The Prince

Initially denounced as a collection of sinister maxims and as a recommendation of tyranny, this text has more recently been defended and applauded as the first scientific treatment of politics as it is rather than as it ought to be. In this edition there is an analytic introduction, a chronology of Machiavelli's life, a map of Italy in his time and Machiavelli's letter to Vettori in which he discusses "The Prince".