Niccolo Machiavelli's "The Prince" has long been considered THE primer on power politics. What has usually been lost is the fact it was a persuasive attempt by Machiavelli to have Lorenzo di Medici embody the ideas laid out in "The Prince" and unify Italy. In terms of being a rhetorical effort, Machiavelli's work was certainly a failure. However, what endures is his Aristotelian cataloguing of leaders, states and ways of ruling that goes well beyond the political scene in Italy in the early 16th Century. Luisa Vergani provides excellent synopses of not only Machiavelli's life and works, but the times in which he lived as well. After establishing Machiavelli's political doctrine, Vergani establishes the basic themes of "The Prince." A general synopsis is followed by summaries and commentaries on the 26 chapters (1-2, 12-14 and 22-23 are dealt with in tandem). What makes the commentaries particularly insightful is that since Machiavelli dealt with real people and places, Vergani provides the necessary historical perspective. If the copy of "The Prince" you are teaching/reading in your class does not have comprehensive notes or annotations, you will find this information particularly helpful. These historical illustrations also help students make the connection between the past and the present finding contemporary counterparts for the types of "princes" Machiavelli describes. In my experience, reading the summaries and commentaries after reading the respective chapters in "The Prince" is, as always, the best way to use these Cliff's Notes. Besides, our family name appears in the book as one of Machiavelli's examples.

I thought that Niccolo Machiavelli's book, The Prince, was extremely well written. It was very vivid in its descriptions. I believe this book should be considered one of the greatest works of literature ever. I highly recommend you read it. I guarantee you will not be disapointed.