Book Review The Prince Essay - 1014 Words

This semester in Mr. Sellers’ History class, we were asked to read a history novel and write a book review on it. I chose to read The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli, and it sure did not disappoint. For a book on history, it was not so bad. The two parts to this review include a summary and a critical analysis. This paper will discuss the major points Machiavelli made in his book and analyze his tone and writing style, with an overall critique. The Prince is a novel written in 1513 by Niccolo Machiavelli. This book contains 26 chapters, focusing on acquiring and maintaining political power. In other words, it could be seen as the â€Å"do’s and don’ts† of the political world. In Chapters One through Eleven, the author discusses the different†¦show more content†¦Auxiliaries are just as unreliable and dangerous as the mercenaries, but they are loaned to a ruler from others. The most desirable troops are the natives, the citizens and subjects. Mixed troops are less desirable than fully native troops because they are a mixture of natives and mercenaries or auxiliaries. These descriptions are accompanied by examples to help the reader better understand the roles different types of troops served and how effective each type was for the rulers mentioned. Machiavelli goes on in Chapters Fifteen through Twenty Three to discuss his advice to the reader in the ideal behavior and characteristics of a prince. He mentions that doing good would only lead to the ruin of a prince’s kingdom. He claims that a prince should be stingy and cruel as opposed to generous and merciful. He then, of course, adds in examples of successful rulers who were both moral and immoral alike. A prince should break promises more than he keeps them, according to the author. He also suggests that, while behaving in the aforementioned ways, a prince should do his best to avoid being despised by leaving his subjects’ land and women alone and by undertaking great projects to boost his reputation. As suggested at the beginning of Chapter Nineteen, a prince should not be â€Å"fickle, frivolous, effeminate, cowardly, [or] irresolute,† (70).  ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬He should also choose wise, as opposed to flattering, advisors. In the last few chapters, the author refers toShow MoreRelatedHarry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Reveiw1484 Words   |  6 PagesPotter and the Half-Blood Prince, I exited the theater with an excruciating headache, a lingering sense of emptiness and a very strong desire to punch the film’s cinematographer,† (Ewing) which relates to the movie Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince which stars Daniel Radcliffe, Michael Gambon, Jim Broadbent, and directed by David Yates. 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