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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
We are all "princes" in this life, and it's wise to heed the teachings in this book, if not all, at least some. because we all face threats and some form of combat in our lives, and we must accept that reality and know how to navigate it.
challenging
dark
informative
slow-paced
I had to skim while reading it. I was really excited to read it (especially as an IR student) but got absolutely NOTHING out of it. All the advice he gives is an insane nothing burger. I get why this is a dudebro classic because reading it felt like listening to a manosphere podcast. He was so good at so confidently giving so mediocre advice. Wdym I had to read a few pages to learn that mercenaries will only be on your side as long as you pay them. If anything, it helped solidify my vendetta against realist IR theory by showing how dumb all its underlying philosophy is. It reminded me of reading Freud in that it should only be used for historical context and shitsngiggles. But reading it intending to actually get something from is completely useless. Grateful I read it though. I am now a more educated hater.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
informative
reflective
slow-paced
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
the rest of the book was essays I will return to in Michaelmas as secondary reading!
challenging
informative
slow-paced
challenging
dark
informative
tense
slow-paced
Pragmatism vs Idealism.
In my opinion, that is the core underlying theme of the book.
Someone Machiavellian is considered to be sneaky, cunning, and lacking a moral code; and that is exactly what I expected from the book: different devious methods.
On the contrary, Machiavelli is very structured in suggesting how to take decisions depending on the situation/context. It really is a great eye-opener into how exactly Machiavelli thought and why such realpolitik is valid in today's world as well.
In my opinion, that is the core underlying theme of the book.
Someone Machiavellian is considered to be sneaky, cunning, and lacking a moral code; and that is exactly what I expected from the book: different devious methods.
On the contrary, Machiavelli is very structured in suggesting how to take decisions depending on the situation/context. It really is a great eye-opener into how exactly Machiavelli thought and why such realpolitik is valid in today's world as well.