The Prince. Niccolo Machiavelli. More often cited than read. There is more information in this work relevant to current world events than in all political books written in the last decade put together. This Penguin Audiobook is read by Fritz Weaver, from the translation by George Bull which includes all of Machievelli's direct Latin quotations. It's 3 3/4 hours long. You will certainly listen to it many times. When you are listening to it, also listen to Vivaldi or Gregoriam Chants as background music. Politics can not be understood without a thorough appreciation of The Prince. Contemporary political writings are 96% nonsense, misinformation and propaganda. Would one expect otherwise? Conserve effort. Just listen to this audiobook. The text is from George Bull's translation; very well done. How many American presidents have not read The Prince? None. How many four star American generals have not read The Prince? None. How many Americans know what's inside this book? Almost none. Little wonder Americans talk so much about politics while understanding it so little.

"Fritz Weaver has enjoyed a distinguished career as a stage and screen actor. Among his many credits are broadway productions of The Crucible and Child's Play, for which he won a Tony award, as well as such celebrated television specials as the CBS Hallmark Hall of Fame's Blind Spot."

Want to read a little right now? You can do so online from the following links. Although many consider the definitive translation to be the one by George Bull, the most widely disseminated translation on the web is that done by W. K. Marriott.
The Gutenberg. Etext:
Machiavelli, Niccolò, 1469-1527, The Prince, Project Gutenberg. Etext #1232. - First Release: Mar 1998 - ID:1293, Translated by W. K. Marriott
ftp://indian.cse.msu.edu/pub/mirrors/Gutenberg/etext98/tprnc10.txt
ftp://indian.cse.msu.edu/pub/mirrors/Gutenberg/etext98/tprnc10.zip
Or even better, there is the translation by W. K. Marriott, all on one webpage, with some additional explanation and background information but, which includes only one of Machievelli's direct Latin quotations.
fordham.edu/halsall/basis/machiavelli-prince.html
You may wonder why The Prince is presented at Constitution.org, but upon reflection you may come to understand the reasons for it.
constitution.org/mac/prince00.htm

What was The Prince all about? What were Machiavelli's motivations? Find out quickly. Read the Introduction and the Dedication and the final chapter,
Chapter 26, An Exhortation To Liberate Italy From The Barbarians.
fordham.edu/halsall/basis/machiavelli-prince.html#CHAPTER XXVI
If you read the last chapter first and are also aware of the putative demonic qualities which have been bestowed upon a pitiable Niccolo Machiavelli, you can expect to become confused. A devout Roman Catholic, Niccolo Machiavelli calls upon God to sanctify the task of unifying Italy. On numerous occassions Machiavelli admonishes that it is God's will not only that the task should be undertaken but that the house of Medici and Lorenzo De' Medici himself have been so ordained in the holy mission. Why on earth then, one would ask, has the name Machiavelli been equated with the various names for Satan? Remember the saying, "Hell hath no fury as a woman scorned." Replace the words, woman scorned, with, government/religion explained, and keep this in mind as you read the text from the beginning. The manifest reasons should become evident.

"Machiavelli taught Europe the art of war; it had long been practiced without being known."
- Voltaire.
You could read Machiavelli's Discourses. But why not read The Art of War? Why? How many American presidents have not read The Art of War? Almost none. How many four star American generals have not read The Art of War? None. How many Americans know what's inside this book? Almost none. Little wonder then that modern democratic man has a diminished understanding of what this thing called war is in actuality.

"EAT OR BE EATEN, The Truth About Our Species - The Marriage of Darwin and Machiavelli"

Amazon.com book description: "This book is about deception. It is about the deception of self and of our relationship to our environment. It is a narrative of a species that once lived side-by-side with all the other animals only to find itself one day as the master of death and destruction. How we got to where we are is the beginning of our story. Long ago we were part of a collective that lived out of instinctual wisdom. The emergence of the cerebral cortex led our species to a life of codified behavior. We became disenfranchised. We created a style of living that was contrary to the essence of being vital and alive. While not a single member of the species has been able to live by the laws and codes we established it became necessary to create the illusion of doing so. It is not the species but the laws and codes that have perverted our deep animal nature. "EAT OR BE EATEN, The Truth About Our Species - The Marriage of Darwin and Machiavelli" does not anthropocentrize the world of animals or the world of humans. Our book asks, as Angela Carter suggests, "Humans would be better off identifying with the primates rather than with the angels." It asks that we appreciate Picasso's quote, "The ultimate event of the cerebral cortex is Hiroshima." Over three hundred million fellow human beings were slaughtered in the twentieth century in war and genocide by anthropocentrism. Since the emergence of the cortex we have disassociated ourselves from the Animal Kingdom and we have spent an isolated lifetime searching for meaning. We demand order where chaos prevails. Humanity has established intellectual models to explain the universe and each of these models has ultimately failed: Aristotle contradicts Plato; Aquinas contradicts Augustine; Marx contradicts Hegel. The following quote by Albert Camus presents the human dilemma, "It is not the universe that is absurd. It is not human beings that are absurd. It is the human being living within the universe that is absurd. While the universe is random, human beings demand order: thus lies the absurdity."

Queen Victoria and George Bernard Shaw were close friends. Do you think they ever discussed this play or its preface? What might they have said regarding either? Have you ever discussed this play or its preface with anyone? How does the world turn? It's no secret. Except maybe from you. Religion is used to befuddle the masses who are subsequently herded around with Money and Gunpowder. It's really so amusingly simple, isn't it?