Machiavellian: a person who adopts the principles recommended, or supposed to have been recommended, by Machiavelli in his treatise on statecraft; a person who practises expediency in preference to morality; an intriguer or schemer. Usu. derogatory.’
For more than five hundred years the name Machiavelli has resonated through the world of politics and power. He was an extraordinary man living in an extraordinary age: a brilliant thinker and theorist who was also a consumate diplomat. In this new biography of the Florentine political theorist and statesman, Michael White goes beyond our preconceptions to draw an objective picture of the author of THE PRINCE and THE ART OF WAR, who has been characterised for posterity as a corrupt, power-hungry demon whose works encouraged tyrants to kill and control. He does so by placing Machiavelli’s remarkable life in the context of the Renaissance and its luminaries, such as the Borgias and Leonardo da Vinci.
For more than five hundred years the name Machiavelli has resonated through the world of politics and power. He was an extraordinary man living in an extraordinary age: a brilliant thinker and theorist who was also a consumate diplomat. In this new biography of the Florentine political theorist and statesman, Michael White goes beyond our preconceptions to draw an objective picture of the author of THE PRINCE and THE ART OF WAR, who has been characterised for posterity as a corrupt, power-hungry demon whose works encouraged tyrants to kill and control. He does so by placing Machiavelli’s remarkable life in the context of the Renaissance and its luminaries, such as the Borgias and Leonardo da Vinci.
Newsletter Signup
By clicking ‘Sign Up,’ I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Hachette Book Group’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
Reviews
He [Machiavelli] has been painted as a corrupt, cruel, vindictive social commentator with little time for human emotion, but White successfully argues that Machiavelli is actually an author of remarkable foresight who manages to assess the Realpolitik of
[Machiavelli] was a great thinker and a greater artist, and Michael White has done as much as anyone could to convince us of his genius
White's great gift as a writer is his ability to blow life into seemingly stodgy material. Renaissance politics isn't everyone's cup of tea, but White makes it manageable without dumbing it down.
A fantastic historical read.