Harvey C. Mansfield, Jr. Ordine dei libri (cronologico)

Voltaire said, "Machiavelli taught Europe the art of war; it had long been practiced, without being known." For Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527), war was war, and victory the supreme aim to which all other considerations must be subordinated. The Art of War is far from an anachronism—its pages outline fundamental questions that theorists of war continue to examine today, making it essential reading for any student of military history, strategy, or theory. Machiavelli believed The Art of War to be his most important work.

'The Prince' is a 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. In 'The Prince' he envisioned would be unencumbered by ordinary ethical and moral values; his prince would be man and beast, fox and lion.