Main Character Reads

Machiavelli and Machiavellianism

The real Machiavelli, then the modern power books, clearly labelled.

editorial Discourses and Skinner picks are editorial.

The Prince
Niccolò Machiavelli
The original, short and shocking. Academic/classic.
133 pp≈3 h●○○ Gentle
Edition: Oxford University Press · ISBN 9780199535699
Get it at Bookshop.org (affiliate link) I've read this
Discourses on Livy
Niccolò Machiavelli
The republican Machiavelli most TikTok skips. Academic/classic.
424 pp≈11 h●●● Demanding
Edition: University of Chicago Press · ISBN 9780226500362
Get it at Bookshop.org (affiliate link) I've read this
Machiavelli: A Very Short Introduction
Quentin Skinner
Leading scholar's context. Academic.
Edition not yet verified; link opens a Bookshop search.
Get it at Bookshop.org (affiliate link) I've read this
The 48 Laws of Power
Robert Greene
Popular, not academic the 'modern Prince' read by young men.
463 pp≈12 h●○○ Gentle
Edition: Profile Books Ltd · ISBN 9781861972781
Get it at Bookshop.org (affiliate link) I've read this
The Laws of Human Nature
Robert Greene
Popular, not academic Greene's psychology follow-up.
●○○ Gentle
Edition: Profile Books Ltd · ISBN 9781781259191
Get it at Bookshop.org (affiliate link) I've read this

Sources: kraut · mel