Rating: 
Summary: The man behind the smile
Review: "No man has been more misunderstood," some would say. Who truly is the man behind the famous smile of determination and challenge? Why would anyone advise a ruler to be deceitful? Viroli's Niccolo's Smile is one of few biographies on Niccolo Machiavelli which can help lead us to the answers of our most controversial questions about his life. The book starts off by stating Niccolo's date of birth, family life, and means of education. However, if you read closely about his education, the author helps unlink a clue for us behind the mystery of how Machiavelli was launched into his political career. In the middle of the book are the tales of Machiavelli's first and most important missions while he was second chancellor. Viroli also talks about the politician's most famous work which he's known for, The Prince. Here and there the author talks about Machiavelli's love life and hard times in life, including his banishment in 1513. Sadly, the book does have a depressing ending when it starts to unwind when the author tells the details of this poor man's, whose ideas were ahead of his time, last, depressing days.My favorite part of Niccolo's Smile was the chapter about Niccolo's banishment from Florence. I liked this chapter because it was written with such an amount of detail. To me, it seemed like the author interviewed Machiavelli because he knew Machiavelli's exact feelings during every minute of his expulsion from his native town. It was in this part of the book which made me feel the deepest sympathy for this man. Especially since Machiavelli's banishment was his punishment for committing a crime he was falsely accused for. Viroli's Niccolo's Smile was a slightly interesting read considering it was a biography. It taught me many new things behind the world of politics. It also showed me how depressing the life of a person misunderstood was. Though, I wouldn't recommend this book as a "free read" for kids my age, 11-13, because the chapter based on Machiavelli's love affairs isn't very appropriate for children under the age of 15. It was disturbing for me to read about Machiavelli's sick urges, plus those of his friends. Other than that, Niccolo's Smile was well-written. If anyone had to write a report on the life of Machiavelli this book would be first on my list of recommendations.
Rating:
Summary: The man behind the smile
Review: "No man has been more misunderstood," some would say. Who truly is the man behind the famous smile of determination and challenge? Why would anyone advise a ruler to be deceitful? Viroli's Niccolo's Smile is one of few biographies on Niccolo Machiavelli which can help lead us to the answers of our most controversial questions about his life. The book starts off by stating Niccolo's date of birth, family life, and means of education. However, if you read closely about his education, the author helps unlink a clue for us behind the mystery of how Machiavelli was launched into his political career. In the middle of the book are the tales of Machiavelli's first and most important missions while he was second chancellor. Viroli also talks about the politician's most famous work which he's known for, The Prince. Here and there the author talks about Machiavelli's love life and hard times in life, including his banishment in 1513. Sadly, the book does have a depressing ending when it starts to unwind when the author tells the details of this poor man's, whose ideas were ahead of his time, last, depressing days. My favorite part of Niccolo's Smile was the chapter about Niccolo's banishment from Florence. I liked this chapter because it was written with such an amount of detail. To me, it seemed like the author interviewed Machiavelli because he knew Machiavelli's exact feelings during every minute of his expulsion from his native town. It was in this part of the book which made me feel the deepest sympathy for this man. Especially since Machiavelli's banishment was his punishment for committing a crime he was falsely accused for. Viroli's Niccolo's Smile was a slightly interesting read considering it was a biography. It taught me many new things behind the world of politics. It also showed me how depressing the life of a person misunderstood was. Though, I wouldn't recommend this book as a "free read" for kids my age, 11-13, because the chapter based on Machiavelli's love affairs isn't very appropriate for children under the age of 15. It was disturbing for me to read about Machiavelli's sick urges, plus those of his friends. Other than that, Niccolo's Smile was well-written. If anyone had to write a report on the life of Machiavelli this book would be first on my list of recommendations.
Rating: 
Summary: Michiavelli's Frown
Review: A useful book, but it suffers the fate of too many translated works. The writing is flat, unemotional and strangely difficult to follow. Italian names trouble the English tongue and the narrative does not flow. Instead, the story jumps and jerks along as though someone edited it with a pair of tailor's scissors. For those of us not fortunate enough to have been born Italian (or to have sat in on Viroli's lectures), it would have been helpful to include a few maps and a glossary of the main characters and events. This book has an undeniable charm and wit to it and is a valuable addition to our understanding of the life and times of Niccolo Machiavelli. It does not, however, take the place of a more comprehensive biography. I thought the smile business was overdone and would have preferred to hear more about his frown. In a word or two, I found this book slightly frustrating to read. But it did help me see more of the man and less of the demon. I loved the adage "It is better to act and repent than not to act and regret" that Machiavelli used to repeat to his friends. It made me smile.
