Niccolo Machiavelli's Art of War is one of the world's great classics of military and political theory. Praised by the finest military minds in history and said to have influenced no lesser lights than Frederick the Great and Napoleon, Art of War is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand the history and theory of war in the West. Christopher Lynch's fluid translation, faithful to the original but rendered in modern, idomatic English, helps readers appreciate anew Machiavelli's brilliant and often eerily prescient treatments of the relationships between war and politics, civilians and the military, and technology and tactics. Clearly laying out the fundamentals of military organization and strategy, Machiavelli marshals a veritable army of precepts, prescriptions, and examples about such topics as how to motivate soldiers and demoralize the enemy, how to avoid ambushes, and how to gain the tactical and strategic advantage in countless circumstances. To help readers better appreciate Art of War, Lynch provides an insightful introduction and a substantial interpretive essay discussing the military, political, and philosophical aspects of the work, in addition to maps, an index of names, and a glossary. Combining an abundance of relevant scholarship with the most flawless translation to date, this volume will surely be the standard for years to come.
Reviews
"Christopher Lynch has made the best and the first careful translation of Machiavelli's Art of War. With useful notes, an excellent introduction, an interpretive essay, glossary, and index, it is a treasure for readers of military history and Renaissance thought as well as for lovers of Machiavelli." - Harvey. Mansfield, Harvard University; "Lynch argues convincingly that Art of War's detractors have failed to approach the text in the right way.... If Machiavelli's works bear the mark of a preliberal age, his thought also transcends his age, not least his timeless warning about ideologies that, in the name of abstract principles, ask us to refrain from defending... the nation in which we actually live." - Jacqueline Newmyer, Weekly Standard"



Book Information
ISBN 9780226500409
Author Niccolo Machiavelli
Format Hardback
Page Count 312
Imprint University of Chicago Press
Publisher The University of Chicago Press
Weight(grams) 540g
Dimensions(mm) 232mm * 157mm * 24mm