The Prince: Second Edition

I am no devotee of Machiavelli's. Were I rating this on what I consider sound political theory I'd surely be knocking off a few stars. Nevertheless, this is an important book to read, and reflects the climate of American politics more so than, say, Aristotle's Politics. I do think that there is value, however, in the advice Machiavelli offers, but I think one needs to be a person of high virtue to not let it corrupt. On a side, there may even be some nuggets of dating advice here! As regards Mansfield's translation and introduction, these are top notch. There was one question that arose from the group that I was reading with regarding a certain key term -- Intero, which Mansfield translates as 'honest', but which may have other connotations of 'wholeness'. Other than that, a good, readable translation.

Used for school, keeping it for law school. You’ll need this for studying in college

Don't buy a lesser translation to save a few dollars. Get the Mansfield.

This is a classic book that I would definitely recommend. I read it for my AP composition class back in high school. Although reading this book straight through would have been great, I annotated while reading. The annotations definitely helped me appreciate the critical points of Machiavelli's arguments. What I like: the book is straightforward and clever at times. It was easy to identify with several of the book's characters. What I dislike: sometimes it felt like I was waiting too long for the story to progress. Final Thoughts: Solid book. I'd recommend it, especially if you're interested in political philosophy.

I have learned much through Machiavelli and Prof. Mansfield. Machiavelli has seemed to captivate most of the reviewers. He certainly has been and continues to be an effective Prince. I personally find fascinating the way in which Machiavelli has used Christian means to promote unChristian ends. Capture the mind and the bodies will follow. The hidden launcher of the modern project and his adept successors have largely succeeded in distorting natural law and its Author. Nature or natures are still stronger and more stabile than moderns realize and yet more malleable than the ancients thought. We can all be thankful for the best in the modern project without becoming too captivated by its founder or unarmed prophet.

I had to use this book for class, and it was great. Mansfield provides a lot of historical context in the footnotes unlike some other translations. It really helps because Machiavelli makes many, many, many references to historical events and to things that were happening in his own time. Also, M. lies a lot during the book. He will state something that happened in history that supports his argument, but footnotes set the record straight and tell you when M. is being intentionally deceiving. It’s a great translation and one I will come back to when I decide to read it again.

College read! Good even now!

Nice inexpensive copy for school. The book is quite interesting.

This is the real Mansfield translation and the best translation there is . Short and crisp for anyone wanting to dive into Machiavelli. Yes it is a bit expensive but the quality of the book and it’s contents are well worth the price.

It's astonishingly gorgeous. I'm talking about the quality of the book. The content was good too. I recommend it to those who enjoys politics.

I personally don't like the way its written. It's unreadable for me. Other editions are great but just not this.

Exactly what I wanted (edition and condition). Came quickly to me as well.

If you work in Finance you must read this book. Man is a political animal, Plato said it, Machiavelli illustrates it.