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The Prince cover art

The Prince

By: Nicolo Machiavelli
Narrated by: Ian Richardson
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Summary

How remarkable that an Italian living in the 15th and 16th centuries should lend his name to a word still in common usage in the English language today. Nicolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) wrote only one major work as a gift for his ruling Prince, Lorenzo de Medici. Machiavelli held office as a senior civil servant for 14 years until the downfall of the Republic in 1512. No longer officially employed to impart advice, instead Machiavelli poured out his ideas and resentment in his writings. The Prince as remained a prominent classic ever since; valued for its shrewd psychological insight, powerful words, and prophetic quality. And even today, it has never lost its power to shock and influence. Ian Richardson's formidable reading of this modern unabridged translation is an accessible and entertaining way in to a truly compelling world view.
Original translation in 1908 by W.K. Marryatt, updated by Alan Petrides in 1995.
Public Domain (P)2005 CSA Telltapes Ltd

What listeners say about The Prince

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Machiavelli is Alive!

One of the first books I read for fun (as opposed to academically) was ?The Prince?. At the time it came across as crisp & pithy, but more like a manual for politics than a living, breathing text (similar to Sun Tzu's ?The Art of War?).

The fantastic thing about this Audio book is that it brings the cadences of ?The Prince? to life. Whereas the book is pretty much dredged for advice & the anecdotes are disgarded, Ian Richardson's presence forces you to engage with his story & with the fascinatingly varied life of Machiavelli. As the other reviewer has said 'the late Ian Richardson of House of Cards fame is exactly the right voice for this piece'. I would add that his qualities as an actor bring clarity & vivid detail to what is otherwise a political textbook.

And what did Machiavelli live through? Some of the most Interesting times (in all senses!) in Medieval Italian politics, when the Pope, Venetia, France & Spain all vied for dominance of Italy (& all eventually failed in some regard). It is in this backdrop provides fruitful material for Machiavelli to dissect. At each stage Machiavelli states how the states work, what things they did right & what failures lead to their downfall.

And the best part was the ending, where he appeals for a united Italy. In the book this comes over rather plainly, but with Ian Richardson's compelling reading, you really feel the depth of feeling that Machiavelli wished to convey.

My one criticism is that the intense analysis is not ideal if you?re listening in the car. To understand the analysis fully it needs your full attention.

So, definitely a worthwhile purchase & a valuable insight into the passion & intensity of one of history's greatest political commentators. If you like this particular one, then I thoroughly recommend Dawkins' reading of ?On The Origin of Species?. It is always good to hear dry non-fiction brought to life by a narrator.
Why?
Only a true Machiavellian would understand...

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17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Best audio version.

I've listened to upwards of 10 versions of this book. This is by far the best.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Rather specialized interest

I was disappointed that I didn't enjoy this book to the end. It is excellently read by Ian Richardson, but after a while it becomes rather repetitive in the philosophy of the nature of government and for the modern reader/listener, if not well-versed in classical history, many of the illustrations from that era of history are unhelpful.
I should imagine the book would be more interesting to those who study politics and philosophy.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent Francis Urquhart's Narration

Narrated by Ian Richardson, or Francis Urquhart from BBC House of Cards
Excellent, powerful & posh accent & performance

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A medieval self help book

Step back in time for three hour a see how best to run a country, with the most famous of all political advisor. Short enough to listen to in one session, with enough tips to help you through life, I kid you not, in this book you can see how it could help you think different whether through work or home, it's not all about stabbing someone in the back

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Boring

The narration is pretty good, however, the story itself is very boring. It is difficult to follow it since its content is about politics.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

sublime ++

from start to finish,
just love it..

more of that kind of style we need in this era

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Terrific

Ian Richardson helps bring alive one of the most famous political books of the last millennium, it is well worth the purchase!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great narrator on an old classic

The books a classic but the narration on this has done it a true justice

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Wise observations.

As a gift to a new Prince these observations must have been like mana from heaven.

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