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• National Book Award Finalist for Translation (1978)

First published in 1532, several years after Machiavelli's death, The Prince immediately fired a debate which has raged until the present day. It has variously been described as the first work to analyse the role of the political élite; as the book which established the independence of politics from theology; as an early formulation of the political 'myth' required to galvanize apolitical masses into revolutionary action; as a practical rule-book containing timeless precepts for the diplomat; and, most frequently, as the handbook of evil. Certainly it is a work of the greatest originality, based upon Machiavelli's first-hand experience as an emissary of the Florentine Republic to the courts of Europe. He provides an analysis of the means -- often violent -- by which political power is seized and retained, and the circumstances in which it is lost. His treatment of major philosophical and political issues, especially the relationship between public deeds and private morality, added a dimension of incisive realism to traditional discourse on the nature of the State. Above all, The Prince provides a remarkably uncompromising picture of the true nature of power, no matter in what era or by whom it is exercised.

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