Illustrated guide to the crucial Italian philosopher and author of The Prince. Machiavellian is a popular byword for treachery and opportunism. Machiavellis classic book on statecraft, The Prince, published over 400 years ago, remains controversial to this day because of its electrifying frankness as a practical guide to power. Is it a how-to manual for dictators, a cynical philosophy of the end justifies the means, or a more complex and subtle analysis of successful government?