Machiavelli continues to fascinate me (and other readers) with his analysis of Government and the behavior of people in power. Patrick Boucheron spent a summer reading Machiavelli and pondering the “lessons” of The Prince. Few books have the power to speak to the Future for hundred of years like The Prince.

Machiavelli died in 1527, yet his ideas live on into the 21st Century. Patrick Boucheron, in a series of short 2-4 page essays, explores Machiavelli’s ideas in clear, accessible prose. Mixed in with the consideration of ideas is a series of conjectures about Machiavelli’s life and how events shaped his thoughts.

I enjoyed Machiavelli: The Art of Teaching People What to Fear after reading dozens of denser, much longer books on Machiavelli. This slim–150 page–book presents a series of inquires into Machiavelli’s writings that make sense. I found Boucheron’s scrutiny and reasoning very revealing. GRADE: A

Translated from the French by Willard Wood
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction — 1
YOUTH
1.The seasons — 15
2. Machiavellianism — 19
3. 1469, time returns — 23
4. A father’s ambition — 27
5. Story of a dangerous book — 31
A TIME FOR ACTION
6. Suddenly savonarola — 39
7. A young man in politics — 43
8. Travel — 47
9. The cutting edge of language — 51
10. Coup d’etat — 55
AFTER DISASTER
11. An exile’s letter — 61
12. How to read The Prince — 65
13. To conquer and preserve — 69
14. Evil in politics — 73
15. State of emergency — 77
POLITICS OF WRTING
16. The comedy of power — 83
17. Machiavelli the joker — 87
18. Politics of obscenity — 91
19. The courage to name — 95
20. The political art of taking a position — 99
REPUBLIC OF DISAGREEMENTS
21.What is a republic? — 105
22. In praise of disagreement — 109
23. We are disarmed — 113
24. Violence in politics — 117
25. The end does not justify the means — 121
NEVER TOO LATE
26. Writing history — 127
27. Is it too late? — 131
28. 1527, end of a world — 135
29. Anatomy of a ghost — 139
30. Philosophizing in a storm — 143
Reading Machiavelli — 147
Image Credits — 155