Rating: 
Summary: Flat, Dreary, by fermed
Review: How is it possible that an examination of this man's tumultuous life could turn out so dreadfully boring? I do not know, and it is perhaps best to assign such lack of excitement to the fact that this is a translated work. The book has many faults, but perhaps its greatest is the pervasive flat tone. The narrative has not peaks or valleys that might keep us emotionally or intellectually interested. Reading about Machiavelli being physically tortured by his political enemies carries about the same excitement value as his amorous adventures, which are about as moving as the accounting for the pay of his troops. I completed reading this book the way I would finish foul tasting medicine: not because I liked it but because it would probably do me good. And indeed it did: when I started the book I knew practically nothing about the life of Machiavelli, and now I do. The fact that it was a painful acquisition instead of a jolly one is a note that I pass to prospective readers of this book. The scholarship is good, the cover is pretty, and the title is fetching.
Rating: 
Summary: Portrait of the man.
Review: I walked away from reading this with a greater understanding of the man and his thoughts. This is a wonderful book, essential for anyone interested in politics.
Rating:
Summary: Rather light but enjoyable biography of Machiavelli
Review: Machiavelli has been unfairly portrayed as the unethical and ultimately immoral original proponent of "realpolitik". By contrast he was a strong patriot of his native Florence, a city-state surrounded by larger, more powerful political entities and forced to participate in various alliances and rivalry's in order to insure it's own political survival. Known more for "The Prince" (His other writings such as "Discourses on Livy" and "The Art of War" are not as well known) than anything else, Machiavelli was also a great supporter of Florence's republican form of government. He understood that a nation needed it's own citizen army rather than depend on foreign mercenaries or powers for its protection. This biography written by Maurizion Viroli takes us on a more personal journey through Machiavelli's life. We're exposed to his personal friendships and relationships which show him as a much more sympathetic and ultimately likeable individual. Understanding his position after his fall from office, one can see why he wrote "The Prince" for Lorenzo Medici. A well written and well translated biography, this is a good starter for anyone interested in the life an background of Machiavelli as well as a decent primer for the political scene of the beginnings of the Italian Wars of the sixteenth century, an event whose occurence is only now being realized as the real beginning of early modern europe.
Rating:
Summary: Rather light but enjoyable biography of Machiavelli
Review: Machiavelli has been unfairly portrayed as the unethical and ultimately immoral original proponent of "realpolitik". By contrast he was a strong patriot of his native Florence, a city-state surrounded by larger, more powerful political entities and forced to participate in various alliances and rivalry's in order to insure it's own political survival. Known more for "The Prince" (His other writings such as "Discourses on Livy" and "The Art of War" are not as well known) than anything else, Machiavelli was also a great supporter of Florence's republican form of government. He understood that a nation needed it's own citizen army rather than depend on foreign mercenaries or powers for its protection. This biography written by Maurizion Viroli takes us on a more personal journey through Machiavelli's life. We're exposed to his personal friendships and relationships which show him as a much more sympathetic and ultimately likeable individual. Understanding his position after his fall from office, one can see why he wrote "The Prince" for Lorenzo Medici. A well written and well translated biography, this is a good starter for anyone interested in the life an background of Machiavelli as well as a decent primer for the political scene of the beginnings of the Italian Wars of the sixteenth century, an event whose occurence is only now being realized as the real beginning of early modern europe.
Rating:
Summary: Lively, Frank and Entertaining
Review: Maurizio Viroli is a professor of politics at Princeton and i had the chance to take a class with him last year in which we read Machiavelli's 'The Prince' and his 'Discourses.' Viroli brings the same charm, wit, and enthusiasm to this book as he did to that class. The words and the language Viroli has mastered are clearly those of an Italian--and in fact, this trivial insight provides much of the liveliness of the book. Viroli traces the life of 'Il Machia' from his boyhood to his death at an old age. Through this political life, we see the rise and fall of the republic of Florence that Machiavelli was so keen on preserving, and some of the fascinating characters in Florentine history like Duke Valentino. We also get an original glimpse into Machiavelli's love life (Viroli thankfully refuses to censor the more carnal but revealing phrases in Machiavelli's correspondence), and philosophy of life itself. Overall, a fast-paced, generally pleasing read.
Rating:
Summary: Niccolo's Reality
Review: Quite good. Yeah, some people complain about it being boring, but I don't find it so. We're looking at somebody over 400 years ago. maybe things were boring then - This is a look at somebody who KNEW what was up in the world. Applies to present day times quite well. Machiavelli figured it out years ago. Well worth reading. If only our present day politicians could grasp it as well . . . .
Rating:
Summary: Pleasing revisionism
Review: This biography presents the full Machiavelli, not just the cynical philosopher of politics. The reader discovers many other facets of his sometimes lusty, sometimes ironic, sometimes mischevious personality. The book places Machiavelli in the context of local events current to his time. We can see how he was influenced by, and tried to influence, the politics of his day. Above all, this book conveys Machiavelli as a writer, more effective in offering advice than he was at managing events. Viroli's brief essays at the beginnings of some of his chapters are elegant works in themselves. A plan of Renaissance Florence would have been a useful addition.
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