
by Stephen Law -
4
The Prince
by Niccolo Machiavelli -
5
The Path: A New Way to Think About Everything
by Christine Gross-Loh & Michael Puett
Philosophy Books to Take On Holiday, recommended by Nigel Warburton
Philosophy Books to Take On Holiday, recommended by Nigel Warburton
Sea, sun and Socrates: what more could you want for the perfect holiday? Our philosophy editor Nigel Warburton, whose own book has had considerable success as a beach read, unveils his philosophy book holiday reading list.
The Best Italian Renaissance Books, recommended by Kenneth Bartlett
If you’re going to look at the past, you have to understand the people who were living there and see the world through their eyes, says historian and Renaissance specialist Kenneth Bartlett. He picks the best books written during the Italian Renaissance.
The best books on Negotiation, recommended by Jonathan Powell
The former chief of staff to Tony Blair, Jonathan Powell, tells us about his experience of negotiating in Northern Ireland, and explains why it’s important never to lose your temper except on purpose
The best books on Lobbying, recommended by Mark Bloomfield
Is lobbying always a bad thing? Or can it be used to effect social change? Washington insider Mark Bloomfield gives a lobbyist’s perspective. He picks the best books on lobbying.
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History of the French Revolution
by Jules Michelet -
2
The French Revolution
by Hippolyte Taine -
3
Democracy in America
by Alexis de Tocqueville -
4
Reflections on the Revolution in France
by Edmund Burke -
5
The Complete Essays of Montaigne
Michel de Montaigne (trans. by Donald M. Frame) -
6
The Prince
by Niccolo Machiavelli
The best books on The French Revolution, recommended by Peregrine Worsthorne
The best books on The French Revolution, recommended by Peregrine Worsthorne
For anybody wanting to go into politics a mastery of the French Revolution is an enormous help and a knowledge of history essential, says Peregrine Worsthorne, the columnist and former editor of Britain’s Sunday Telegraph. He recommends the best books on the French Revolution, both for and against.
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1
Discourses on Livy
by Niccolo Machiavelli, trans. Harvey Mansfield and Nathan Tarcov -
2
The New Science of Giambattista Vico: Unabridged Translation of the Third Edition (1744)
by Giambattista Vico, trans. Max Harold Fisch and Thomas Goddard Bergin -
3
The History of European Liberalism
by Guido De Ruggiero, trans. R. G. Collingwood -
4
Prison Notebooks
by Antonio Gramsci, trans. Joseph A. Buttigieg and Antonio Callari -
5
Liberalism and Democracy
by Norberto Bobbio, trans. Martin Ryle and Kate Soper
The best books on Italian Political Philosophy, recommended by Guglielmo Verdirame
The best books on Italian Political Philosophy, recommended by Guglielmo Verdirame
Italy has a rich tradition of political philosophy, producing a number of thinkers with both practical experience and a cosmopolitan outlook. Here Guglielmo Verdirame, Professor of International Law at King’s College London, talks us through the five most important Italian political philosophers, and the best books to read to understand their work.