Niccolò Machiavelli was an Italian philosopher and writer, and is considered one of the founders of modern political science. He was a diplomat and civil servant

in the Florentine Republic in the sixteenth century, until arrested for conspiracy in 1513 after which he gave his time to writing.

Tom Butler-Bowdon is the author of five bestselling books on classic self-help and motivational writing. He has been described by USA Today as 'a true scholar of this type of literature'.

His first book, 50 Self-Help Classics, won the 2004 Benjamin Franklin award. [...]

Dedication 5

I Of the Various Kinds of Princedom, and of the Ways in Which They are Acquired 9

II Of Hereditary Princedoms 11

III Of Mixed Princedoms 15

IV Why the Kingdom of Darius, Conquered by Alexander, Did Not, on Alexander's Death, Rebel Against His Successors 31

V How Cities or Provinces Which Before Their Acquisition Have Lived Under Their Own Laws are to Be Governed 37

VI Of New Princedoms Which a Prince Acquires With His Own Arms and by Merit 41

VII Of New Princedoms Acquired By the Aid of Others and By Good Fortune 49

VIII Of Those Who By Their Crimes Come to Be Princes 63

IX Of the Civil Princedom 71

X How the Strength of All Princedoms Should Be Measured 79

XI Of Ecclesiastical Princedoms 83

XII How Many Different Kinds of Soldiers There are, and of Mercenaries 89

XIII Of Auxiliary, Mixed, and National Arms 99

XIV Of the Duty of a Prince In Respect of Military Affairs 107

XV Of the Qualities In Respect of Which Men, and Most of all Princes, are Praised or Blamed 113

XVI Of Liberality and Miserliness 117

XVII Of Cruelty and Clemency, and Whether It is Better to Be Loved or Feared 123

XVIII How Princes Should Keep Faith 129

XIX That a Prince Should Seek to Escape Contempt and Hatred 135

XX Whether Fortresses, and Certain Other Expedients to Which Princes Often Have Recourse, are Profitable or Hurtful 153

XXI How a Prince Should Bear Himself So As to Acquire Reputation 161

XXII Of the Secretaries of Princes 169

XXIII That Flatterers Should Be Shunned 173

XXIV Why the Princes of Italy Have Lost Their States 179

XXV What Fortune Can Effect in Human Affairs, and How She May Be Withstood 183

XXVI An Exhortation to Liberate Italy from the Barbarians 191