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The Prince

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The Prince

By: Niccolò Machiavelli
Narrated by: Ian Richardson
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Machiavellian adj. elaborately cunning; scheming, unscrupulous.
Machiavellianism n. (N. dei Machiavello, Florentine statesman and political writer d. 1527, who advocated resort to morally questionable methods in the interests of the State).

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.
The Prince has remained a prominent classic ever since its publication in 1513; 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 played machiavellian Francis Urquhart in the hit TV series The House of Cards, To Play the King and The Final Cut. His formidable reading of this modern unabridged translation is an accessible and entertaining way in to a truly compelling world view.

 Political Science Politics & Government Royalty Inspiring
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Critic reviews

"A publishing bull's-eye."
"Rarely has the combination of reader and text been put to such explosive effect."
"Richardson is speaking one-to-one. He is personal, intimate, confidential. That is at it should be."
All stars
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A short but influential treatise on how to rule as the head of state. Whilst putting aside that Machiavelli believed Republics were the best way of ruling countries and that the most well known ideas "it is better to be feared than loved" are much moderated, stating that it is best to be loved and feared, but as not everyone will love you and all your citizens might fear you the prince should err on the side of fear, even using the Roman emperor Severus as an example of going too far.

Machiavelli leaves out the role of luck, stating it's like a river that floods, you can build defences and maybe survive it. However he leaves out the possibility of success by luck in a lot of the maxims he suggests.

When discussing fortresses he states that they are mostly useful for surviving a rebellion of the people which ignores a large amount of warfare where an enemy fortress can't be left in your rear to harass your supply lines.

His examples can be rather odd from a modern perspective, using Alexander the Great and Roman Emporers as well as minor 15th century Italian nobles as commonly known figures.

At one point when discussing leadership the examples of Moses, Theseus, Cyrus and Romulous are used, only one of whom isn't a mythological/ legendary figure.

The book ends with a call to arms with the time being right to unite Italy, which shows Machiavelli's forecasting to be a few centuries out.

Interesting Theory of Govenance

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This renaissance suppository for the Italian ruling class has long been a staple of the new university social science oeuvre - an unfinished opus that red-brickies swap shamelessly over the Chardonnay. Yes, it's all sounding a bit 80's now isn't it?
But still, we soldier on manfully and laugh along with Ian Richardson's pince-nez, pronunciation even if we can't fill in the referential gaps....'I've just finished re-reading Niccol? Machiavelli (1469-1527), the Italian historian, statesman, and political philosopher, whose amoral, but influential writings on statecraft have turned his name into a synonym for cunning and duplicity....those olives are delicious aren't they, how much did they manage to get for it in the end..? She was hoping for a lot more than that...'

Francis Urquhart's coda

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Ian Richardson is phenomenal! There cannot be a better reading of this classic in English. Good translation too. What a delight!

Legendary

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Brilliant reading of an interesting book. Performed in a way that you forget you are hearing a cynic arguing for the ends justifying immoral means.

Excellent narrator

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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...

Machiavelli is Alive!

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