"There is something stimulating in Machiavelli's forthrightness. Reading him, we are
brought face to face, as nowhere else so vividly, with a question that few philosophers had dared to
discuss: is statesmanship bound by morality?"Will Durant, author of The Story of Civilization

Here is the world's most famous master plan for seizing and holding power. Astonishing in its candor,
The Prince is a disturbingly realistic and prophetic work on what it takes to be a prince, a king,
a president.

When, in 1512, Machiavelli was removed from his post in his beloved Florence, he resolved to set down
a treatise on leadership that was practical, not idealistic. The prince he envisioned would be unencumbered
by ordinary ethical and moral values. Through the years, The Prince has been misunderstood to the
extent that Machiavelli's name has become synonymous with unscrupulous political behavior. However, it
remains essential reading as the ultimate book on power politics. Included are selections from Machiavelli's
Discourses upon the First Ten Books of Titus Livy.