The Prince - Unabridged

New York: Dver Publicaitons, Inc. - Doveer Thrift Edition, 1992. Trade Paperback. Very Good. 5 1/4" X 8 1/4. Kennedy, Paul E. - Cover. 71 Pages. Translated from the Italian. No marks or stamps and a faultless interiior text. One of the pioneering texts of political science, The Prince was written by the Florentine statesman and writer Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527), stands among the most original and lasting achievements of Italian Renaissance thought. Conceived as a treatise in the manner of Aristotle on the acquisition and maintenance of political power, Machiavellis work analyzes examples from antiquity as well as the contemporary Italian political scene; using these precedents to disclose and buttress his reasoned convictions on the nature of successful rule. Although frequently criticized for eschewing moral standards in favor of practical expedience, The Prince in fact owes much of its slackness of principle to the tempestuous political epoch in which it was written. An unbiased reading of Machiavellis work discloses less a blueprint for tyranny than a patriotic (albeit pragmatic) attempt to engender political unity on the Italian peninsula during an age of civic chaos.