An elegant introduction to this disturbing, incisive, many-sided thinker-and a reminder of why we must read him right now

This wise, witty, razor-sharp anatomy of Machiavelli demonstrates why the most notorious thinker of the Renaissance is the perfect companion for our own time

Packed with insights into how Machiavelli has been construed and misconstrued down the ages and why his ideas still resonate so powerfully today...Boucheron's book...reminds us that Machiavelli is no advocate of unbridled state violence

Financial Times

Se alle

Energetic... playfully conspiratorial. Boucheron invites us to think through how Machiavelli became synonymous with unscrupulous despotism when the real man suffered for his republican allegiances

New York Times

[Boucheron] makes a case for Machiavelli as a misunderstood and villainized figure with political insights that can be applied to modern times

New York Times Book Review

To reframe our understanding of Machiavelli, Mr. Boucheron asks, Who was he writing for?...If The Prince was meant to help ordinary people understand what their leaders were up to, then it is not a handbook for the power-crazed but a means of stopping them

Wall Street Journal

Machiavelli is the antidote we need to today's delusion that reality can be virtual or augmented-that is, easily doctored by us ourselves or the media. Reading him now is necessary, more than ever before. But who reads him? Patrick Boucheron's little book is by far the best inducement to Machiavelli that I know of

- Francesco Erspamer, Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures, Harvard University,

A penetrating portrait of a complex political thinker

Kirkus Reviews

A more nuanced and comprehensive look at this brilliant but tortured genius... highly recommended

New York Journal of Books

Machiavelli provide[s] a distinct perspective on the influential philosopher... Readers looking to learn more about the thinker, as well as those seeking an introduction, will find this creative work appealing

Library Journal

It is never too late to break the clichés surrounding Machiavelli. He is never going out of fashion

Le Figaro

Patrick Boucheron has the talent of good teachers: he makes history accessible for everyone

Le Monde

We turn to Machiavelli at every tumultuous period in history - he is the one who knows how to philosophize in dark times. In fact, since his death in 1527, we have never stopped reading him, always to pull ourselves out of a torpor. But what do we really know about this man? Is there more to his work than that term for political evil, Machiavellianism? It was Machiavelli's luck to be disappointed by every statesman he encountered - that was why he had to create his paper Prince. Today, the question that remains is not why he wrote, but for whom - for princes or for those who want to resist them? What is the art of governing? Is it to take power, or to keep it? In this timely book, Patrick Boucheron undoes many of our assumptions about Machiavelli, showing how his rich, complex thought is key to understanding his time, and may be crucial to interrogating our own.
Les mer
A sharp, witty biography that explores how Machiavelli's thought is key to understanding the political crisis of his time - and that of our own.

Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9781782276678
Publisert
2020-09-03
Utgiver
Vendor
Pushkin Press
Høyde
198 mm
Bredde
129 mm
Aldersnivå
G, 01
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Heftet
Antall sider
160

Oversetter
Forfatter

Biographical note

Patrick Boucheron, born in 1965, is a French historian. He previously taught medieval history at the École normale supérieure and the University of Paris, and is currently a professor of history at the Collège de France. He is the author of twelve books and the editor of five, including France in the World, which became a bestseller in France.