Urquhart Reading a Classic

I won't get into the debates surrounding this book and the morality, you can make that decision yourself.

I will say this is a great reading of a book that should be required reading/listening for anyone with an interest in history, philosophy, politics, classic works, anything really. Having Francis reading it to you is just the cherry on the cake.

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Outstanding narration

Sir Ian Richardson has the most amazing voice and his performance elevates an already brilliant book to stratospheric heights. I cannot recommend this highly enough!

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Interesting Theory of Govenance

A short but influential treatise on how to rule as the head of state. Whilst putting aside that Machiavelli believed Republics were the best way of ruling countries and that the most well known ideas "it is better to be feared than loved" are much moderated, stating that it is best to be loved and feared, but as not everyone will love you and all your citizens might fear you the prince should err on the side of fear, even using the Roman emperor Severus as an example of going too far.

Machiavelli leaves out the role of luck, stating it's like a river that floods, you can build defences and maybe survive it. However he leaves out the possibility of success by luck in a lot of the maxims he suggests.

When discussing fortresses he states that they are mostly useful for surviving a rebellion of the people which ignores a large amount of warfare where an enemy fortress can't be left in your rear to harass your supply lines.

His examples can be rather odd from a modern perspective, using Alexander the Great and Roman Emporers as well as minor 15th century Italian nobles as commonly known figures.

At one point when discussing leadership the examples of Moses, Theseus, Cyrus and Romulous are used, only one of whom isn't a mythological/ legendary figure.

The book ends with a call to arms with the time being right to unite Italy, which shows Machiavelli's forecasting to be a few centuries out.

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Legendary

Ian Richardson is phenomenal! There cannot be a better reading of this classic in English. Good translation too. What a delight!

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Definitely worth the listen

This was my first exposure to The Prince, I had hear of it obviously but never read it. I loved listening to Ian Richardson’s reading of it and, to me, sounded the right timber. Fascinating to think this analysis was written so long ago but how continually relevant. Would highly recommend to everyone

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Great narrator on an old classic

The books a classic but the narration on this has done it a true justice

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Machiavelli is Alive!

One of the first books I read for fun (as opposed to academically) was ?The Prince?. At the time it came across as crisp & pithy, but more like a manual for politics than a living, breathing text (similar to Sun Tzu's ?The Art of War?).

The fantastic thing about this Audio book is that it brings the cadences of ?The Prince? to life. Whereas the book is pretty much dredged for advice & the anecdotes are disgarded, Ian Richardson's presence forces you to engage with his story & with the fascinatingly varied life of Machiavelli. As the other reviewer has said 'the late Ian Richardson of House of Cards fame is exactly the right voice for this piece'. I would add that his qualities as an actor bring clarity & vivid detail to what is otherwise a political textbook.

And what did Machiavelli live through? Some of the most Interesting times (in all senses!) in Medieval Italian politics, when the Pope, Venetia, France & Spain all vied for dominance of Italy (& all eventually failed in some regard). It is in this backdrop provides fruitful material for Machiavelli to dissect. At each stage Machiavelli states how the states work, what things they did right & what failures lead to their downfall.

And the best part was the ending, where he appeals for a united Italy. In the book this comes over rather plainly, but with Ian Richardson's compelling reading, you really feel the depth of feeling that Machiavelli wished to convey.

My one criticism is that the intense analysis is not ideal if you?re listening in the car. To understand the analysis fully it needs your full attention.

So, definitely a worthwhile purchase & a valuable insight into the passion & intensity of one of history's greatest political commentators. If you like this particular one, then I thoroughly recommend Dawkins' reading of ?On The Origin of Species?. It is always good to hear dry non-fiction brought to life by a narrator.
Why?
Only a true Machiavellian would understand...

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17 people found this helpful

A medieval self help book

Step back in time for three hour a see how best to run a country, with the most famous of all political advisor. Short enough to listen to in one session, with enough tips to help you through life, I kid you not, in this book you can see how it could help you think different whether through work or home, it's not all about stabbing someone in the back

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2 people found this helpful

sublime ++

from start to finish,
just love it..

more of that kind of style we need in this era

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1 person found this helpful

Terrific

Ian Richardson helps bring alive one of the most famous political books of the last millennium, it is well worth the purchase!

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1 person found this helpful