Niccolò MachiavelliVerified

Before power became a dirty word, Machiavelli stripped away moral pretense to show exactly how rulers actually acquire and maintain power, creating a manual so controversial it's been banned, burned, and secretly studied for 500 years.

Machiavelli strips away the myth of noble leadership to reveal power as a ruthless game of psychology and pragmatism—a handbook that explains not how rulers should act, but how they actually do.

A study of politics and history written around 1517, built on the first ten books of Livy's history of Rome. In 142 chapters Machiavelli draws lessons for contemporary politics from the past, discussing forms of government and Rome's growth into a republic.