"It is safer to be feared than loved." These words embody the spirit of The Prince, Niccolo Machiavelli's classic work of political philosophy. Machiavelli's advice for how a ruler should acquire and ruthlessly exercise power over others continues to be relevant to contemporary readers more than five centuries after it was first published. This is one of Barnes & Noble's 'Collectible Editions' classics. Each volume features authoritative texts by the world's greatest authors in an elegantly designed bonded-leather binding, with distinctive gilt edging. Durable and collectible, these volumes are an indispensable cornerstone of every home library.

"Connell provides by far the best historical introduction to a student text of The Prince that I have ever seen. It is concise, clear, and remarkably straightforward given the complexity of the issues it treats, including not only the precise context of the work's composition, but also some very helpful description of its reception. As a whole, in my view, this edition of The Prince is the very best available in English, and I look forward to using it in my classes." --Kenneth Gowens, University of Connecticut,

'This edition of The Prince handles all the basics well, but this version goes beyond the norm in that everything, from the introduction to the notes to the translation to the related documents, is chosen in such a way as to make this complicated work make real sense to students who may be coming to it with very little background. That the translator has produced such a version while also-in the related documents as well as in some of the notes-incorporating some real scholarly discoveries is all the more to his credit." --Christopher Celenza, Michigan State University, USA

"This is one of the best critical editions of The Prince available in English, if not the best. What I mean by this is quite literal: readers who want to cite Machiavelli chapter and verse should use this edition. Readers who want some sense of how the text evolved, while reading it in an accessible form, should use this edition. Readers who want a good introduction to related documentation, should also turn to Connell." --Paula Findlen, Stanford University, USA