Rejecting the traditional values of political theory, Niccolo Machiavelli drew upon his own experiences of office in the Florentine Republic when he wrote his celebrated treatise on statecraft, which holds such power to shock that at one time he was identified with Satan himself. In his own turbulent times, however, Machiavelli was concerned not with lofty ideals, but with government that would last. Here he states uncompromisingly what, to some degree, most governments do, but none profess to do. As Anthony Grafton states in the detailed discussion of the text in his new Introduction, in insisting that each political situation be judged individually, Machiavelli became "the political teacher of Europe."The tough realities of Machiavelli's Italian are well preserved in the clear, unambiguous English of George Bull's revised translation. Included for the first time in this new edition are a chronology, a translator's note, a list of Machiavelli's principal works, and a map of Italy.
