Introducing Machiavelli (Introducing...(Totem))

Rating:
Summary: Great introduction!
Review: I knew very little about Machiavelli before reading this amusing illustrated book. I had heard many 'negative' remarks about him, but just like Nietzsche, Machiavelli is not at all that simple. A fascinating character with much to say that is still quite relevant to our world today. I will definitely go on to read Machiavelli's books. The cartoon sequence featuring Mussolini and Gramsci in a dialog moderated by old Nick was great. Go out and get this book!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book - Machiavelli as you never knew him
Review: I picked this up from a sorting shelf this afternoon, and I am very very glad I did so. This book introduces you to Machiavelli's life and ideas, and then deftly compares his writings to contemporary and recent history. The "running commentary" by Machiavell is fascinating. It's opened my eyes to just how switched-on Machiavelli was, and how earnest and well-intentioned. I'm definitely going to be reading more about Machiavelli - indeed, this book was so good I'm considered changing out of science and into arts to pursue the topic more closely!

Rating:
Summary: WARNING:this is NOT Machiavelli but leftist propaganda
Review: Less then half of the book is about the life or philosophy of this great thinker. More then half the book is leftist propaganda disguised as objective reasoning obviously intended to indoctrinate the novice - its intended audience. One example should suffice. Margaret Thatcher is made to say: "There is no such thing as society. There are individual men and women and there are families." Machiavelli then responds: "Nothing I ever wrote was worse - this is a republican nightmare and a sure recipe for social and political disaster!" If you do not recoil from this exchange then you have already been indoctrinated. Quickly pick up John Locke or the Federalist Papers to recover. Then help the young readers of this book recover.

Rating:
Summary: WARNING:this is NOT Machiavelli but leftist propaganda
Review: Less then half of the book is about the life or philosophy of this great thinker. More then half the book is leftist propaganda disguised as objective reasoning obviously intended to indoctrinate the novice - its intended audience. One example should suffice. Margaret Thatcher is made to say: "There is no such thing as society. There are individual men and women and there are families." Machiavelli then responds: "Nothing I ever wrote was worse - this is a republican nightmare and a sure recipe for social and political disaster!" If you do not recoil from this exchange then you have already been indoctrinated. Quickly pick up John Locke or the Federalist Papers to recover. Then help the young readers of this book recover.

Rating:
Summary: Great for Machiavelli Beginners.
Review: Many people will read the Prince, The Discourses, or the Art of War and not know what the hell Machiavelli was talking about. I picked this book up, and right away I figured the other books out. This is a required reading if you need to read the Prince, or the other books by Machiavelli.

Rating:
Summary: Great introduction!
Review: Now that McCanles' _Discourse of Il Principe_ is out of print, this is the most readable and insightful analysis / synthesis of Machiavellian thought available. The author catches the dialectical nuances of Machiavelli's thought exactly. But the joy of the text comes from the comparisons between Machiavelli and contemporary figures, e.g., Antonio Gramsci, Benito Mussolini, Margaret Thatcher, Bill Clinton, etc. Must read!